Sune Christiansen

Copenhagen, Denmark, 1976. Lives and works in Copenhagen

Sune Christiansen has developed a signature approach to figurative abstraction that is as ambiguous and suggestive as it is playful and inviting. Christiansen draws upon his extensive experience working with digital drawing tools to hone the palettes and compositions of new works , preferring to begin each painting through a process of iPad-based sketching and refinement. Once an arrangement of forms has been loosely identified, Christiansen begins responding to these preliminary drawings on the surface of the canvas, focusing much more on materiality and visual sensation than any attempt to faithfully reproduce the original sketch. 

Embracing the accidental, Sune works to create paintings that are both visually arresting, but also ultimately unpretentious in their basic ambition to achieve a form of expression that contains a certain undeniable truthfulness. 

Ideas of the figure often assume central importance in Christiansen’s works. Whilst the artist maintains that he wants to avoid any clear explanation of how he intends for his figures to be read, the body language of Christiansen s characters often evokes such broad themes as hierarchical power dynamics, hieroglyphs and other pictorial language structures, religious devotional practices and the symbolism of intimacy and sexuality. 

Working mainly with oil stick, pastel, acrylics and industrial enamel paints, the artist deftly modulates texture, density and speed as he plots figures and objects in a manner that shows a clear dialogue between his own work and the likes of Kathrine Bradford, Eddie Martinez, Tal R and Sebastian Helling.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
The Leftovers, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2023)
Viewpoint, Pt.2 gallery, Oakland, USA (2023)
Weight Of the Load, Bricks Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark (2022)
Into the Landscape, Pt.2 gallery, Oakland, USA (2022)
This side of this site, Albert Contemporary, Odense, Denmark (2022)
Low Hanging Fruit Way Out of Reach, Alzueta Gallery, Madrid, Spain (2021)
Solo Show, Bricks Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark (2021)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Summer Show, Alzueta Gallery, Palau de Casavells, Girona, Spain (2024)
Group Show, CCA Andratx, Andratx, Mallorca, Spain (2023)
Intertwined Realities, Bricks Gallery, Copenhagen , Denmark (2023)
Dream Paper, Galerie Slika, Lyon, France (2022)
Papers, Beers Gallery, London, UK (2022)
Grand, Albert Contemporary, Odense, Denmark (2021)
Figurative Samplers, Det nye Kastet, Museum of Modern Art, Thisted, Denmark (2021)
Summer Show, Alzueta Gallery, Palau de Casavells, Girona, Spain (2021)
Twentyfour III, Bricks Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark (2020)

ART FAIRS
KIAF, Alzueta Gallery, Seoul, South Korea (2024)
ART ROTTERDAM, Alzueta Gallery, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2024)
ART HERNING, Bricks Gallery, Herning, Denmark (2024)
KIAF, Alzueta Gallery, Seoul, South Korea (2023)
ART CENTRAL, Alzueta Gallery, Hong Kong, China (2023)
UVNT ART FAIR, Alzueta Gallery, Madrid, Spain (2023)
ZONAMACO, Alzueta Gallery, CDMX, Mexico (2023)
ENTER ART FAIR, Bricks Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark (2022)
KIAF, Alzueta Gallery, Seoul, South Korea (2022)
LONDON ART FAIR, Alzueta Gallery, London, UK (2022)

RESIDENCIES
CCA Andratx, Andratx, Mallorca, Spain (2023)