“In the beginning I was actually very afraid of the watercolors. I guess I was afraid of losing control. But now I love when something happens, something I didn’t expect.”
— Ole Aakjær
Ole Aakjær is best known for his large-format, highly symbolic works that celebrate the power of women. The distinctive, figurative paintings rely on bold colors and iconography to convey sentiments of empathy, while simultaneously exploring the complexity and strength of their subjects. Ornate ink work comes into play as tattoos are often sprawled across bodies of the figures and various texts inspired by music, literature, film, and religion are meticulously applied with ink.
Influenced by comic book writers and artists such as Milo Manara, Enki Bilal, and Jean Giraud, in the mid-1980's, Aakjær fulfilled a childhood dream by publishing an album at Carlsen, Denmark's premier comic book publisher at the time, and went on to operate an illustration studio in 1992. After decades working in advertising and design, Aakjær pivoted to the production of fine art and turned to watercolor painting in 2014. With a nod to his previous career in advertising, his use of oversized keywords, and large scale watercolors are distinctive and unique to the artist. The delicate nature of combining watercolor and ink leaves a tiny margin for error, and the artist's desired result must be achieved upon the first application. In many respects, the instantaneous nature of the mixed mediums is where the poetry in Ole Aakjær’s work lies.
Ole Aakjær was born in Denmark. He has had solo exhibitions at Vejle Kunstmuseum, Denmark, Diocesan Museum, Italy, Galerie LeRoyer, Canada, Chinese Contemporary Art Museum, Chongqing, and Chase Contemporary, New York. Aakjær lives and works in Copenhagen.
