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To begin, let me say that I am honored to have been asked to provide some commentary on the art of Michael Kvium for this catalog. It has been suggested that I might bring an »American viewpoint « to this consideration. While I'm sure that what follows here will reflect in some way my origins in American culture, I wouldn't pretend for a moment that I speak for anyone other than myself. At this point I think that we all share many of the same codes of what might be called a global culture, but would be perhaps more accurately termed a global awareness of a multitude of discrete cultures. This is nowhere so pronounced as it is within the community of contemporary artists.
Admittedly, I have always attempted in my writing about visual art to bring a sense of optimism into play and that is probably generally considered an American characteristic. But I must say that I do this more for my own psychological well being than anything else. In this case we have an artist whose vision of existence appears so dark and bleak that any attempt to provide an uplift could be proof that the commentator has not fully understood the evidence. But then; even maniacal laughter is still laughter. I find a greater depth in Kvium's work than is immediately obvious. I believe that he is dealing in an arcane code that, like the monsters at the sanctuary gates, conceals a brighter and more empowering vision.
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