John Kørner

JOHN KØRNER

RADIANT LANDSCAPES

John Kørner’s vibrant paintings elegantly and humorously reinterpret the classical landscape tradition. His works gleam with a mix of cartoons, kitsch and sentimental painting, united in a fanciful magic realism.

Night at Stage, 2002

Description
In the monumental painting Night at Stage the glaring yellow background colour holds a chaotic, explosive composition. Black, red and blue brush strokes, thin as watercolours, beam from the centre of the picture. Around them is a row of meticulously painted empty chairs in a semi-circle, resembling the seats in a theatre. The picture appears as a vast and desolate landscape with an infinite horizon.

About the work
John Kørner invokes a long art historical tradition in landscape painting. He reinterprets the classical subject in a contemporary version, adding humour and magic. In Kørner’s pictures the landscape becomes the gateway to a fantastic parallel world where everything is possible.
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About Kørner’s art in general
Kørner belongs to a new generation of artists who are self-conscious and explorative about the traditional medium of painting but who at the same time experiment with a fanciful, unceremonious and humorous imagery.
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Literature
"Bank", ARoS, 2006
"Manual til dansk samtidskunst" (Lisbeth Bonde & Mette Sandbye), Gyldendal, 2006
"The Problem of Performing" (text by Cecilie Høgsbro), Kunstforeningen Gl. Strand, 2005
"Guide to the Greenland Problem" (text by John Kørner), Herning Kunstmuseum, 2003
"A modern Problem", Container (2003)
"STOP for a Moment. Painting as Presence" (interview by Kari Immonen), ARKEN, 2002
"Den fantastiske udvej", Space Poetry (2000)
"Jeg taler til jer", Museumsbygningen (1999)