Page 212 - Genius

leiF nielSen

lives and works in Frederiksvaerk, Denamark

SEARCH THE ARTIST ONLINE www.artleif.dk

Artists are like racing cyclists – constantly
breaking away from the pack. And so it is
with leif Nielsen. He is a multi-artist artist
if there ever was one. He paints, works with
glass, graphics, sculpture and ceramics,
and he writes poetry. He has also been
involved in large ornamentation projects.
His energy is boundless. Since starting as
an autodidact in the mid 1980s, he has
come further than most. He has exhibited
all over the world, but he especially
holds France close to his heart. He has
participated in several censored exhibits
in Paris, at the louvre and elsewhere. He
is represented at many art museums – in
Denmark and abroad. His talent has also
earned him many prizes and awards,
and leif Nielsen has learned – as many
before him – that it is often easier to make
a name for yourself abroad first before
getting your breakthrough in your native
country. It is difficult to nail him down as
an artist, as his talent has many facets.
He paints abstractly – and figuratively:
sometimes all, at the same time. His
sculptures are rustic. His famous fantasy
birds, in particular, have made a sensation.
He refers to art as a kind of adventurous
journey – which reveals his own approach
to art. Art should be unusual, extraordinary
and fanciful. According to leif Nielsen, art
should tell a story. but it can also simply
be a mood, a suggestion, a clever detail,
an experiment in shapes or colours. Art is
not for rigid minds. Art is – by definition –
living, in motion, on a path to something
else. Therefore, the artist, too, must be in
motion, always on a road leading to new
goals. And that is exactly what leif Nielsen
is. He is always involved in something new,
always exploring new ideas. Still, there are
always basic elements that can be traced
in all his works. These involve existence,
proximity, contact and love. It would be
going a bit too far to say that leif Nielsen
is a romantic artist, but there is an element
of longing that can be detected in many of
his pieces. but also reverie.
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