Oliver Bak's 'Swarmers' Exhibition at Galleria Indipendenza in Rome

Danish artist Oliver Bak (b. 1992, Copenhagen) presents his solo exhibition 'Swarmers' at Galleria Indipendenza in Rome, running from January 2026. The show features paintings and drawings created between Copenhagen, Tarquinia, and Rome, with some works made specifically for the venue. Bak's process involves layering oil paint mixed with wax, adding and subtracting dense brushstrokes to create strata of color and non-color, presence and absence. He often reworks pieces months later, embracing a poetics of revision and error against linear time. The imagery draws from natural and mythological sources, depicting metamorphosing human figures, flowers, and moths suspended in ether. The gallery occupies the top floor of a late 19th-century Umbertine palace near Termini station, formerly the home of sculptor and senator Giulio Monteverde (1837–1917). The space retains period decor across ten rooms and a rooftop featuring a copy of Monteverde's statue 'Il genio Franklin'. Indipendenza hosts about two exhibitions per year, exclusively featuring foreign artists to facilitate dialogue with Italian audiences.