Tonic is the word that comes to mind when confronted with Björn Wessman’s recent paintings. Here we encounter rivalling complementary colours and shifting structures in an optical play alternating between surface and depth. Senses awakened as when confronted with the nature’s profusion, we attempt to find our way amongst these stretches of organic abstraction.

Far from representation , Björn Wessman imitates the sensory and emotional relations he has with nature suggesting various levels of consciousness at once; immediate and past experiences bringing together “the wild and beautiful”. Thus, the artist tries to establish a form of order in the perception of a reality always too largeto apprehend. He tries to recall the moment when his - very personal - image is created. To reach this point, Björn Wessman composes a hybrid universe in the form of photo collage made with landscape fragments from diverse origins taken during rambles and other trips. Often the fragments have been subjected to chromatic modifications underlying or transforming the ambiance. These disparate ‘samplings’ of scenes are then used as a kind of sketch for his paintings.

For a long time, landscape, both panoramic and grand, has been omnipresent in Björn Wessman’s work. However, over the past few years, his attention has turned towards closer and well known environments; more specifically paths, roads and tracks regularly taken but which, despite their banal familiarity, nonetheless detain all the panoply – visual, sensorial and dramatic – of landscapes. In other words, the macrocosm is rendered within a microcosm. Chemin faisant (Whilst on the road) is the title given to this group of paintings; roads unfold revealing their immediate continuation which conveys the feeling of being in the painter’s footsteps. The eye scours and focuses on certain elements more or less recognizable, whilst also following the painterly texture where modelled strokes, incisions, lines and fields of colour contribute to tell a story. Thus, the real subject of his work is not to be found in the specific rendering of his landscapes but rather in the exploration of its structures, its sensorial qualities as well as its expressive and symbolic potential.

Chemin faisant is the fourth exhibition by Björn Wessman at the Gallery Maria Lund (2001: Parc ; 2004: peintures nouvelles ; 2006: Refuge). On this occasion we will have the pleasure of hosting a signing by the artist for his recent monography: “Mänga” (a word invented by the artist with Swedish undertones suggesting: variety, abundance, plenitude, saturation…) published by Bökforlaget Arena in 2007. Olle Granath, the eminent director of the Moderna Museet and Nationalmuseet in Stockholm, is amongst the authors.

Björn Wessman’s career is a long one (1949 - …): he has had numerous exhibitions in Scandinavia and his works are included in many public collections (Moderna Museet, Stockholm, the Art Museums in Göteborg, Norrköping, Lindköping, Malmö, Örebro, Kristianstad, The Royal Castle Collections in Stockholm and the Fredrik Roos collection, Rasjö and Bergendahl) he is also the author of a dozen public commissions.

• PUBLISHING: for the exhibition a leaflet will be published with a text by Björn Wessman.
• As of 26th April 2008 the works by Björn Wessman will be visible on the web site of the GALERIE MARIA LUND: www.marialund.com
• OPENING: Saturday 3rd May 2008 from 5pm to 8pm, the artist will be present.
• The exhibition ends on Saturday 7th June 2008.

For further information about the  availability of visuals, please contact :
GALERIE MARIA LUND     48 rue de Turenne     75003 Paris
Tuesday-Saturday 12-7 pm
ph : (33) 01 42 76 00 33    cellphone : (33) 06 61 15 99 91    fax :(33) 01 42 76 00 10
e-mail : galerie@marialund.com     www.marialund.com