ANDERS DAVIDSEN

Lives and works in Knebel (DK)

Anders Davidsen’s distinctive paintings trace the passage of time using seascapes as a foundation from which he explores the effects of atmosphere and light. Images emerge from a setting sun or rising moon resting on the horizon, their rays radiating outwardly in gentle rhythms. Davidsen fuses inner and outer worlds, working from memories of his childhood spent fishing and swimming in the fjords of northern Denmark.

Recalling the shifting patterns of light across the water’s surface, he recreates the natural subtleties of these moments in each canvas. Davidsen’s studio is filled with varying-sized seascapes, each an experiment into the endless amalgamations of light, air, and water. Completing his paintings sequentially, he mines his memory to recreate these quiet moments of contemplation as sunlight sparkles across the sea.

Working on linen, Davidsen’s paintings are built from the depths of an undercoat of weather-beaten brown. Multiple layers of oil paint are then applied directly from the tube in thin, dry layers, pressing the pigments into the tinted chalk gesso. Davidsen then scrubs and wipes away the paint to reveal reflections on the water’s surface as the paint dries.

This meditative process is a race against time, akin to the tension between power and peacefulness of changing sea tides. He is careful not to overwork the surface, so these coloured layers dance lightly across the textured linen, ebbing and flowing like undulating waves. Seasonal variations are created through the application of deep reds reminiscent of hazy and humid summer mornings; or muted, softer tones suggesting a crisp winter’s fog rolling across the canvas.

Davidsen studied at the Danish Royal Academy from 2017 to 2023 in Copenhagen (DK).

Selected exhibitions: Sowing in half-light, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL), 2024; Bernheim x ADZ Gallery: Group exhibition, Bernheim, Zurich (CH), 2024; Voices in silver, Painters Painting Paintings, Hertfordshire (UK), 2022; Evening Flower, ADZ, Lisbon (PT), 2022; The Lurid Season, M+B, Los Angeles, CA (US), 2022; Mythic materials, Formation Gallery, København (DK), 2022; Leva, Arcway Nightlands connector, Copenhagen (DK), 2020; and BFA exhibition, Danish Royal Academy (DK), 2020.

Courtesy GRIMM