Todd Norsten

begins with texts and images he finds during his travels: fragments of everyday life function as a visual diary and a subtle reflection, humorous and bitter at the same time, which explore the commercial culture and the daily reality of the Western society. For the artist, a “painter’s painter” who is known for his technical mastery and deep understanding of the medium and its history, the value he places on high culture and vernacular art and architecture is equally high.

Words, signs and discrete images, whether they are handmade or mechanically produced, aim for a direct and simplified deposit of information with the singular purpose of re-contextualizing the texts in a completely different system of communication. According to Norsten, “The way it is made says more about the maker than the words that they are trying to communicate.”

By employing a variety of painting techniques from the tribute to Minimal Art to trompe l’oeil, Todd Norsten makes clear his faith in the act of painting and chooses to depict signs and objects which belong to popular culture, transforming them into minimal, earnest and humorous works that give character to things that are transitory or ephemeral.

Selected solo and group exhibitions: Federica Schiavo Gallery, Milan, Italy; Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Minneapolis, USA (2017); Editions/Artists’ Book Fair 2017, New York, USA (2017); Adams and Ollman, Portland, USA (2017); Federica Schiavo Gallery, Rome, Italy (2016); Porch Gallery, California, USA (2016); Fondazione Giuliani, Rome, Italy (2015); Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, USA (2013); Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, East Hampton, USA (2013); Diane Kruse Galerie, Hamburg, Germany (2013); Fitzroy Gallery, New York, USA (2011); Leo Koenig, Inc., New York, USA (2010); Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, USA (2011); Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, USA (2011); Josée Bienvenu Gallery, New York, USA (2011); Sue Scott Gallery, New York, USA (2011); Tinderbox Gallery, Hamburg, Germany (2009); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA (2009); Midway Contemporary Art, Minneapolis, USA (2009); Blondeau Fine Art, Geneva, Switzerland (2009); Larissa Goldston Gallery, New York, USA (2009); Cohan and Leslie, New York, USA (2008); Arario Gallery, Seoul, Korea (2007).