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Danish artist Kasper Eistrup (b. 1973) works in what could be described as material world-building, wherein he balances painting and drawing as well as the paper or canvas supports are poetically balanced to reveal emotionally charged compositions that confront both psychological and lived experience.
Based in Copenhagen, the artist recently undertook an artist-in-residence program in Hamburg for several months. During this time, he took inspiration from the German metropolis as well as his ongoing exploration of the formal and expressive boundaries of his practice to create a new body of work that focuses on the delicate yet resilient nature of human connection. This body of work is now on view at Galerie Schimming, Hamburg, marking the artist’s first solo show in Germany.
Kasper Eistrup in the Hamburg studio as part of his artist-in-residence program. Courtesy of Galerie Schimming.
“Kasper Eistrup: Bridges Over Magma,” on view through May 21, 2026, is comprised of a mix of large-scale and more intimately sized compositions that underscore the artist’s unique approach to medium. Revealing his process, which involves beginning with drawing and working through and developing various motifs and techniques, here the tension between the elements of each work is taut as a bowstring. Meticulously rendered figures juxtaposed with elements of architecture, flora and fauna, snippets of handwritten text, and more abstracted fields of idiosyncratic texture together conjure ideas around the complex circumstances that arise from contemporary life.
Kasper Eistrup, I Don’t Know How the River Got So Wide (2026). Courtesy of Galerie Schimming.
For “Bridges Over Magma,” the conceptual magma refers to the roiling, unstable—and often harmful—conditions that human existence sets out to navigate and overcome. Despite the resistance, people bridge these conditions to find and maintain interpersonal connection.
The theme of bridges ties to the city of Hamburg itself, known widely for its more than 2,000 bridges. They are directly represented through various representations, such as in I Don’t Know How the River Got So Wide (2026). Here, the title taps into the deeply emotional tenor of Eistrup’s pursuit, reading as both a reality-based observation and a comment on the metaphoric distances that grow between two people.
Installation view of “Kasper Eistrup: Bridges Over Magma” (2026). Courtesy of Galerie Schimming.
“Bridges Over Magma” is a timely show that speaks to the current social zeitgeist, where navigating relationships, connection, and everyday life is an ongoing, multi-front endeavor, pressurized by ever-growing digital landscapes like social media and cultural and political upheaval. Within the frame of Eistrup’s work, however, a pervading sense of grace can be felt, with quiet spaces for solitude and reflection. In Eistrup’s creative worlds, new frontiers of human connection in the face of unstable conditions ultimately prevail.
“Kasper Eistrup: Bridges Over Magma” is on view at Galerie Schimming, Hamburg, through May 21, 2026.
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