Artists

Mathias Malling Mortensen

Press release

Bricks Gallery is pleased to present Space Is Only Noise If You Can’t See, a solo exhibition by Mathias Malling Mortensen, with an opening reception on Friday, November 20, from 5–8 PM. This exhibition marks Malling Mortensen’s fourth solo show with us and features a new series of paper cut-outs, all framed in white-painted oak. The exhibition strictly consists of monochromatic works in a dark matte blue – set in white frames and exhibited in an all-white space. In these works, space is explored in many ways: the blue can appear so saturated and deep that it creates the illusion of a room within the colour itself. Additionally, the negative space in the works creates ever-changing rooms and shadows depending on the beholder’s point of view and movement: when one shadow emerges, another disappears. Paper in Malling Mortensen’s practice is never completely flat. Borrowing its title from electronic composer Nicolas Jaar’s track and album, Space Is Only Noise If You Can’t See, the exhibition draws a parallel between the interplay of sound and silence in music and the relationship between visual elements and emptiness. Just as pauses and silences shape the experience of music, the absence of colour and unnecessary visual elements shifts our way of seeing. While Malling Mortensen has historically been known for utilising broad colour palettes in his works, this exhibition asks what happens when visual noise is removed and just one singular colour dominates? With colour reduced to a minimum, attention shifts towards the many forms within the works. Most pieces consist of organic shapes that almost seem to float in and out of one another, set against tight grids, balancing moving, fluid forms with controlled, delicate lines. Although these arrangements are visibly still, they suggest rhythms and motions that are both loud and soft. Rather than reducing their complexity, the limited colour palette brings out the subtle interplay between the different forms, lines and spaces. Here, emptiness and silence become active elements in the works, opening up new ways of experiencing what might otherwise appear as absence. Text by Amanda Dam Mathias Malling Mortensen (b. 1980) is an artist living and working in Copenhagen, Denmark. His work is grounded in a long-term project of spatial research, which has influenced his approach to artmaking. Malling Mortensen’s works has been exhibited both in Denmark and internationally. Recent exhibitions include ‘I Sing the Body Electric’ at Bricks Gallery (2025, DK), ’Alt det som ikke er’ at Esbjerg Kunstsmuseum (2024, DK), and 'Inner Sound' at SARP (2021, IT). In the summer of 2027, Malling Mortensen will present a duo exhibition with Amalie Jakobsen at Viborg Kunsthal (Viborg, DK). The opening reception is sponsored by Vinhanen and Nørrebrew, offering organic wine, beers and non-alcoholic drinks.