Market Art Fair | Andreas Glad | Diamonds Are Forever: MARKET ART FAIR, LILJEVACHS, STOCKHOLM

Andreas Glad's works are constantly approaching the impending and inevitable downfall. Man has vanished to leave room for empty streets, shadows and trees. Glad’s artistic expression is realistic and depicts places left to fate, places that once were thoroughly planned, well attended and taken care of. But besides the greenery, you see nothing left alive. Buildings appear as memorials in the deserted landscapes, where time has just stopped. Was this caused by war, disasters, climate change or pollution; are we watching the downfall of humanity?

Glad’s work is ambiguous, he both embraces and violates realistic painting. He gives the viewer true-to-life images of everyday life and the world around us. But something is chafing in his paintings, creating both a sense of belonging and a sense of alienation. His work process – to build models, illuminate and paint – reinforces the surfaces of the buildings, the emptiness of the streets and the mercilessness of the sun and highlights the move from a horizon- to a futuristic drone-perspective on the landscape.

Andreas Glad started this project with building three-dimensional models, which he then used in his studio and outdoors to create motifs for his paintings. At Market Art Fair 2021, the model has the character of an abandoned oasis in a desert-like landscape with only a few houses, swimming pools and palm trees. The model is based on an actual place and building (the Elrod House in Palm Springs, known from the 1971 film classic Diamonds Are Forever) but made as Glad’s own futuristic interpretation.

The model and paintings with the Elrod House as reference is displayed along with a series of paintings depicting simple wooden structures standing on poles in the sea. They look like they have been made to cater for a sudden need for shelter. The DIY-like execution amplifies the feeling of uneasiness and creates a contrast to the carefully executed paintings. The climate change will affect the Californian desert and the weather will inevitably be both hotter and drier in a near future. "Diamonds Are Forever" depicts two of the climate crisis extremes, drought and flood, and the vulnerability of the human civilization.

Glad creates a feeling of emptiness in his works, both alluring and frightening. He deliberately increases the contrast between light and shadow in his motifs to get an almost relentless feeling of light. Glad’s accuracy, attention to details and way of working are crucial elements in his paintings. They reveal that what he builds, and paints are essential to him and for his message to the viewers.

Andreas Glad was born in 1976 in Linköping, Sweden. In 2007 he graduated with a Master’s degree at the University of Art & Design in Bergen, Norway. He now lives and works in Malmö. He has previously exhibited at Galleri Ping–Pong, Malmö, Galleri LNM, Oslo, Myymälä2, Helsinki and Galleri Thomas Wallner, Simris. He will present his first solo exhibition at Berg Gallery in Stockholm in 2022.