The Approach is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Cris Brodahl. This will be her first solo show in the UK.

Brodahl’s monochromatic oil paintings work as rendered collages, creating configurations of fractured beauty that carry an undercurrent of violence, sexuality, the subconscious and the uncanny. Reminiscent of Surrealism, these seductive and monstrous paintings of distorted and re-represented idealized femininity are tightly controlled by Brodahl’s deft painting technique.

Disembodied parts and the displacement of recognizable figures stilt the sensuousness of the realistically painted flesh. These mainly female figures exist in a confused two and three-dimensional state. The remoteness is accentuated by Brodahl’s palette, which evokes a sense of nostalgia in its sepia and grey tones, further distancing the portraits from the viewer and instilling in them a sense of deathly timelessness.