Mattias Nordéus
Market Art Fair 2024
16.05—19.05.24

On the occasion of Market Art Fair 2024, Gallery Steinsland Berliner presents new work by Swedish artist Mattias Nordéus. On view in booth 6 at Liljevalchs are sculptures as well as a painted collage.

Mattias Nordéus is known primarily for his painted wooden sculptures depicting human figures arranged in varying states of action or inaction, Nordéus has been developing his point of view since the early 2000’s resulting in a particular aesthetic which intriguingly manages to be simultaneously nostalgic and modern.

This timelessness can reasonably be explained by his sources of inspiration which include the pixelated graphics of early video game animation, but perhaps more to the point; religious icons and classic compositions and references recognized throughout art history and mythology. Immesurable change to how we view and interact with generated imagery has transpired since Nordéus first started exploring the topic. From his point of view, the simulated and the real appear increasingly more the like the same thing, prompting speculation on which perspective we are truly experiencing reality from.

References to art history can be seen throughout, The Stockholm Madonna relates to Michelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges while Dürer’s engravings of angels have inspired the watercolor collage titled Melencolia.

Nordéus’ figures are built from pieces of angular solid wood before they are delicately painted by Nordéus who is first and foremost a skilled painter. The faces of the resulting figures are brought to life by their somewhat uncanny faces which oftentimes resemble the artist himself or people around him.

Mattias Nordéus (b. 1978, SE) lives and works in Malmö. He is a graduate of Malmö Art Academy.