Collection: Casper Schjødt Nielsen

Casper is a self-taught artist, born in 1976 on the Danish island of Funen. As the eye falls upon Casper’s works, it is difficult to ascertain exactly what you’re looking at, and herein lies the interesting aspect of his work: as your eyes wander across the amorphous, fragile and meticulous works, so does your mind. This is no coincidence. Casper’s wish is to divert people from his associations with the work and let them shape their own experience of the image. His desire, as an artist, is to distance himself from the audience and work and thereby let it exist without referencing back to its creator. His creation is thus not only the work itself, but also a space around it, open for the onlooker’s interpretation and association, a style and form which is not often seen in other artists. 

As mentioned before, Casper avoids any kind of guidance in experiencing his works, and adds only non-descript titles to his works. On the back of every work is simply signature, year of creation and an arrow indicating the way to exhibit it. He has worked with the same materials all his life. Graphic work, pencil drawing, ink and airbrush. Despite the lack of permanent structure, Casper has stayed loyal to his expression. He constantly moves, in the same universe, working with the same monochrome, or at least, limited amount of colours. Lately, airbrush has opened his use of colours. Throughout the production of a piece, Casper works subconsciously on the surface as a whole. He allows himself to attain a flow – if figures appear, he can choose to strengthen these, but as a whole, he prefers to let go of a controlled method. This meditative state continues for many hours until the paper is fully covered. As a viewer, we attempt to follow these lines, searching the surface for motifs, and unconsciously, we become part of Casper’s flow. And so, even though the works often initially seem abstract, most people will identify part of reality in them. 

Casper finds inspiration from natural sciences, literature, visual medias and videogames, which he also works artistically with. "Total journals 1996 - 2009" from the publisher Rapunsel Press is also part of Casper's work. In collaboration with his good friend Søren Dixen, Casper has published a Coffee Table Book with his entire psychiatric records from the years 1996 to 2009. This book reproduces the outsider artist's medical history in psychiatry without any editing, in the form of journal notes. A strong testimony to this part of Casper's life and a bold statement about these years, particularly when considering Casper’s wish for privacy in his daily life and desire to live secluded and create his highly original art.

Exhibitions

Outsider Art Museum Amsterdam 2020

Outsider Art Fair 2019
Copenhagen Outsider Art Gallery 2019
Outsider Art Fair Paris 2018
Pop Up Gallery Copenhagen 2017
Art Nordic Copenhagen 2017
Copenhagen Outsider Art Gallery 2016
Book release 'Samlede Journaler 1996-2009'