RGB 2008

Kristoffer Zetterstrand's oil on canvas painting presents a figure holding a paper with three coloured squares—red, green, and blue—against a stark black background. The work is small, only 15 x 15 centimeters. The painting immediately strikes you with its play of light and shadow, a chiaroscuro effect reminiscent of Renaissance art. The composition is simple, yet the colour arrangement invites us to consider fundamental elements of digital imaging: RGB, the primary colours that form all others on our screens. Zetterstrand uses this classical technique to engage with contemporary digital culture. It disrupts our expectations, setting up a dialogue between traditional art and modern technology. The texture of the paint, the light, and the figure’s garb all belong to a different era, creating a visual and conceptual tension. The piece invites us to see how new technologies are built upon historical foundations and how the past informs our present.