FOREWORD by Thorkild NB Nielsen, Galleri NB

Milestone marks a significant point in Steen Larsen’s artistic

journey since the release of the book Road in 2012. While Road

compiled his earlier works and artistic development up to that

point, Milestone serves as documentation of his work from

recent years – a period in which Steen has further refined his

distinctive visual language with even greater depth, immersion,

and intensity.

The title Milestone is no coincidence. It refers both to a

concrete milestone in Steen Larsen’s career and to the visual

landmarks he creates in his works. His paintings function as

artistic milestones-snapshots of time, place, and mood that

captivate the viewer and invite reflection.

The book is divided into three themes: Rainscapes, Junkyard,

and Americana. Each of these themes represents a central

aspect of Steen’s artistic universe, demonstrating his ability

to merge mood, light, and composition in a way that is both

cinematic and sensory.

In Rainscapes, rain is not merely a weather phenomenon

but an artistic touch that creates reflections, depth, and an

almost melancholic beauty. The rain striking Steen’s windshield

transforms nature and urban spaces, intensifies the play of

light, and infuses the scenes with an almost abstract, dreamlike

quality.

Junkyard explores a different facet of reality – places where

the passage of time is evident in rust, scrap, and abandoned

objects. Focusing on the car graveyard in Båstnäs, Sweden,

Steen Larsen captures a raw aesthetic and a unique poetry

in decay. Man-made cars are slowly reclaimed and ultimately

dissolving into the landscape. It is a meditation on the beauty

of the overlooked and an exploration of how we interact with

the things we leave behind. Steen Larsen transforms this state

into art – capturing and expressing the fascinating interplay

between decay and beauty.

In Americana, Steen Larsen delves into an iconic visual world,

unfolding the imagery of American culture and its visual

references. His motifs draw on a collective memory of road

trips, diners, billboards, and open landscapes – a nostalgic yet

contemporary view of a country that exists both as a physical

reality and as a powerful reminiscence of a bygone era.

Milestone is not just a collection of works but a narrative of

Steen Larsen’s artistic evolution since 2012. It reveals how

he continues to reinvent himself, challenge his subjects, and

create paintings that capture moods, places, and stories with

exceptional precision and sensitivity.

I hope this book will bring readers the same joy and fascination

that Steen Larsen’s works have given me since his debut at

Galleri NB in 1992.

Steen Larsen is a Danish realistic painter and photographer using the road and steets as locations for his artwork. Steen Larsen is one of what is by now a small group of artists with a mimetic approach to their work – meaning they keep as close to reality as possible – and precision in both detail and totality is quite crucial. Conseptuel his work is modern landscapes circles around the tracks man leaves in nature. While driving and traveling in US and Europe he mounts a camera at the windshield on his car and shoots thousands of photos, which later in his studio works as sketches for his oil paintings. His photo-based paintings are narrative like a road movie on canvas.