Corona text

Text by:  Jenny Danielsson, Linda Dobke

 

Joakim Heidvall / Corona

October 23 – November 1, 2015

Kunsthalle m3 is pleased to announce Corona – a solo presentation of new paintings by Swedish
artist Joakim Heidvall. This exhibition, Heidvall’s first with Kunsthalle m3, draws its title from the
astronomical term for the light halo that surrounds the sun and only can be seen by the naked eye
during a full eclipse.
Just as this natural phenomenon, Heidvall’s massive paintings evoke a tickling feeling of
transience, as they oscillate between the figurative and the abstract. The levitating bodies
portrayed here, are a painterly play on the notions of void and volume. Their metaphysical agenda
invites the spectator to marvel and play: while engaged in their own dynamic of motion, they
simultaneously participate in the on-going making of the painting itself, desiring to extend
elastically outside of themselves.
Beyond the aesthetics of planetary imagery, the paintings also convey a subtext of themes such
as digital technology and fetish culture. The limitless expressions that make the fabric of Berlin
club culture have here made its trail across the artist’s subconscious and into these paintings.
After years of working with animation, computer graphics and audio-visual installations, this series
marks Heidvall’s strong return to painting. Heidvall says:
“The aesthetic and surreal aspect of science fiction has a pull on me. In one way or another, this
has always been incorporated into my work. Additionally, my creative process was always relating
back to the artistic qualities found within art history and the lineage of artists that has inspired me.
With the Corona series, I have let go of referential needs and begun to transcend that previous
mind-set. Instead, my only goal has been to make dripping, large-scale paintings that expand the
wall they are hanging on.”