Adam Jeppesen Sōzō

Vernissage on Saturday, December 7, at 14:00-17:00

In Sōzō, Jeppesen continues his previous investigation of themes such as time and perception, which have both been shaped by scientific, philosophical and spiritual narratives. But also, the unique challenges of our time play a significant role in the new work, as Jeppesen and Dolva explore a world we can never fully comprehend. As much of our understanding of the world is a construct, designed to fit within the confines of what we can grasp, a sense of mystery is oftentimes lost.

Our minds filter and simplify the vast complexity of reality, reducing it to patterns and frameworks. In doing so, we shape the world into something familiar, something manageable – leaving much unseen and altogether unknown in the process.

A central theme in the exhibition is the contrast between the enigmatic and the worldly. The work of Dolva and Jeppesen draws inspiration from Japanese aesthetics, and the exhibition title refers to the Japanese concept of a creative process in which only part is explained. The rest must be filled in by the viewer and is shaped by their individual framework of perception. The work appears foggy, or even spectral, and not easily discernible. The abstract, both in thought and form, lies at the edges of our understanding of the world, reminding us that there is always more beyond the limits of what we perceive.

With music, it is often the silence between the notes that distinguishes a pleasing melody. Similarly, there is a need for silence in our visual landscape. The overabundance of images, sounds, and data in the modern world has breached the banks of human capacity to store and soak up information. Sōzō is not created from an intellectual or theoretical starting point. Rather, Dolva and Jeppesen’s works are meant to be felt like music. Sōzō seeks to recalibrate how we perceive the physical world. It embraces the notion that much of our existence—both internally and externally—will always remain cloaked in a mist of uncertainty. And perhaps it is this very uncertainty that makes our world so compelling.

Adam Jeppesen (b. 1978, Kalundborg). Lives and works in Uruguay. Jeppesen graduated from Fatamorgana, Copenhagen, in 2002 and received international attention with his Wake-series in 2008. In 2019, Jeppesen presented The Great Filter at Kunstmuseum Brandts, his large-scale, site-specific installation. Jeppesens work has been exhibited across the globe and is represented in collections such as Denver Art Museum (USA), The Danish Arts Foundation, The National Collection of Photography – The Black Diamond (Denmark) as well as in numerous private collections.