Lars Morell

Lars Morell

Lars Morell (B.1980) began his studies at the Nordland Art and Film School, Kabelvâg in 2001 before enrolling at the National Academy of Fine Arts, Oslo, from which graduated in 2005. Morell’s work has always challenged the distinction between the visible and invisible. Utilising fin de siècle techniques of illusionism and invention Morell invokes a paranoiac trickery upon the viewer, his forms resemble that which they are not. Across a complex and diverse body of work consisting of photographs, sculptures, and installations Morell has developed an internationally recognised iconography of distortion. Repurposing the imagery of his earlier works Morell engages with a nostalgia that simultaneously reflects the resemblance of his forms to familiar objects; broad brushstrokes that first appear as vast roots transform into the outlines of chains and ropes. Through these uncanny forms, which Morell refers to as distorted still lives, the dilemma between illusion and deception is presented.

Solo exhibitions include (Upcoming) Tickling Fingers, Infinite View, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, UK (2024); Liquid Attempts, QB Gallery, Oslo, Norway, Curse, Effect, QB Gallery, Oslo, Norway (2022); Fog Reader, CINNAMON, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2020); Tâkeleser, QB Gallery, Oslo, Norway (2018); Fog Reader, CINNAMON, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2018); Frames and Seconds, Stephane Simoens, Knokke, Belgium (2017); Mørkets muligheter, BGE, Stavanger, Norway (2017); Lars Morell, Art Rotterdam, CINNAMON, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2016); Second Sight, CINNAMON, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2016); Maids Medium, Prosjektrom Normanns, Stavanger, Norway (2015); Recent Works, KANT, Copenhagen, Denmark (2014); Silent Codes, Choi & Lager, Cologne, Germany (2013); Porta’s Description, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (curated by Marc Bembekoff) (2013); Hotel Paris, Galerie Nivet-Garzon, Paris, France (2012); Balls. Bubbles. Blisters., GAD, Oslo, Norway (2010); Short Sad Thoughts, Peria Mode, Zürich, Switzerland (Curated by Fabian Schöneich) (2010); Tom Means Empty in Norwegian, Galleri S.E, Bergen, Norway (2009) and Catalog of Wonders, Point Éphémère, Paris, France (curated by Agnès Violeau) (2008).

Group exhibitions include Enter Art Fair, Copenhagen, Denmark (with Andrea Scholze and Bjørn Båsen, represented by QB Gallery) (2023); Painting Today, QB Gallery, Oslo, Norway (2022); Søgne gamle prestegârd, Søgne, Norway (2021); Pâ gjennsyn! Fra Katta til Kunstilo, SKMU, Kristiansand, Norway (2021); As far as my Eye can Sea – The Expedition Exhibition, Bomuldsfabriken, Arendal, Norway (2021); Sommer I februar, QB Gallery, Oslo, Norway (2021)Hvisk tyngde, Agder Kunstsenter, Kristianstad, Norway (2021); Søgne gamle prestegård, Søgne, Norway (2020); Villa Bazaar, Norsk Billedhoggerforening, Oslo, Norway (2020); Intersect Chicago - represented by QB Gallery, Oslo, Norway (2020); Borøy Kunsthandel, Borøy, (2020); Great small works, Stephane Simoens, Knokke, Norway (2020); En sen kveld, QB Gallery, Oslo, Norway (2019); Stephane Simoens, Knokke, Norway (2019); Olje og begjær, QB / Blomqvist, Oslo, Norway (2019); Creation of a Moment, Kaviar Factory, Henningsvær, Norway (2019); About painting, Stephane Simoens, Knokke, Norway (2018); Papir, Norsk Industriarnbeidermuseum, Rjukan, Norway (2018); Picture Believer - A Collector’s Items, Blomqvist, Oslo, Norway (2018); Nordic Features, Stephane Simoens, Knokke, Norway (2017); Summer Show, Stephane Simoens, Knokke, Norway (2017); Skillingsviser, QB Gallery, Oslo, Norway (2016); Unseen, Amsterdam - represented by CINNNAMON (2016); CODE Art Fair, Copenhagen. Represented by CINNNAMON (2016); Galleri Amstedt, Östra Karup, Sweden (2016); Summer show, Stephane Simoens, Knokke, Norway (2016); Whistle in the shadow, Prosjektrom Normanns, Stavanger, Norway (2016); Amsterdam Art Fair - represented by Stephane Simoens (2016); After Images, Stephane Simoens, Knokke, Norway (2016); Variations in Scandinavian Abstraction, Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo, Norway (2016); Opening exhibition, CINNNAMON, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2015); Sørlandets Kunstmuseum, Kristiansand, Norway (2015); Selected Positions, KANT, Copenhagen, Denmark (2014); El Hotel Eléctrico, Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp, Netherlands (Curated by Edwin Carels) (2014); Delsion / Illusion, Galleri Haaken, Oslo, Norway (Curated by Caroline Taylor) (2014); Caution! Things may appear different than they are, AEG, Nuremberg, Germany (Curated by Pamela Auchincloss & Susanne Prinz (2013); Life is the Only Way, Bontelabo, Bergen, Norway (Curated by Malin Barth & Annine Birkeland) (2013); BYOB, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France (Curated by Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel) (2012).

Highlights and Collections

In 2022 Morell received the Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond (BKV) - 3 år, Oslo, Norway. This followed his receipt of the Ingerid, Synnøve og Elias Fegerstens stiftelse, Oslo, Norway and Prosjektstøtte, Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond, Oslo, Norway in 2020. Between 2005 and now Morell has been the recipient of over 20 such prizes. Morell’s works is in numerous private collections as well as Gard AS, Oslo/Grimstad; Sørlandets Kunstmuseum, Kristiansand; REV, Oslo; NMBU, Campus Ås; Kunst på arbeidsplassen, Oslo; KLP, Oslo; Arkwright, Oslo; Statoil, Oslo; KLP, Oslo; Statoil, Oslo; Sørlandets Kunstmuseum, Kristiansand; Bergen Kommune, Bergen; Malmö Konstmuseum, Malmö; Statoil, Stavanger; Sørlandets Kunstmuseum, Kristiansand and Kristiansand Kommune, Kristiansand.

Tickling Fingers, Infinite View

Skeletal forms wrapped in translucent ribbons create eerie and delicate shapes against ethereal skies. Norwegian artist Lars Morell’s paintings challenge the distinction between the visible and the invisible, our desire to make sense of space, to see things that aren’t always there. Tickling Fingers, Infinite View, his first solo exhibition with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, comprises new additions to what the artist calls his Translation series or abstracted still lifes. Each painting takes as its departure point an object or detail that the artist has observed and strips it back to its barest structure, exploring in the process our emotional response to shapes, lines and colours as well as the ways in which painting can record these different sensations.

While Morell is heavily influenced by what he encounters in his everyday life, he is reluctant to point to specific sources of inspiration, preferring to leave his paintings open to interpretation. The bulging and spindly structures that form shapes at the forefront of these works, for example, could appear as both brutal and fragile, organic and inorganic, bringing to mind perhaps the bare branches of trees, bones, ligaments, something dragged up from the depths of the sea, the body of an alien creature. In one work, this structure is golden, wrapped in ribbons – or bandages? – of pale pink and white against a candy-coloured, rococo-esque sky, in another it is a silvery grey mass seemingly absorbing the blue and metallic tones of the turbulent cloudscape that surrounds it. ‘I am fascinated by proportions and curious about colour, by how things can be read as an appealing shape or not,’ explains Morell.

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Lars Morell : Tickling Fingers, Infinite View

Lars Morell

Tickling Fingers, Infinite View

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