Isabel Sullivan Gallery is pleased to announce its first solo exhibition with Danish artist Ole Aakjær MIRROR / RORRIM

an exhibition presentation by Isabel Sullivan Gallery

“Out on some borderline, some mark of in-between
I lay down golden in time, and woke up vanishing”
​
— Joni Mitchell

Isabel Sullivan Gallery is pleased to announce its first solo exhibition with Danish artist Ole Aakjær. MIRROR / RORRIM consists of recent watercolor paintings, created within the last year at the artist’s studio in Vejle, Denmark. The exhibition will be on view from October 10 - November 9, 2024. An opening reception with the artist will be held on October 10 from 6-8 pm at 39 Lispenard Street.
MIRROR / RORRIM explores existential themes of mortality and identity. The title refers to the symbolism of a mirror, which has long been used in poetry, literature, and visual art as a metaphor for youth, self-reflection, illusion, or truth. Aakjær engages with the timehonored subject of a woman staring into a mirror, symbolizing ideas such as femininity, beauty, vanity, and rumination, with the implication that his subjects are either looking at their reflection or are the reflection in the mirror itself.
In Staring Into A Mirror, a woman gazing out at the viewer is adorned with the branches of Japanese maple trees and the outstretched wings of ivory cranes. These symbols hold a rich history in ancient Chinese and Japanese art, representing peace, longevity, beauty and prosperity. In The Daughter Of All Good, a woman stands with her hands behind her back, a gesture of acquiescence, introspection, patience, restraint, or possibly concealment. She bears the markings of a kingfisher bird in flight — another popular symbol in Asian art — representing peace, prosperity, youth and elegance, or love. Nearby is a skull, an almost universal symbol in art for the cycle of life and human mortality. Over her face is the imprint of a ticking clock, a reminder of the passage of time.

Ole Aakjær, Staring Into A Mirror

Ole Aakjær, The Truth In A Mirror

Ole Aakjær, Neon Heart Dating Joseph

Part of Aakjær’s practice is incorporating ephemera into his compositions, such as slogans, tattoos, letters, photographs, posters, and other publicly available imagery. Decaying posters from the streets of Berlin make their way into several collages. How To Become Invisible references H.G. Wells’ 1987 science fiction novel, The Invisible Man, with the cloaked silhouette of a man tattooed on the subject's shoulder. The artist evokes 1940s and 50s film noir, such as in the sultry and evocative atmosphere of the painting Neon Heart Dating Joseph. A red communist star makes its way into several compositions, as do birds of prey in flight.
This body of work examines the nature of inner conflict; how we perceive ourselves versus how we exist in the external world, our youth versus our aging selves, what we reveal versus what we conceal. The paintings confront viewers with meditations on youthful ideals, beauty standards, and the ultimate truth of impermanence.

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This exhibition presentation of the upcoming exhibition MIRROR / RORRIM by Ole Aakjær, at Isabel Sullivan Gallery, takes part of the ARTICULATE PROMOTE Programme.

The article about Aakjær, who was the cover artist of ARTICULATE magazine | ensemble, can be read here