Rolf Hanson – Retroactive
Past exhibition December 22, 2024
In the summer and autumn of 2021, it was the Swedish painter Rolf Hanson (born 1953) and his paintings that were the artistic focal point at Artipelag. The exhibition Rolf Hanson – Retroactive was the most comprehensive exhibition ever made with Rolf Hanson’s art including works from four decades. The exhibition has been called a retroactive, which gives a hint on how Rolf Hanson often revisits his own art in new constellations.
Rolf Hanson is one of the most significant artists in Swedish art scene of his generation. He is associated with a Nordic romantic tradition of painting with a starting point in a relationship to the landscape. However, over the years, Hanson’s painting has turned to more and more abstract expressions.
The exhibition Rolf Hanson – Retroactive at Artipelag, was the largest exhibition ever with works by Rolf Hanson. It comprised his entire career, ongoing for 40 years. Often exhibitions like these are called retrospective exhibitions and are usually dedicated to artists with a long and important career, which undoubtedly is the case with Hanson. However, we avoided the description retrospective and instead opted to call the exhibition a retroactive, and this to give a hint that Hanson most definitely is not at the endpoint – au contraire his artistry is still in a development phase that constantly result in new constellations and reinterpretations of earlier works.
Above: Rolf Hanson, Eadem Sed Aliter, 2006. Detail. © Rolf Hanson.
Music
The music to the exhibition was composed by the violinist and musician Jonas Lindgren, a former member of Fläskkvartetten. Lindgren has been inspired by Hanson’s paintings and created the soundtrack Music for a Painter I Know.
Rolf Hanson, Descendent Remontant IX, 2009
Rolf Hanson, Hic et Nunc, 2013
Rolf Hanson, Runt om hus II, 1994
© Rolf Hanson