You can buy specially selected works by Uffe Christoffersen at Nordisk Kunsthandel. We focus on works which, in our view, have particular potential to increase in value.
Uffe Christoffersen – the power of colour and the living motif
Uffe Christoffersen (born 1947) is a Danish painter and printmaker. He is particularly known for his tigers, but his practice also embraces other subjects and a sustained exploration of colour. His pictures combine recognisable forms with an expressive approach in which rhythm, contrast and painterly energy play a central role. At Nordisk Kunsthandel, we are interested in this meeting between an immediately engaging subject and a visual language that rewards continued attention.
You do not need to know a particular story to enter his pictures. The relationship between colours can provide a first point of contact: a warm area beside a cool one, a dark outline surrounding a light surface, or a shape that seems to move. The subject offers something familiar, while the construction of the image encourages you to look further.
Biography and artistic background
Christoffersen spent part of his childhood in Africa and returned to Denmark as a child. He entered the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1968, where his teachers included Harald Leth and Egill Jacobsen. His academy years were followed by studies in art education and a working life that also included teaching and research into the materials of painting.
From 1975 to 1983, he was associated with the academy’s Colour Technology Laboratory, and from 1983 to 1987 he taught at the Jutland Art Academy. He was a member of the artists’ group Violet Sol and has been a member of Corner since 1994. In 1992, he received a three-year working grant from the Danish Arts Foundation. He lived in France with the artist Annette Hoff-Jessen from 1990 to 2018, before the couple returned to Denmark.
This long engagement with both images and materials provides a useful background to his work. Colour is something experienced through the eye, but it is also a physical substance that an artist investigates through practice. Both aspects help explain the attention to colour that runs through Christoffersen’s art.
The tiger as a recurring subject
The tiger has become a distinctive feature of Uffe Christoffersen’s work. His interest in animals has roots in childhood and in later studies and drawings made at the zoo. In his pictures, the predator becomes a subject capable of carrying many different expressions. It can appear focused and watchful, but also forceful, restless or almost ornamental.
One way to approach these works is to notice both the animal and the shapes from which it is built. Stripes establish a rhythm. The turn of the body leads the eye through the composition. Eyes and jaws may concentrate our attention, while the fields of colour around the body alter the mood. Returning to the same subject does not necessarily produce similar pictures. It can create room to explore new relationships between figure, space and colour.
We find it interesting that such a recognisable animal can also open up a freer visual experience. You may recognise a tiger yet find yourself drawn most strongly to a particular colour or movement. This combination offers an accessible introduction to Christoffersen’s pictorial world.
An expressive language of colour
Christoffersen’s art is associated with strong colours and a lively, expressive approach to form. Colour does more than describe what is depicted: it also shapes how a picture feels. A warm red placed beside a cool blue can create a tension that requires little explanation. A yellow area can hold a composition together and lend a particular brightness to the surrounding colours.
Try looking at a work from different distances. From further away, its overall rhythm becomes clear. Close up, transitions, contours and smaller details emerge. Moving between these two ways of looking is often what makes a picture rewarding to live with. An initial impression of energy can give way to quieter attention to the relationships within the composition.
In his more recent practice, Christoffersen has worked with ochre pigments collected from nature. This emphasises that his interest in colour also concerns its origins and material qualities. The technique of an individual artwork should always be checked against the information supplied for that particular work.
The floral lithograph at Nordisk Kunsthandel
Our current lithograph with flowers reveals another aspect of this colourful visual world. Red and blue flowers meet a yellow background and green details in a circular composition. The light surface of the paper gives the image room to breathe and allows the colours to stand out.
The flowers are recognisable, but their forms remain free and lively. The picture can therefore be enjoyed both as a floral subject and as an interplay of colours and movement. Its circular structure holds the composition together, while contrasts give it energy. It can bring warmth to a simple interior or sit alongside quieter works on a gallery wall.
The lithograph is signed and numbered and measures 64 × 47 cm, height × width. Visit the artwork page for the current price and practical details. The interior images are visualisations based on the dimensions of the work, intended to help you judge its relationship to furniture and wall space.
Lithography and works on paper
A lithograph is a print made using a planographic printing process. Printmaking allows an artist to explore both areas of colour and details on paper, and a print has a character of its own. When looking at a work on paper, it is useful to consider more than the subject: the tone of the paper, the printed colours and the relationship between the image and its margins all contribute to the experience.
A signature and edition number provide information about an individual impression. The numbering typically identifies the impression within an edition and states the edition’s size. When buying, also consider condition, dimensions and any framing. An artist’s name or an edition number alone cannot tell you how a particular work looks or has been preserved.
Living with Uffe Christoffersen’s art
A strongly coloured work can give a room a clear focal point. Above a piece of furniture, it can bring a wall together; in an office, it can offer a lively counterpoint to more uniform surfaces. Choose a position with the actual dimensions of the artwork and the usual viewing distance in mind. A modestly sized work can have considerable presence when it is given space around it.
You do not need to repeat every colour in the picture throughout the room. Often, a single tone that relates to a material or colour already present is enough. A calm background can make room for the energy of the composition. On a gallery wall, different formats can create variety, while a consistent approach to framing can help hold the arrangement together.
Choosing and caring for a work
We select works with attention to their visual quality and their place within an artist’s practice. Our assessment of potential concerns the individual work; future increases in value are never certain. The pleasure of living with a picture should be an important part of your decision.
Works on paper benefit from thoughtful framing and a position away from direct sunlight, damp and large temperature changes. Acid-free materials and a gap between the paper and glazing are relevant considerations. Please contact us if you would like to discuss dimensions, placement or framing before deciding.
Buy art by Uffe Christoffersen
Visit Uffe Christoffersen – Lithograph with Flowers for images, dimensions and price. Use the Buy button on the artwork page to enquire about the work. We are happy to help you consider how it could fit into your home or workplace.