Klaus Gallery presents a new series of tabletop sculptures and wall works by Danish artist Thomas Øvlisen. The works on display continue Øvlisen’s process of transmuting post-consumer goods, polyurethane foam and built up layers of auto lacquer into lustrous sculptural objects. His materials and techniques reference a broad range of influence, from American surfing and car culture, to California Minimalism, to Danish ceramic traditions. Øvlisen’s work also evokes natural phenomena such as tree burls, forest mushrooms, or stones eroded by water and the passage of time. The artist’s wall works are created using a similar material process but allude to more liquid state: one forms concentric rings, while other look like puddles, suggesting ripples in water, or portals. The sculptures look toward a bit of the homespun, a warm embrace of the cared for, the handmade, and the proverbial.
Thomas Øvlisen (b. 1975) holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has recently exhibited with Gallery Eighteen in Copenhagen and SADE in Los Angeles, and the Hearst Building in New York.