Thorbjørn Bechmann (1966) lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. Bechmann's primary practice is non-representational painting, which explores questions of process and language in abstract painting. Suspicious of the construction of meaning through image-based language, he strives to avoid symbols and pictorial representation and produces paintings that can be experienced bodily and sensorily. His works are process-oriented and are layered with a multitude of shades, hues, and shadows. Viewing his work is an atmospheric experience: it points towards the luminous quality of both the painting and the world.
Bechmann studied at the Royal Danish Academy of the Arts. Besides his work as an artist, he has extensive curatorial practice. He has exhibited in Denmark, Germany, Istanbul, Austria, Belgium, Greece, the USA, and Japan and is also represented in both public and private collections, including the Danish Arts Foundation. One of his most recent exhibitions, "Constant Negotiation" (2019), was awarded a prize by the Danish Arts Foundation for its radical investigation of gesture-based painting. Earlier this year, Bechmann presented his first solo show in the US, Looking Awry, with Simard Bilodeau Contemporary. Two more solo shows in both London and Denmark make 2024 an auspicious year for the artist.