Blom’s paintings are characterized by a unique blend of architectural and figurative elements. His gestures are restrained and his spaces are almost left spare. While his figures often seem to merge with their surroundings, they also appear forlorn and unfulfilled in the context of the world at large. This exploration of mood and dark sentiment has led critics to place Blom’s oeuvre in the context of Northern Melancholic Romanticism and art historian Åsmund Thorkildsen wrote in 2004: “[one] very rarely comes across pictures that are so Norwegian.”

Blom’s influences and associations vary. His focus on the alienated figure and psychological complexities pay homage to the oeuvre of Edvard Munch; his palette alludes to such Northern Romantics as I.C. Dahl, or Caspar David Friedrich; but his contemporary technique, which utilizes photographs to enhance and distort a sense of realism, relates to Gerhard Richter. In addition, Blom reveals an affinity for minimalist gestures and his overall approach to composition is clearly conceptual. Dan Flavin and Joseph Beuys are sources of inspiration and yet, Blom finds a mélange that leaves him with a rich visual language that is clearly his own.

Born in 1967 in Roskilde, Denmark, Kenneth Blom moved to Norway as a child. He studied at the Statens Kunstakademi in Oslo (1990-1994), as well as at the Du?sseldorf Academy of Fine Arts (1994-1995). He has shown extensively in Europe, including as a featured artist at Sotheby’s New Bond Street in London (2007) and at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Norway (2005). This will be Kenneth Blom’s first exhibition in the United States.