Danish-Canadian artist Anders Knudsen has been a major player in Calgary’s magazine design scene since the early 1990s. As a graduate of the Alberta College of Art and Design (in Visual Communications) and the former creative director of RedPoint Media, publisher of Avenue 

and Westjet Magazines, he has garnered many awards, both nationally and internationally.

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He used to spend most of his days in front of a computer. Now, he can be found at his easel, with a palette knife or paint brush in his hand.

 

His focus? Creating evocative, intellectual paintings that capture conceptual ideas that affect him and his surroundings.

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Throughout his career, Knudsen has been influenced by a diverse set of creative minds, including painter Lucien Freud, Claude Monet, Obey Giant and illustrator Shepard Fairey, Cold War Soviet poster designers, the Bauhaus movement, George Jensen, Swiss font designer Max Miedinger and American magazine design director Fred Woodward.

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Knudsen finds much of his inspiration in his personal life, from his struggle with congenital eye disease to his graphic design background and knowledge. Bold marks and colours. Bold images. Bold brush strokes. Bold ideas.

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These are images, he believes, that push our ideas of what is beautiful, what is readable and what society treasures and what it casts away. Each painting asks us to think about what is normal and what can be beautiful. His paintings challenge the viewers to see what is not there and fill in the missing spaces, interpreting the hidden story for themselves.

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His technique focuses on assertive paint applications, combined with the need to work through his visual complications. It's not about intimidation; it's about finding strength within strangeness. He sees things differently.