Dina Isæus-Daggfeldt – Randori

We are pleased to present our first exhibition with Dina Isæus-Daggfeldt, Randori. Working in the tradition of abstract painting, the gesture is at the centre of Isæus-Daggfeldt’s practice. With Randori, Dina Isæus-Daggfeldt presents a new series of nine striking oil paintings with a wide range of colours, from light blue and pink to deep golden yellow and red.   

With a refined technical skill and a seemingly light touch, Isæus-Daggfeldt creates her gestural and powerful paintings. However, her practice requires discipline as well as intuition. 

Isæus-Daggfeldt draws inspiration from her practice in the Japanese martial art Aikido, infusing her working method with focus and presence. Aikido is usually described as a way of unifying the energy of life. The exhibition title, Randori, refers to a free-style practice with multiple opponents, where one adapts to the situation and takes control in chaos by being present in the moment – a process where one relies on acquired knowledge. By mastering the energy and speed in the movement, both on the mat and on the canvas, Isæus-Daggfeldt takes on a balancing act between control and improvisation in every moment.

Over the years, a more detailed expression is visible in Isæus-Daggfeldt paintings parallel to the larger brushstrokes and gestures. Designs, stylized clouds and waves appear in the paintings. In contrast to the speedy and free expression filled with energy, the detailed patterns charge the paintings with another timeframe; a slow, more introspective aspect. The result is a vibrant whole where time, movement and speed alter, accelerate, and slow down – like an inner journey continuing, never stopping.

Dina Isæus-Daggfeldt, born 1991 in Stockholm, holds an MFA from the University of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm (2021) and attended Chelsea College of Art, London, in 2015-16. Her work has been shown at Fullersta Gård, Färgfabriken, Liljevalchs, Konstnärshuset, Wetterling Gallery, Nicolai Wallner Gallery, Copenhagen, and at Gerichtshöfe, Berlin, with Enter Art Foundation. In 2022, Isæus-Daggfeldt was awarded The Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s two-year working grant. She is represented in the collections of Göteborg Konst and Norrköpings Konstmuseum, as well as several private collections.