Puuc-Pang

In his depictions of nature, Per Kirkeby engages with the Romantic idea of seeing pro-cesses of nature as metaphors that reflect human states of mind. One example is his fascination with Mayan ruins and their indeterminate en-counter between nature and culture: overgrown and de-caying, they lose their original significance and open them-selves up to new ideas and interpretations. As a trained geologist, Kirkeby has keen insight into the processes of nature: growth, decomposition, sedimentation, layering. In his paintings, those insights are translated into motifs that are overlaid by the tactile qualities of the material, by abstract figurations and ornaments. The history of nature and art coalesce into a grand narrative that cannot be conveyed through language, but which prompts insight and contemplation through sensory perception.