High and dry

Bricks Gallery is pleased to present High and dry, a solo exhibition by Sune Christiansen, opening on Friday, October 2, from 5-8 pm. Spanning the entire gallery space, this exhibition features a new series of paintings on canvas alongside stoneware sculptures.

Sune Christiansen’s paintings often begin with a specific shape in a vibrant colour: a bright blue rectangle, an imperfect pink triangle, or a pitch-dark circle reminiscent of a black hole. Step by step, he builds each painting by adding further coloured surfaces and forms, pairing distinct elements together. The result is a series of atmospheric compositions filled with movement and tactility, exploring the interplay between figuration and abstraction, the familiar and the unknown, and how these relationships reshape our way of seeing.

While some works appear more recognisable, visualising concrete situations, others feel more dissolved. For example, in Stue (Living room), a human-like figure stands in a large room surrounded by various bright objects, gazing out the window into the dark night beneath a roughly painted sky and a bright orange half-moon. Although visually dynamic, a heavy silence seems to linger beneath the energetic surface.

In works where no human figures are present, organic shapes, bright colours, and dense textures fuse into cohesive compositions. Even at their most abstract, Christiansen's works still suggest underlying stories, embodying atmosphere and the balance between movement and stillness.

For viewers familiar with his practice, recognisable forms from older works reappear throughout this exhibition. We see the completely round black circle - resembling a black hole you can look into, or an eye staring out at the viewer - and the small, round orange blob of paint with a drop shadow, which to some might look like an apple, a snail, or something entirely different. These accessible motifs invite dialogue, turning the viewing experience into a shared conversation about individual and collective perception. Over time, Christiansen has developed his own visual language, with an ability to evoke atmosphere and presence regardless of where his paintings exist on the figurative-abstract spectrum.

Translating this visual language into three dimensions, his stoneware sculptures feel as though they have stepped straight off the canvas, yet stand firmly on their own. Bridging the concrete and the open-ended through forms both accessible and ambiguous, these wonky, freestanding objects carry colour, composition, and tactility within them. At the same time, they embody a certain intimacy and perhaps even humour for the viewer to experience and interpret.