Bagatelles and comtemplations

In 1986, a new theme appeared in Rodhe’s practice. A number of drawings from a sketchbook small enough to hold in the palm of his hand were developed as screen prints and simple copies, prints, paintings and textile works. This long series was named Bagatelles – for its unassuming and open character. The bagatelles are like diary entries, contemplations in pictures rather than words; they can be twisted and turned and transform from one moment to the next into new motifs or grow from small to monumental. He elaborated on these drawings in prints and paintings, giving them titles that allude to something the artist saw in the picture, as in the prints Sisyphus (1987), Sheaf (1987), och Wailing Animals (1989). The last two were also used as cartoons for carpets for Kasthall, Sheaf, 1989, and Wailing, 1992.