Bo Larsen, Abstracted Chemistry – Paintings

Bo Larsen      ABSTRACTED CHEMISTRY – Paintings

In the exhibition ABSTRACTED CHEMISTRY, we present the current series of works by German-Danish artist Bo Larsen (born 1986), in which he invites the viewer to turn their gaze inward and rediscover the invisible biochemical processes of the brain that control the psyche, perception and emotion through the artist’s abstract visual language.

Following the successful series NEON and TWENTIES – GOLDEN?, Bo Larsen’s new works are not only a next step, but also mark an artistic consolidation: they combine the visual directness of expressive colour with multi-layered formal structures and a new depth in the exploration of the psyche, perception and emotion.

NEON (2021/22) was a visually striking, impulsive series in which neon colours – initially in the background, then deliberately brought to the fore – functioned as an expression of inner energetic states. Action painting, street art and pop art flowed together here in dynamic compositions.

TWENTIES – GOLDEN? (2023) was a reversal in both form and content. Instead of bright fluorescent colours, this series of works is dominated by metallic pigments, oxidation processes and muted, earthy colour worlds. Inspired by the 1920s and their parallels to the present, Bo Larsen addressed glamour and decay, hope and crisis, surface and depth.

The new series ABSTRACTED CHEMISTRY builds on both directions, but consistently shifts the focus inward: it is dedicated to the invisible in the visible – the molecular mechanisms of human emotions.

Bo Larsen transfers this complex subject matter to the canvas. His multi-layered painting process, which combines acrylic and oil with technical precision, creates surfaces of immense density and emotional resonance. A central element that runs through his entire oeuvre, shaping his style, is the squeegee technique. He established this method in his earlier works and continues to refine it. Its targeted use creates random, fascinating colour gradients that reveal deeper layers and thus tell the visual story of the painting. In his current works, the squeegee technique serves as a subtle metaphor for the complexity of human emotions – always superimposed, yet visible in their depth.

The exhibition presents a deliberate dramaturgy composed of different types of works. Works with clear, energetic contrasts build a visual bridge to the NEON series. Emotionally dense works such as ‘The Blue Hour’ captivate with their complex structure and visual depth. They tie in with the artistic qualities of the series Danish South Sea (2018) and ‘third part: berlin’ (2019). Finally, calmer, contemplative images with an almost melancholic stillness reflect the introspective quality of his latest exhibition, Twenties-Golden? (2023).

The new works address what moves us most deeply: neural processes, chemical messengers, synaptic dynamics – those unconscious chemical mechanisms that shape and control our emotions. Joy, fear, love, anger – in Bo Larsen’s visual worlds, they appear as abstract landscapes of colour and form, as visual mirrors of mental states. However, what appears abstract is not arbitrary, but a concrete investigation of inner life. The compositions are a visual cartography of the human mind, moving between the poles of control and chaos, light and depth, pure sensation and formal manifestation. Instead of explaining these processes, Larsen transforms them into sensual paintings. His works are images of the unrepresentable: highly complex, ambiguous, emotionally charged.

With ABSTRACTED CHEMISTRY, Bo Larsen presents a series of works that do not focus on the surface, but delve deeper – both in terms of content and form. He shows that abstract painting can be not only an expression, but also an exploration of inner reality: a reality that affects us all – but is rarely visible.

We invite the audience to allow themselves to be emotionally moved – and at the same time to reflect on the invisible in the visible. It marks the culmination of an artistic development that paints not only with colour, but with substance.

More information about the artist you find here.