When

19 January – 24 February 2007


Galleri Christina Wilson hereby has the pleasure of presenting the first solo exhibition in Denmark by the Japanese artist Keisuke Maeda (b. 1972).

The exhibition consists of four small oil paintings and a number of works on paper.

Keisuke Maeda has selected a drawing of a fairy to be the exhibition's fundamental motif. In his various drawings and paintings, Maeda destroys this motif, either by allowing it to be partially or entirely consumed by flames, or by crumpling it, tearing it up or crossing it out. In some works the drawing of the fairy appears in a whole and intact form, while in others only embers and ashes remain. In this way, Maeda thematises the relationship between culture and nature. At the same time, Maeda questions the idea of the work of art as universal and unmarked by the passage of time, not just through the flame motif, but also by telling a story which develops in process from work to work.

In some works, Keisuke Maeda directly identifies himself as the creative artist by placing crayons and chalk on top of the drawing of the fairy. The works, which are both traditional and incredibly sophisticated in technical terms, thus become conceptual and point back towards the process of artistic creation.

According to the German cultural theorist Walter Benjamin, a work of art loses its status as a fetish object through mechanical reproduction and photography. The paradoxical aspect of Maeda's works is that while they are created with a great deal of precision and almost appear sharper than photographs, they very much retain their fetish character. The small formats and thick frames give the works the appearance of painted objects, which entice the observer through their fine surfaces and almost hyper-lifelike motifs, and make people want to touch the paintings.

In general, Keisuke draws upon western comics and children's books such as Winnie the Pooh, Peanuts and Sesame Street. By creating pictures of pictures with the fictional protagonists of childhood, Maeda also raises questions about the nature of narratives and stories, and their relationship to time and recollection.

For further information and press photos, please contact the gallery at
tel: +45 32545206 or mail to gcw@christinawilson.net.