Laust Højgaard
Original artwork
Edition 1 of 1
Paint on repurposed London bus panel
50 x 79cm
At the extremities of a distorted space we find the crammed characters of painter Laust Højgaard’s grotesque world. Yet, however misshapen his figures appear, they are perfectly mangled within the boundaries of the frame, often exchanging figurative accuracy for visual balance and movement. Højgaard’s perspective of the body reminds us that vision is simply a representation of reality; by flattening the scale of horses, bikes, and people, he shows both the horrific and poetic nature of the living. Laust Højgaard uses the sculptural qualities of the airbrush to map out his portraits, and then fills out each painting’s details with more precise tools, such as spatulas, paintbrushes, fine-liners, sponges, and wipes. On one hand, his paintings recall mythology, referencing the ancient Greek characters of the cultural subconscious. On the other, his figures mirror pop culture, adorned with heavy chains, Gore-tex, and Adidas shoes.