A K Dolven

tall political paintings

2019-2021
oil on aluminium
500 x 125 cm

This project started with this is a tall political painting.

Oil painting. 500 cm meter tall and 125cm wide. The image is from my new Oslo studio. I
have red oil paint on my middle finger and press the colour out of the fingertip, on top of thin
layers of oil. I do it from the top and down, until no colour is left in the pores of the
fingertip. I recall Helene Schjerfbeck’s Self-portrait with Red Spot (1944).

To get out every grain of the colour on my skin, I used the power of my left hand
pressing the right finger - pressing again and again until nothing was left. Then I again dip my finger in the strong cadmium red oil colour. The finger is of course after a while sore, so it takes months to finish the work, as the fingertip has to heal before I continue. Five meter height is as well part of finding the balance when doing this work. This is a tall political painting – every time I pressed the finger and made a mark in the painting, I thought of Helene Schjerfbeck – and many, many others.

this is a tall black political painting was next.