COURAGE | MIKA UTZON POPOV (PREVIEW)

“Mika Utzon Popov’s peripatetic life has unfolded between and beyond the beech forests of Denmark, Sydney’s sun-drenched Northern Beaches, and the cliffs of Mallorca – locales that are indelibly imprinted on both his personal philosophy and artistic output. Equally formative was an upbringing within the orbit of Jørn Utzon –an architectural legend who instilled within his grandson a sensitivity to the poetics of light and space, and the limitless potential of their interrelationship.

‘Courage’ at the OLSEN Gallery in Sydney will consolidate the many material and conceptual chapters of a highly diverse oeuvre. Utzon Popov describes his vision of the show as “an amalgam of my two-dimensional and three-dimensional work with bronze and textiles, plaster and paper, allowing these things to speak together in a similar voice.” Anchoring the exhibition will be a suite of new tapestries that build on the cultural heritage of the Balearic Islands; a location that, like Denmark, exudes a gravitational pull on the artist.”

Excerpt from Artist Profile Issue 63. Story by Pippa Mott, May 2023.