In erudite, questioning canvases John Kørner tackles topical content with various degrees of abstraction and metaphor. The artist has often used the accelerated pace of contemporary life as a conceptual touchstone. In these new paintings, he brings together different perspectives and levels of impression in the same two-dimensional plane, giving a sense of upwards movement with dreamlike distortions that alludes to the flux of contemporary experience while offering a connection to ancient landscape and moments of escape.

Often in Kørner’s work we come across figures moving physically from one place to another, undertaking a journey of some sort, on foot or conveyed by mechanical means, and encountering obstacles along the way. While corridors, staircases and, in this instance, escalators, signal the advances (or perhaps constrictions) of sophisticated urban life, in the distance the awe-inspiring vastness of nature is conjured by an epic mountainscape. In this way, Kørner seizes upon the enduring idea of the picturesque and sublime, the spiritual aspect of ascension and how we are capable of being transported metaphorically by an image.

About the artist

Born in Århus, Denmark in 1967, John Kørner lives and works in Copenhagen. John Kørner: Intercontinental Super Fruits, the first solo museum exhibition of Kørner’s work in the United States, is on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, USA, from 18 November 2021 until 9 January 2022. His work is also currently on view at Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Denmark, in Work it Out, a group exhibition addressing the working life of the future (24 September 2021–16 January 2022).

Kørner has had solo exhibitions at institutional venues including Konsthall 16/Riksidrottsmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden (2019); Helsinki Contemporary, Helsinki, Finland (2018); Museum Emma, Espoo, Finland (2018); Brandts, Odense, Denmark (2016); Museum Belvedere, Oranjewoud, Netherlands (2016); Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark (2003, 2013); The Workers’ Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark (2011); ARoS Århus Kunstmuseum, Denmark (2006) and Moderna Museet, Sweden (2005).