Marc Jancou Contemporary is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition Night After Night. This will be Slawomir Elsner's first solo show in New York.
Night After Night includes nine new paintings that present ambiguous narratives with subtle, mysterious undertones. Idol features a lone microphone on a darkened stage, with no performer in sight. This eerie sense of absence is echoed in the series Seven Rooms from Grandfather's House, a group of paintings based on photographs taken by Elsner in 2000. The paintings depict rooms in which details are obscured by dark shadows, creating an unsettling sense of abandonment. Cien reveals brightly colored paint peeling off a gray wall, taking the shape of a human figure. This series was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's paper cutouts, which were used to illustrate stories inspired by everyday events. As in all Elsner's work, the paintings in this show reinterpret mundane scenes from daily life to create new meaning and invite multiple interpretations.
Born in 1976 in Wodzislaw, Poland, Slawomir Elsner lives and works in Berlin. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kassel. Solo exhibitions include Johnen Galerie, Berlin; Sutton Lane, Paris; Me.di.um, St. Barthelemy; Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, Munich; Johnen + Schöttle, Cologne; Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium; Galerie Gebr. Lehmann, Dresden; and Galerie Raster, Warsaw. Group exhibitions include BFAS Blondeau Fine Art Services, Geneva; Musee cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne; Made in Germany, Sprengel Museum, Kestnergesellschaft Kunstverein, Hannover; Hypo Kunsthalle, Munich; Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum for Contemporary Art, Berlin; Rubell Family Collection, Miami; Kukje Gallery, Seoul; Sammlung Olbricht, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, Germany; and Nürnberger Kunstverein, Nuremberg.
A forthcoming monograph will be published by Dumont Buchverlag and will be available at the opening reception for a book signing by Slawomir Elsner on May 29th from 6-8 pm.