Kenneth Blom

Original canvas. There is no retouching visible under ultraviolet light. Apart from a few very minor handling marks notably to the upper left edge and one near the centre of the lower edge, this work is in very good original condition and ready to hang.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Blom's landscapes such as the present work reveal the influence of the emotive, lachrymose and heavily atmospheric qualities in the paintings of fellow Norwegian Edvard Munch. Both Blom's figurative works and landscapes explore the expression of melancholy, a preoccupation of Norwegian artists through the ages.

Blom was born in 1967 in Roskilde, Denmark, but moved to Norway as a child and attended the Statens Kunstakademi in Oslo, studying afterwards at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts. The conflict between figurative and conceptual art remains an idée fixe in the career of the artist, and he has oscillated between a stripped-down, industrial minimalism inspired by Joseph Beuys and Dan Flavin, the stark, representational moodiness of Munch and the photographic exactitude of Gerhard Richter, imbued with a trenchant social conscience.