When the Roots Let Go
– new exhibition by Kristian Vodder Svensson at Galleri NB, 21 March – 25 April
On 21 March, Galleri NB opens the exhibition When the Roots Let Go by visual artist Kristian Vodder Svensson (b. 1976). The exhibition marks a new step in the artist’s development, where hybrids of people and nature appear within the same motif, creating a more complex and challenging painterly expression. The result is a dense, narrative-driven painting style in which relationships, identity, and transformation unfold across multiple layers.
An artistic practice with strong roots
Kristian Vodder Svensson graduated from the Funen Art Academy (2001–2006) and has, over the past two decades, distinguished himself through solo exhibitions, international projects, and extensive public art commissions. His work is characterised by intense colours, expressive figuration, and a narrative depth that weaves together the personal, the mythical, and the urban.
He has created significant public artworks, including large-scale murals in Horsens and Aabenraa (2019), the decoration of “The Spanish Steps” in Sønderborg, and a major artwork on a historic railway bridge in Langaa (2023). In 2025, he completed the decoration of the east-facing gable of the Peak 12 hotel in Viborg — a 12‑storey project that received considerable attention and became a turning point in his artistic career.
Peak 12 as a springboard for new paintings
The work on the monumental gable at Peak 12 has left a clear imprint on the artist’s new pieces. The compositional strategies, the vertical energy, and the open image structure from the mural now reappear in smaller formats, where figures move in and out of the picture frame.
“The Peak 12 project gave me certain fixed boundaries — both physically and artistically — which I realised I could use as a starting point for something new. In the new paintings, I explore what happens when the figures break free from the given framework and begin to interact in new ways,” says Kristian Vodder Svensson.
The gallery’s perspective
Link to: Kristian Vodder Svensson, Untitled, 100 x 10 cm, 2026
Galleri NB has followed the artist’s development for several years and views the exhibition as a significant new step in his practice.
“Kristian Vodder Svensson succeeds in uniting the raw and the poetic in a visual language entirely his own. In When the Roots Let Go, we see an artist who dares to challenge his own form and open new spaces within his artistic universe. It is an exhibition that both surprises and invites deeper reflection,” says gallerist Thorkild NB Nielsen, Galleri NB.
An exhibition about movement and change
The exhibition title points to the moment when one breaks away from the familiar. The archetypal figures that now appear side by side create a psychological and symbolic field where conflict, connection, and transformation coexist.
When the Roots Let Go can be experienced at Galleri NB from 21 March to 25 April.
Facts
Artist: Kristian Vodder Svensson
Title: When the Roots Let Go
Dates: 21.03 – 25.04
Opening: 21 March, 14:00–16:00, with an introduction by the artist at 14:15
Venue: Galleri NB, Sct. Mathias Gade 14, 8800 Viborg
Opening hours: Wednesday–Friday: 12–17, Saturday: 11–15
Easter opening hours: Wednesday, Maundy Thursday–Good Friday: 12–17, Saturday: 11–15, closed Sunday and Monday