Meta Isæus-Berlin, “Undervegetationen gör sig påmind / The Reminder of the Underwood”

Stockholm, 23.4–30.5  2015

Galleri Andersson/Sandström is delighted to present The Reminder of the Underwood, an exhibition with seven new large-scale paintings by Meta Isæus-Berlin. In her unmistakable expressionistic style, this new series investigates recognisable questions that are a part of our collective consciousness.

When walking into the gallery, you will face the painting The Return of the Primal Scream – a revolt against conformity and the pressure to fit in, be perfect and behave accordingly. Displayed in dynamic relation to it, The Anxiety Hole That Drains You of Energy Every Morning, is a polar opposite – a black hole suffocating optimism and self-esteem. Together they create a suggestive force, alluding to the complexity of life.

The title, The Reminder of the Underwood, points to the importance of escapism and emotional leakage in these extreme times of social pressure and a constant demand of simultaneous capacity. Between the scream and the anxiety hole, there is also cryptic interiors with titles as High Expectations, Radar, The Alvar Aalto Sanatorium Furniture, What Happens Next and Moisture.

“All of this furniture, as so many crystals of time, may be connected to the repetitive rhythm that always force us back to everyday, but also to desire, to the future as promise and threat alike.”
– Sven-Olov Wallenstein

Isæus-Berlin’s earlier work often take the form of three-dimensional installations, where matter is charged with an emotional and poetic energy located between wakefulness and dreaming. In The Reminder of the Underwood, Isæus-Berlin is exploring how this emotional tonality can be transposed into a two-dimensional medium like painting.

META ISÆUS-BERLIN (b. 1963) lives and works in Stockholm. She had her break-through as one of Sweden’s most prominent installation artists in the mid-nineties, representing Sweden in several international biennials. Since, she has had over 25 solo exhibitions in Sweden, Europe and USA. Isæus-Berlin most recently participated in the group show I <3 it! What is it? (2014) with her highly acclaimed installation Awakening/Bedtime, 2014 at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm.

Isæus-Berlin is represented in leading private and public collections, including Moderna Museet, Magasin III, Statens Konstråd, School of Economics, Stockholm and Kiasma in Helsinki.