’Lyrical Luminosci-t’
by Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, New York

As Henry Moore once observed, ’’A work can have in it a pent-up energy, an intense life of its own, independent of the subject it may represent.’’ It is quite literally this masked, hidden energy and vitality which Danish artist Henriette Sonne attempts to reveal to her audience through vibrant images of insulated electrical cords and plugs. The artist combines the visual metaphor of wiring with carefully chosen titles that betray the paintings’ true subject: the inner emotion and turmoil of the human psyche. ’’I could have chosen to just portray a man, ’’ the artist explains, ’’but by using the wires my paintings become more charged with meaning.’’

More specifically, Ms. Sonne portrays the human practice of avoiding our own essential, enigmatic inner workings – the individual’s passionate emotions which are often rejected for being too startlingly intense. Electrical wires, which are a vital and necessary part of our everyday life, are likewise thought functional and relegated to the category of ’’ the Avoided’’: objects tucked into the corner of a room, covered here by a rug, there by a sofa. These objects are abstracted from any hint of a setting, taking on the same autonomy of rogue feelings we choose to suppress. At the same time, the artist creates a truly visceral, aesthetically engaging composition by utilizing intense color contrasts; crisp, highly articulated lines; and tangled, coiled forms present the viewer with striking images that reveal the secret beauty which lies behind the enegy of the Utilitarian.

Internationally exhibiting in England, Denmark and New York, Ms. Sonne is a teacher of Art.