Lars Sarto Hempler (b. 1978) graduated from the Jutland Art Academy in 2006.
Drawing on the landscapes and memories of his North Jutland childhood, his practice explores the subtle and shifting relationship between humans and nature.
Rooted in the classical tradition of still life, Hempler revisits its codes and symbols, most notably the vase, an iconic motif of the genre. Yet rather than containing and fixing the world into a composed stillness, his vases seem unable to hold what they are meant to preserve. From them emerge fragments of stories, familiar forms, organic shapes, and fluid, almost melting elements that oscillate between the real and the abstract.
What was once a symbol of containment becomes a point of release. Memories, impressions, and past narratives overflow, as if the vessel could no longer hold them indefinitely. This outpouring suggests a process of introspection and liberation, where the past is not erased but transformed and set into motion.
Still life, which translates in French as nature morte (“dead nature”), here comes to life and spills beyond the frame that once confined it.