Troels AagaardTroels Aagaard’s work uses hard-edge geometric abstraction as a starting point, drawing on the minimalism of the shaped-canvas tradition of Frank Stella and Kenneth Noland, combined with pop art, humour and a curious play with colour.
Geometry, particularly its patterns and structures, helps Aagaard understand and interpret the world. He finds these structures in nature, the human body, music, architecture and mathematics. Exploring them offers a way to consider both our inner experiences and the world around us.
Central to his practice is a rejection of the traditional rectangular canvas. His organically rounded, cut-out and geometrically shaped canvases acquire a sculptural quality, occupying an ambiguous space between painting, relief, sculpture and object. He invites viewers to experience these forms physically, moving around the works and discovering how their relationships to surface, shape and space shift with each perspective.
Music is a constant source of inspiration. Aagaard often borrows familiar musical titles to evoke a mood or draw attention to subtle details. These titles add layers of meaning, connecting the works to music, their own origins and art-historical references, while leaving room for multiple readings.
His inspiration also comes from everyday encounters: worn billboards passed on a bicycle, supermarket signs and the colours of architect Luis Barragán. Such observations find their way into his studio decisions. An old clover-shaped soda label discovered at a flea market, for example, became the starting point for a painting whose shape followed the label’s outline.
Through these translations, Aagaard draws the ordinary into a space for reflection, allowing seemingly incidental observations to become starting points for abstraction.