Since 1985, Theodore Svenningsen has been working sporadically on “Primitive Structures,” an ongoing series of paintings, mostly black and white, that are seductive at surface level, yet purposefully unsettling upon closer inspection. When viewing the 12 works from the 36-year survey at the Torrance Art Museum, we are immediately drawn into each composition by quiet bursts of atmospheric light filled with tiny flecks of paint that suggest mist, fog, smoke or water, the presence of which serves to establish a mood of mystery and intrigue. Within these enigmatic settings, Svenningsen has staged a variety of ominous scenarios, most of which are seen behind architectural grids that bar us from entrance and thereby turn us into witnesses rather than participants. In some examples we seem to have stumbled upon strange apparitions of floating objects or anthropomorphic statues, while others provide encounters with abandoned ritualistic structures, the most recent of which house volcano-like eruptions.  

Having earned BA and MA degrees in philosophy in his youth, Svenningsen approaches painting much like a philosopher would, by asking questions. Specifically, his position is that our universe is composed of more that we don’t know than that we do know, and he represents this idea metaphorically or allegorically by making works that appear in some way illogical or quixotic. In Structure (1985), the earliest painting of the series, three details suggest that there is more than meets the eye and thus impel us to want to know more. In the center of the composition, the continuity of a purple cage-like structure is broken where a connecting strip has either come loose or was never finished. In the lower background, light visible through a pointed arch-shaped crevice in the wall suggests that something mystical or ritualistic is occurring behind it, while a similar effect is achieved at the top of the painting by the presence of a hanging thread that simulates lightning.

Theodore Svenningsen, The Lighted Structure, 2021. Courtesy of the artist.

In a group of shaped paintings from 1986, Svenningsen forsakes elaborate details in favor of a more minimal approach, with three of the paintings themselves trapezoidal and another resembling an hourglass. In shaping the paintings as such, Svenningsen transforms each into an artifact from an unknown time or place. For the two examples painted in color, he employs the greens and oranges of popsicles or Kool-Aid, causing the contents of their interiors to seem liquefied. In the orange version, a caged funnel suggests a scientific experiment is taking place.

As reflections of the instability of the present-day zeitgeist, the newest black-and-white paintings offer a particularly effective wakeup call. Painted in 2021 during Covid lockdown, The Lighted Tower and The Lighted Structure both contain a central image of a conical tower within which an explosive emulsion is tumultuously rumbling as its fumes permeate their surrounding environments. In the latter, the turbulence is enveloped by a petrified forest of brittle vegetation stripped bare, a haunting reminder of current threats posed by climate change, political unrest and constantly mutating viruses.