GSA Gallery

Elfhag’s unique visual vocabulary opens a surreal world, filled with landscapes of overlapping storylines that pull the viewer into various directions at once. In fairytale-like constructions, aspects from the artist’s personal life are weaved with mundane elements, creating a world inhabited by vaguely recognizable figures of people and animals. These are depicted on the same level, establishing new relationships and ways of communicating, while existing in a haphazardous space that defies traditional logics of perspective. Inspiration is drawn from collected images – sourced from her surroundings, memories of dreams, snaps from social media – that she selects intuitively and keeps a vague recollection of. As such, the conscious and the subconscious are active participants, in what becomes a personal type of symbolism. Siri Elfhag, born 1988, lives and works in Stockholm.

Elfhag is primarily a painter, but her works also contain drawing, music, performance, text. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Umeå in 2019 and received the Umeå Municipality Art Grant the same year. In 2020, Siri Elfhag was the recipient of the prestigious Fredrik Roos Grant, the subsequent ceremony and exhibition being held at Artipelag Museum the same year.

Kjell Erik Killi–Olsen is a painter and sculptor mostly known for his characteristic and dynamic paintings. However, in the 1980s the figures started to climb out of the canvas, first hanging in or on the canvas eventually to completely leave the painting. In our presentation at Market, we will be showing sculptures. Killi-Olsens sculptures are distorted figures, with a mix between human and animalistic expression. In the most extraordinary way, he combines the grotesque and uncomfortable with beauty, vulnerability, and humor. His sculptures transcend the borders between sexuality and gender.

Kjell Erik Killi-Olsen was born 1952 in Trondheim, Norway. After years of living in France he now lives and works in Trondheim, Norway. He is a Norwegian artist who received his education both in Norway and Poland. He attended The National Art Academy in Oslo 1979–83, Akademia Sztuk Pieknych, Krakow, Poland 1978–79, Statens Lærerhøgskole, Oslo, Norway 1975-78 and The Art School in Trondheim, Norway 1973-75. In 1986 he was exhibited at La Biennale di Venezia.