"Basic Statistics" belongs to Gardar Eide Einarsson’s series of paintings based on book covers. Though the surfaces are minimal and stripped down, they quietly suggest symbols of violence, politics, class struggle, and revolution. Yet, there remains a deliberate sense of ambiguity; the viewer is left feeling that full access to the work’s meaning is just out of reach.

Einarsson’s practice frequently engages with the notion of subcultures and the challenge of accessing these often closed environments. Working across a range of media—including installations, paintings, and sculptures—he examines ideas of subversion and the undermining of established structures. However, rather than aspiring to revolution, Einarsson’s work reflects the classical role of the artist as a critical observer of society. His practice consistently relates to anti-institutional currents and explores the friction between concepts of personal freedom and the societal structures that both enable and constrain it.

Gardar Eide Einarsson (b. 1976, Oslo, NO) lives and works in Tokyo, JP.
He has exhibited widely at institutions including Bergen Kunsthall, NO; Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, DE; Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, SE; Reykjavik Art Museum, IS; Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, NO; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, US; Kunsthalle Wien, AU; and Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, MX, among others.