Per Kirkeby at the Phillips

Per Kirkeby: Paintings and Sculpture, is on view at The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C. through January 6, 2013.

Kirkeby spoke to exhibition co-curator Dorothy Kosinski about the necessity of time in the development of a painting. "To achieve the structure it takes a damn long time," remarked the artist, "so my paintings are always in work for a very long time—sometimes a year. Not that I work on them every day. I will have them, and then come back to them after a year, and also return intermittently. It’s not easily done. I am not able to do “one, two, a painting.” I try to do it very quickly, but it doesn’t work with me. I simply can’t do it. Very often people look and say, 'Ah, fantastic! That’s a beautiful painting.' But the moment they are out the door I start working on it. I rework it."

In the video below, co-curator Klaus Ottmann provides background on Kirkeby's career, and walks through the show with with the artist.

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