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I spent a couple of hours in the studio with Sune Christiansen (b. 1976), in Copenhagen, where he lives and works. Sune is a self-taught artist, who’s works has been exhibited in Denmark as well as internationally. Recent exhibitions include ‘Afterparty’ at Bricks Gallery (Copenhagen DK, 2024), ‘The Leftovers’ at Alzueta Gallery (Barcelona, ES, 2023) and ‘Viewpoints’ at Pt.2 Gallery (Oakland, US, 2023).
Sune Christiansen has developed a signature approach to figurative abstraction that is as obscure as it is playful. Poised with vibrant and expressive colors, Christiansen’s work captures a distorted reality wherein the viewer can form their own opinions and interpretations of his work. While allowing the figures in his painting to speak for themselves, Christiansen subtly touches on themes, including power dynamics, religious rituals, sexuality, and intimacy. Ultimately, his paintings carry an expression that possesses an indisputable honesty.
Hi Sune! It’s a pleasure to sit down with you! First question that I always ask. How does a regular day look like for you in Copenhagen?
Sune: Thank you, and thank you for taking an interest in me and my work. Regular days are the ones I enjoy the most. I spent October at a residency in Spain to work on a show. The place was fantastic, beautiful studio, beautiful town and the accommodation was out of this world, but to be honest: the idea of traveling is not very appealing to me. Being alone and away from home is something I don’t really enjoy. “Jeg holder af hverdagen” just like Dan Turell. Even though my regular days are probably way more boring than his were. A regular day for me starts early because I have to drive my kids to school. Most days I know what to do when I hit the studio. I don’t want to think too much in the morning so I usually do sketches and plan what to do the night before. I’m at the studio till around 3 PM. Then I pick up the kids again, spend time with my family, and when the kids are asleep, I start planning the next day. Never drunk, high or up late when I work. I know it sounds super boring, but to me it’s perfect. I love what I do and luckily that’s good enough for me.
I’m curious, growing up what kind of kid were you? What did you enjoy doing, and how did you spend your time?
Sune: Yeah I was a soft kid in many ways – still am I think. In the mid 80’s I was the only boy in my hometown to have long hair. So everyone called me “pige-sune” (girlie Sune). People who didn’t even know me knew how I was. Some people would shout at me or even beat me up. I was shit scared of being beaten, but at the same time I kind a liked the attention. I liked drawing as a kid. Actually drawing was the only thing I was any good at. My mother, who is a very clever woman, saw this and she was always supportive and made sure that there was always art supplies available at home.
Alright, so when did you start to paint, and when did you start taking being an artist seriously?
Sune: I guess I started painting at a very early age and then I had some really long periods of not painting. I’ve tried taking up painting a few times as an adult, but had to give it up because it was too hard. Then in 2019 I had, for various reasons, come to a point in my life where I apparently was ready to face the misery without losing faith.
Alright Sune, with these next series of questions, I will try to delve into your work as best as possible… So, Your work blends figurative abstraction with vibrant, expressive colors. How did you develop this unique style, and what is it about figurative abstraction that appeals to you?
Sune: I think it’s something that evolved gradually. I used to think: if I’m gonna paint, I’m gonna paint abstract, because that’s what real artists do. I’m not sure where this weird idea came from, and also I quickly realized that I couldn’t do that. I think I’ve developed a kind alphabet consisting of shapes, forms and figures. With this tool I’m able to write the paintings, so to speak. Maybe it originates from my fascination by all kinds of ancient art: cave paintings, rock carvings, hieroglyphs and so on, maybe it also has to do with my background as a graphic designer. I often think you can even sense grid in my paintings. In my experience it’s an effective trick to imply something or give a little hint to the viewer. Something they can identify and relate to right away. I think it will often trick them into spending a little more time with my work. Maybe figurative abstraction is a good strategy?!
You describe your paintings as both obscure and playful. How do you balance these elements to evoke different interpretations from viewers?
Sune: I don’t know if my paintings are obscure, but I certainly find them playful. Sometimes even humorous. If you spend a little time with my paintings a bit of darkness or unease will appear as well.
Can you tell me about how you implement “distorted reality” in your work? Are there specific aspects of reality that you aim to distort or amplify?
Sune: I don’t know if I implement distorted reality in my work. I think my work is an attempt to understand the world around me and the reality we find ourselves in. Maybe my work can offer a different view on reality or a new viewpoint, like a poem or a pop song can.
Themes like power dynamics, religious rituals, sexuality, and intimacy appear in your work. What is it about these topics that resonates with you? And why are they important for you to document?
