FIFTY24SF Gallery in association with Upper Playground is pleased to announce the opening of "STILL LIFE" Rune Christensen's first solo-exhibition in the Americas. Opening Friday October 21st at 7:00pm at 218 Fillmore St. SF, CA 94117. Refreshments courtesy of Fort Point. Artist in attendance.
Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark the artist has caught the eye of critics and collectors alike selling out recent shows at Art Copenhagen, Gallery Wolfsen in Aalborg, Helium Cowboy in Hamburg and Scope Miami. His work is also being featured at an exhibition entitled "Urban Dawn" in Beruit, Lebanon alongside world renowned artists El Mac, Swoon, Shepard Fairey and Retna which opens October 15th.
Artist Statement:
This body of work is inspired by my observations of daily life and our modern society. After having spent significant amounts of time traveling the world and living off the grid, further introspection left me feeling confused, ambivalent and questioning our societal values as a whole.
Struggling with the duality of my own existence, I find myself constantly bouncing back and forth between cynicism and altruism. I see amazing advances in technology and culture but I feel like we are also simultaneously functioning as a brutal neo-feudalist society.
After experiencing a simpler existence abroad, I found myself returning to my country, missing friends and family while at the same time becoming acutely aware of the establishment ready to ensnare me. Could I stay the path or would I be consumed by an addiction to consumerism, obsessed with staying up to date on trends and the reinvention of a contrived identity before it’s expiration date was met? I found myself treading water through an endless stream of imagery until my brain lost its ability to see things clearly and I felt like I was becoming just another deer in the headlights. I find myself falling for the distractions, for this trap all the time. Through this work I’m trying to existentially explore modern society while not becoming marginalized by it at the same time.
-Rune Christensen