After painting had been the leading medium of the avant‑garde, a shift occurred at the turn of the 21st century. Other visual art forms claimed the right to interpret the present through images, pixels, performance and photography, relegating painting to a place in art history. At least, that is how it has appeared in the “proper” circles of the Western art world.

Jantjes does not dispute this description of painting’s dethronement. It simply does not tell the whole story of contemporary art. It is easy to see what painting cannot do in a digital communication culture and a globalised, high‑speed world. Yet painting can do something that is entirely its own: through its fundamental components – colour, form, surface and format – it sparks the imagination by means of an aura that would be unthinkable without painting’s slowness and resistance, the unique imprint that carries the idea into view for the beholder.

“The works selected for this exhibition have been included for their conceptual qualities, but also for their handling of paint. Whether they work figuratively or abstractly, the artists have created a fine balance between the scale of the painting and the imprint of the paint.”

Jantjes invited the following artists to participate:
Norris AdorO / Hans Askheim / Irina Melsom / Elisabeth Dillingøen / Tore Magne Gundersen / Eva Kurseth / Astrid Liv Omberg / Lillian Presthus / Sten Are Sandbeck / Christian Hoel Skjønhaug