Danish painter born in Copenhagen in 1957. Lives and works in Barcelona since 1994. Physant’s conceptual expression has its roots in naturalism from the Danish Golden Age, (he was called “Eckersberg pupil in the 80’s” ) specially inspired by Christen Købke. The conception of light by Vermeer van Delft and Vilhelm Hammershøi has influenced him since the teenage years and his affinity has only grown stronger with the years.
Throughout his career he has experimented with the fusion of realism and abstraction, which has evolved into the very core of his artistic project: Introspective naturalism and United divided reality within the visual expression of painting.
The constant image division and unification create a permanent interplay between continuity and discontinuity describing different states of mind and sensations of time, which consequent expression are the relief structures. The concepts Contrapunctual realism or Multiversal realism, have been the theme of his latest works. They focus on the visual perception itself and require an active sight from the viewer – a Simultaneous perception.
These concepts contain the recognition of how the complexity of reality challenges the artistic articulation in the XXI century. This should be considered in pure painting as a parallel expression to that of Peter Greenaway’s within cinema and video art.
Physant applies these concepts also in his portrait paintings, which always have held a central place within his work. He started drawing portraits from live models when he was 13. In the portrait he seeks the humanity and the unconscious in order to compose the total work.
In 2015 he has made a portrait of HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark commissioned by The Museum of National History, Denmark, where it is currently exhibited. Other recent portraits include, HRH Princess Benedikte, Annie & Otto Detlefs, Ib Kunøe, W. Schwartz (Grand Master of the Freemasons National Lodge of Denmark).
Physant finds great inspiration in music, poetry, psychology and literature. He has illustrated the Danish and Norwegian versions of J.R.R.Tolkien’s Tree and Leaf, which original works were exhibited all over Scandinavia. Paintings for two books on Rome: 40 for Rom, pladsernes by and 19 for Glimt af et glemt Rom providing several exhibitions with Mediterranean inspiration in Denmark. In 2013 he painted 28 works to illustrate the Danish edition of Frederico García Lorca’s book of poems Ferias translated by Inge and Klaus Rifbjerg, which were exhibited at Museo Casa Natal F.G. Lorca in Granada, Spain and in Vendsyssel Kunstmuseum, Denmark.
Physant’s self-portrait represented at Vendsyssel Kunstmuseum is an interpretation in painting of the Four Temperaments expressed in Carl Nielsen’s Second Symphony.
In 2017, H.M. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark awarded Lars Physant Knight of The Order of Dannebrog (Ridder af Dannebrogordnen).