While Frank Fischer and Anders Brinch occupy the main gallery and the project room respectively, a series of Anne Torpe's intimate and characteristic portraits will inhabit the HAG office.
Anne Torpe has created her very own and distinctive style, integrating elements of Cubism into a contemporary universe. In her work, she transforms these influences into a dynamic landscape, where the collage of colors and lines engages in a playful dialogue with the degeneration of the image. Through her unique approach, Torpe explores how fragmented forms and shifting perspectives can reveal new depths of meaning, inviting the viewer to reconsider perception and representation in a constantly evolving visual world.
In Anne Torpe’s newest exhibition, “Inevitable Withdrawal”, we are presented with portraits of men as well as women: A first for the artist. This is not to imply that the struggle for equal rights has ended, and that some sort of universal symmetry now reigns, but rather to blur the boundaries between sexes and to challenge conventional conceptions of gender. The portraits of men now find their place alongside the women in Torpe's universe, expanding her visual world and introducing new meanings and perspectives into her oeuvre.
Torpe’s characters – of all genders – stand empowered, driven by their own desires rather than those of the viewer, as if being “just for themselves” has always been their raison d’être. With a sense of slowness that permeates her work, Torpe has stopped time for a moment, inviting us to participate in unpacking the complexity of details held within it — in the temporal shifts of mood or emotions; an eyebrow, a faint smile, a hairstyle; in all the small dramas of our everyday lives. The paintings possess a quiet, lingering quality, drawing the viewer into a deeper contemplation of each nuance, revealing the delicate interplay of time and feeling.
The characters do not call attention to themselves; instead, they tell personal stories in a quiet and unassuming way. They simply exist, inviting curiosity and intrigue. Their presence is subtle yet compelling — we want to know more, to understand their inner worlds, to delve into the layers of emotion and experience they hold. There is no overt performance, no loud declaration; instead, there is an invitation to witness, to observe, and to reflect. Their silence speaks volumes, urging us to slow down and listen to what is not immediately visible.
”Inevitable Withdrawal" opens November 29 and will be on view through December 21 in the HAG office.