Anders Knutsson

Anders Knutsson is among the most significant and recognisable monochrome painters of his generation. His paintings contain depth, illusion and transparency, which are the visual components which separate him from his contemporary process painters. Knutsson is an institution in Sweden, and one of the last late modern era painters working in New York. His concepts and processes bridge Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and Conceptual Art.

Knutsson's skill and ingenuity hinge upon an enthusiastic curiosity for every material element of his work and a profound knowledge of how these materials can be formed into an intriguing and beguiling surface. He is involved at every step of his painting process, from making the beeswax oil paint to commissioning hand woven linens from a weaver in the far north of Sweden.

By reducing his paintings to pure colour, Knutsson is inviting the viewer to explore the medium of paint away from any social or historical context.

Knutsson was born in Malmo?, Sweden where he studied art and engineering. In 1967 he moved to the United States, becoming a naturalised American citizen in 1969. Knutsson began experimenting with waxes, varnishes and oils in various combinations in the late 1960s, creating a beeswax based paint by grinding dry pigments into wax and linseed oil.This gave him complete control of the materials including the viscosity and transparency of the paint, allowing him to manipulate these variables independently of each other.

He has been associated with Brice Marden, with whom he shared a studio in the 1970s, and has been exhibited with many monochrome, materialist and minimalist artist collectives.

Knutsson experienced critical success in his retrospective show at Bukowski's Auction House in Stockholm in 2015. His work hangs in many museums and collections in North America and Europe, including the Moderna Museet and the Ystad Museums in Sweden.

Knutsson's monochrome journey from 1967 to the present is unparalleled, and may be compared with the lifelong career of artists such as John Holland or Katzuo Shiraga, who have both experienced great revivals late in their careers. His paintings are confident expressions of his lifelong journey, both as engineer and artist.The paintings have maintained their original direction and purpose, and to that extent are among the last authentic vestiges of Modernism still in practice.