Frans Nybacka | Feeling Small, Bug Pirates
Bricks Gallery is pleased to present Feeling Small, Bug Pirates, a solo exhibition by Frans Nybacka, with an opening reception on Friday, May 8, from 5–8 PM. This presents Nybacka’s debut exhibition in Denmark and with the gallery, featuring works on canvas in various sizes, all framed in the artist’s signature frames. The exhibition forms the third chapter in the Wind is Rising, an ongoing narrative across Nybacka’s solo exhibitions, tracing an imagined world in stages of decay.
Nybacka’s work exists in a space between nature and science fiction. His practice explores the construction of visual worlds through painting, where elements of nature appear in contrasting contexts. Rendered in soft, faded tones and warm light, and often with an almost childlike sensibility, the works carry an underlying dystopian atmosphere. Figures seem suspended in time, as if waiting for an event that never arrives. Within these scenes, questions emerge: what will the world look like in the future, what constitutes power, and who holds it?
For example, in the work Hornet’s Egg, the viewer is met by a composition of distinct yet connected images that together form a narrative. A seemingly giant wasp appears, perhaps searching for its egg in a deserted landscape, while, in parallel, a mysterious machinery room unfolds, where a human-like figure in a full-body protective suit attempts to control its surroundings. Although Nybacka’s works nod to the world around him, they also function as paintings of adventures, landscapes, and mysteries. They bring together opposing elements such as danger and serenity, fragile beauty and tension.
Working from imagery sourced from films, photographs, children’s books, etc., Nybacka develops his compositions through a collage-based process. Images are first arranged digitally before being translated into painting, where elements are removed from their original context and placed within new settings. The works often unfold through parallel narratives, where meaning arises not only within the individual image, but in the space between them.
The exhibition continues Nybacka’s ongoing narrative, where moments of action and stillness unfold side by side. Scenes suggest gestures of control and search, while quietly opening questions around power and possible futures.
- Text by Amanda Dam
Frans Nybacka (b. 1993) is a Finnish artist who lives and works in Helsinki (FI). Nybacka’s practice centers on world-building through painting. Recent exhibitions include Crisis Galore, Wings Petite at tm•galleria, Helsinki (FI), Borrowed Time at Pori Art Museum, Poriginal Gallery, Pori (FI), and Beyond Matter at Gaa Gallery, New York (US). Nybacka’s work is represented in collections such as Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art and the Finnish National Gallery / State Art Deposit Collection. In 2026, he was awarded a working grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation. This exhibition is generously supported by The Finnish Cultural Institute in Denmark.
The opening reception is sponsored by Nørrebrew, offering organic beers and non-alcoholic drinks.
