South likes: Brad Kahlhamer at Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm

South likes: Brad Kahlhamer at Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm
The Four Hairs
Gallery Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Stockholm, Sweden
February 20 – March 29, 2014

Born in Tucson, Arizona, Brad Kahlhamer combines a unique format of expressionist painting with the visionary tradition of Native American art. Drawing inspiration from country music and Native American rock scene, the artist’s visionary landscapes swirl with an atavistic energy; the paintings seem pervaded by a sound that accompanies their visual rhythm. Kahlhamer creates his own world in these paintings, mixing representations of the real into a visionary “third place,” as the artist describes it.
Issues of identity, politics and urban culture receive privileged attentions in the exhibition. Through paintings and water-colours, collages, vintage photos and Xeroxes, objects and sculptures, Kahlhamer’s aesthetics revolve once again around his two favourite themes, Sex and Death. Historical allusions to Native American crafts and symbols, are mixed with contemporary materials such as spray paint and ballpoint pens, intermingling with contemporary Native American culture, urban street culture, subjective experiences and mythical symbols into an intense visual result.

Jorgina Stamogianni

http://www.andrehn-schiptjenko.com/wp/brad-kahlhamer-solo-exhibition-february-20-march-2-2014/