Sune: Well, the themes you mention are essential to all humans, I think, and since I’m a human that’s probably why they appear in my work sometimes. To be honest it’s not always intentional and I’m often surprised about what people see in my paintings. On the other hand it doesn’t surprise me, that people sometimes think they see a fallos here and there. Even though it wasn’t my intention to paint one. I think that’s wonderful. Most people have a dirty, little mind and if they see dirt in my paintings. I say: good for them! The themes you mention, plus many other’s connected to the human life is likely to appear in my paintings, but I’m also interested in things like movement, balance, contrast, texture and what happens when different kinds of materials meet. The tension that arises when something really dry meets something real fat and oily.
Do you hope to communicate a particular message about these themes, or are you more interested in sparking diverse interpretations?
Sune: I don’t think it’s important that people understand a certain message, but if I can lure people into spending a brief moment with a painting of mine and if it opens something up for them. That means a lot to me and hopefully also to them. I often meet people who, when they hear I’m an artist, immediately start excusing themselves for not being experts on art and that they don’t understand art. It’s a feeling I’m quite familiar with myself. You know, how you can be afraid of miss interpreting an art piece and saying something wrong about it, how you can be almost afraid of walking in to certain kinds of galleries. I hope my work doesn’t evoke these feelings. I would rather like for people to feel invited when they look at my work. I think that’s a better strategy if you want to reach people. As soon as they are lured in I think it’s up to them selves to do the interpretation. Hopefully my invitation makes them comfortable with that.
How does honesty manifest in your work, and why is it important for your pieces to have this quality?
Sune: In all of the work I do it’s quite easy to see how I’ve used my hands and my body in the process of generating the work. I think there is some honesty in that.
Starting with iPad sketches is an interesting approach. Can you walk me through your creative process from beginning to end result?
Sune: Sure thing. I’m often sketching on my tablet simply because it’s practical. I can bring it anywhere: The sofa at night, the train, when on holiday etc. I use my tablet as any other sketch pad, but with my tablet I can bring thousands of sketches with me and make a thousand more. To answer your question: First I do sketches. As long as I work on the tablet I’m in full control. When I feel ready I start working on the canvas. In this process all the unexpected, uncontrollable things start to happen. That’s basically it.
How do your practices in ceramics and graphics inform or complement your painting style? Do you see them as distinct, or are they interconnected?
Sune: I think there is a strong cohesion in my work across media. People often say to me that my sculptures seem to have just popped out of my paintings and I think they are right. My paintings are quite flat and so are my ceramics.
How do you approach color?
Sune: My approach to color is very infantile. When you’re a child you get a box of colors and there’s only so many – that’s what you have to work with. I often wish I was a nerd about things like color, but unfortunately I’m not. This is why it works so well for me to work with oil sticks and crayons. I mix colors, but when I do it, I almost always do it directly on the canvas.
Your girlfriend Lærke Bagger, is a succesful artist/creative as well. How how did you two meet? And what’s it like being two artists under the same roof?
Sune: I met Lærke because she had rented a room in my friend’s apartment. From the first time I met her it was clear to me that she was something special. Now, 10 years later we live in a small house in Brønshøj, we have two kids, and her studio is right next door to mine. In other words: Meeting her has been absolutely defining for me. I have learned so much from her. Watching her building her career has been so inspiring. In many ways I think she’s the reason I managed to build up the courage to start painting. I’m very lucky to have a partner who understands my work, for whom I have that much respect and who I can turn to for advice if I’m struggling both personally and creatively.
How would you describe a perfect day?
Sune: There’s so many things I like to do, but good day is one where I get to spend some time with my family, work a little, eat some smørrebrød and then go see a good game of football on tingbjergground.
Alright Sune, I always ask these two questions at the end of an interview. The first is. What’s your favorite movie(s) and why?
Sune: Tuff question. Almost impossible to answer. The funny thing is that the two movies that just popped into mind are “The life of Brian” and “The name of the rose”. Both movies revolve around religion and fanaticism. If I have to choose one I think I would have to go with The life of Brian. The movie makes fun of religion, fundamentalists and fanatics. The right to make fun of the ones in power is something we should cherish. The life of Brian is so cleverly done that I’m sure it must have even made the gods laugh.
The second is. What song(s) are you currently listening to the most right now?
Sune: These days I mostly listen to the music my daughter listens to. At the moment it’s Taylor freakin’ Swift. I love a good pop song, but TS is just like supermarket music. My vinyl collection used to be my most important treasure, but since we moved it’s been stored under the bed. Sad, but true.