It’s Boring to Die: Paintings by Johan Wahlström in a new show at Van der Plas Gallery.

Adriaan Van Der Plas Gallery is proud to present paintings by the Swedish-born artist, Johan Wahlstrom, whose work was a highlight of the recent Fridge Art Fair, May 2013.

The title, “It’s Boring to Die”, is a series that embodies XX large, acrylic and ink canvases filled with graphic, naïf heads and torsos in a dark, limited palette of greys, blues, black and blood-red accents. The provocatively titled pieces are social critiques, reflecting the artist’s grapplings with a world of extreme polarities.

Wahlstrom creates his paintings quickly, inspired by cryptic observations jotted on scraps of paper littering his Malaga, Spain studio. “I decide what titles I will work with each day and set myself into the mood with loud music, and try to paint the title to get the viewers to spin their brains toward the story.” Some of the titles include, “As God as it Gets”, “Give Us Something Real,” and “So in Debt.” The titles may be ironic, but the paintings’ narratives are emotional and filled with compassion.

Like most of the artists featured at Van Der Plas gallery, Walstrom’s path to painting was unconventional, with unexpected turns that speak to a vital, original creative mind. Born in Stockholm to a lineage of artists, Wahlstrom was first a musician and singer who painted only infrequently. The rock and roll life “brought me too much trouble” and he traveled to France where did nothing but paint, which launched his new career as an artist. The series “It’s Boring to Die” has traveled to Europe and New York. When he passed Van Der Plas Gallery Wahlstrom says he felt immediately “drawn to the work on the walls and …instantly felt this is the gallery where my art belongs.”

A reception for the artist will be held on June 27, 2013, 6 to 8 pm at 156 Orchard Street@Stanton.