PAINTER. DENMARK.
My name is Morten Andersen, I’m 44 years old and I have my studio at the old loading dock at the east harbor in Aalborg city, northern part of Denmark. There’s a certain song titled “Aint no half Steppin’” that I’ve listened to for at least 25 years or more. That has some how become a motto of mine as I think about that reference often and it’s become how I do things when I work. I let my ideas really blossom, grow potential and I let new paintings rest for a long time before calling them finished. I keep coming back to them over and over to really find something new. So, I’ve learned to not half step anything during processes and that brings out the best in my paintings.
I used to paint graffiti when I was a young kid but I came to realize that it was too bound by certain rules and boundaries. I wanted to break free of that and chose to change my medium into acrylics and spray paint on canvas instead. Not having to stick to any rules of any kind is just the way I work best and I hope it shows in my work. I love and respect art history and all, but if modern abstraction shouldn’t look like what we have not seen before, there’s no meaning doing it for me. I would like to create the new, not repeat the past.
Denmark has quite a long history of great abstract artists, national ones and some big international names too (my favorites are Kirkeby, Jorn, Ib Geertsen and Kai Führer) With the new techniques and inspiration from painting graffiti I’ve challenged myself to come up with a new way to think and paint modern abstraction. Times have changed, so has media and we now have computation and everything digital, so I think painting abstract has to look different as well and reflect our current life. I am not saying I’ve done that so far but I have an idea that I’m on the way at least.
It’s an old corn silo in an area of the city that’s being developed. We get to use those incredible and raw buildings right on the river bank in the city as studioes. It’s very inspiring being surrounded by water and being constantly reminded everyday of how the city used to look. Progress and evolution. We are 6-7 people doing different type small businesses there, painting, ceramics, graphics, architecture etc. It really pushes me and keeps me on the edge being in that great environment.
Art to me is where I add things up, where I make sense of it all. Issues and problems I confront or think about in everyday life. I’ve found that I create an alternative solution to those realistic issues but in an artistic way in my painting. It’s a satisfaction because I can fx come up with a cool new concept in a painting, finish a painting or make a great start to a new painting and that gives a certain type joy that makes it up for another situation or problem in my life that I can’t fix just yet. Art relieves stress and balances it all out for me.