Perrotin New York presents 'Antechamber,' an exhibition of over twenty new paintings by Swedish artist Jens Fänge. The works feature distorted, labyrinthine interiors populated by people, animals, and mannequins, using layered materials like oil, vinyl, linen, and burlap to create compositions that blur the line between figuration and abstraction. Recurring motifs such as doors, windows, halos, and locusts shift meaning across the show, which draws inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's fairytales and Nathanael West's surrealist novels.
The exhibition matters because it showcases Fänge's unique approach to painting as a visual experiment that generates paradoxes rather than answers, reflecting contemporary anxieties about information overload and the human desire to find meaning in chaos. By grounding viewers in familiar interiors that dissolve into fragmented memories, Fänge engages with broader themes of psychology, spirituality, and the instability of perception, positioning his work within ongoing conversations about the role of narrative and abstraction in contemporary art.