WHAT
The artist’s second solo exhibition in Hong Kong since 2017, a series of new paintings is presented, as part of a greater mise-en-scene that transforms the gallery into a human-scale composition. His surrealistic compositions combine elements from diverse genres of painting to create collage-like constructions. Taking Walter Benjamin’s concept of the ‘aura’ (from the 1935 seminal essay, ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’) as the title for the current exhibition, the Swedish artist challenges his audience with a mind-bending conundrum: what does presence mean when time and space have no fixed reference point?

WHY
The artist’s unusual compositions hint at profuse art historical influences. Often exploring the relations between people and architecture, they reference a breadth of artistic movements: from the darkened archways of Giorgio de Chirico and the steely portraits of Tamara de Lempicka, to Georges Braque’s faceted forms and Wassily Kandinsky’s colourful intersecting shapes. A master of eclecticism, see how the artist incorporates an entire hierarchy of genres into his composite works, juxtaposing iconic portraits, still lifes, domestic interiors, cityscapes, and landscapes with geometric abstractions.