Gallery Magnus Karlsson are delighted to announce Thomas Broomé’s seventh solo exhibition at the gallery. In Mirrorland, paintings, sculptures, objects and an interactive light installation are presented.

In Mirrorland, Thomas Broomé further develops his characteristic visual language where he uses letters, signs and words in repetition across the image surfaces. A personal and distinctive form of calligram that Broomé has explored for nearly twenty years. From the early black and white drawings, the works have become increasingly complex and multidimensional.

Thomas Broomé began the work with Mirrorland in the first half of 2020, at a time when much of what we took for granted and ideas we lived by were put to rest. In Mirrorland, Broomé was able to examine these new conditions through an inverted and alternative reality. It can be seen as a parallel universe where everything exists in reverse and prevailing rules and systems are set aside. By entering this mirrored world, Broomé questions the real world. It is a thought experiment where Broomé intuitively explores language, connotations, perception and how we understand and relate to one another and the contemporary world.

The core of the exhibition is a new series of paintings where Broomé has worked with a multi-layered imagery. The painting technique mimics how the human eye registers what we see. The first layer is painted softly and realistically in grey scale, as how we perceive light and dark with the help the rod cells in our eyes. The colours enters in the second layer, where Broomé starts from the red, blue and green captured by the cone cells. These two layers form what we can call the visible reality. The third and final layer of the paintings are letters, where the words are written repetitively on the objects. Here, what we know about what we observe and the meaning we attach to the object is conveyed.

As the name implies, Mirrorland is a place where I can explore a mirrored reflection of the world. I travel through concepts and ideas and make paintings that initially relate to real spaces. Then I rearrange furniture, light, colours, composition and by writing reversed text on its surface, I slowly move into Mirrorland.

– Thomas Broomé

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Thomas Broomé (b.1971) moves uninhibited between different techniques and materials in his artistry. With a curiosity and thirst for knowledge, he draws information and fuel from art history, science and philosophy. His interdisciplinary investigations turn into paintings, drawings, sculptures, video and installations that mix the logical with a touch of madness. Broomé lives and works in Stockholm. He is educated at Konstfack – University of Arts, Crafts and Design (1997–1999) and Valand Academy of Fine Arts (1993–1997). He worked for a long time as an artist together with the Interactive Institute in Stockholm. He has exhibited at galleries and museums in Sweden and internationally. He has done several public commissions, among others, for Hermès in Shanghai, China and the Drawing Hotel in Paris, France. Selected solo exhibitions: Institut Suédois, Paris, France, 2021, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm, Sweden (2019, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2008 and 2006), Bendana Pinel Art Contemporain, Paris, France (2017, 2013, 2010), Hermès Liat Towers, Singapore (2016), Galleri Rostrum, Malmö, Sweden (2013), The Armory Show, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, New York, US (2011), Gothenburg Museum of Art, Sweden (2009), Market Art Fair, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Sweden (2006), Borås Museum of Modern Art, Sweden (2006). His work is represented in the collections such as Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden, Magasin III, Stockholm, Sweden, Gothenburg Museum of Art, Sweden, Borås Museum of Modern Art, Sweden, The Public Art Agency Sweden as well as in numerous regional and county councils.

Text from Gallery Magnus Karlsson - link to website