Fredrik Vaerslev

L'Almanach 14 : Fredrik Vaerslev

Born in 1979 in Moss, Norway, lives and works in Norway.

Fredrik Værslev's paintings find their origin in three crucial aspects of everyday life in suburban homes: the tract house, the garden and the garage. They mimic both the appearance of the materials and the gradual wear and tear on their surface.
Time is an important concept in his work as natural deterioration is thrown in the limelight. His painting preparations include the use of industrial spray paints to which he adds various household chemicals found in his parents' garage, such as tar or paint thinner, anticorrosive or antirust products. For functional reasons his paintings are made directly on the floor or sometimes in the garden. His canvases are then rolled up and let outside to sustain the rigors of the Norwegian climate for a length of time, after which the artist unrolls them.They are damaged by the passing of time, by letting mold traces and all kinds of hazard appear, adding to the artist's hand a random ornamental component. 

His art is marked by seriality, his artworks  located in an undefined space. Fredrik Værslev speaks of  "appositions of signs from the world."