Eighteen is pleased to present Oliver Sundqvist’s solo exhibition Sip by sip — a surreal reflection on the fragile, fluid, and increasingly capitalized nature of water.
Through a series of sculptural works, Sundqvist reimagines the fountain, not just as an architectural landmark, but as a symbol of myth, control, excess, and survival.
Drawing inspiration from Rome’s historic fountains, from the iconic Trevi to the humble Nasoni, alongside references to pop culture and the archetypal water-bearer, Aquarius, the exhibition explores the paradox of water: a force that nourishes yet erodes, that flows freely yet is relentlessly privatized. In a world where drinking water is packaged, sold, and owned, what remains of its innate right to all?
Sundqvist transforms classical forms into contemporary artifacts — playful yet unsettling, fluid yet solid — where material and meaning blur. Sip by Sip immerses the viewer in a landscape where water’s presence is both a promise and a threat, asking: How long before the last sip is no longer ours to take?
Oliver Sundqvist, born 1991, Copenhagen, Denmark, lives and works in Copenhagen. Blending pop culture, classical references, and industrial materials, Sundqvist’s work examines the psychological and social effects of consumerism -where desire, excess, and commodification shape our reality. He distorts function, material, and form to stretch familiar objects into new, unpredictable expressions. With a playful, yet subversive edge he explores the tension between function and spectacle, pushing everyday forms into a space where humour and critique collide.
Recent select solo and group exhibitions include In the absence of gravity with Peter Bonde, CCA, Andratx, Mallorca, Spain, 2025. Fortune teller group exhibition, V1 Salon, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2024. Nasoni Selfservice Gl Strand, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2024. Nasoni selfservice chart, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2024. Terra mia with Maia Regis, PlanX gallery, Milano, Italy, 2024. Heart of light with Frederik Nystrup-Larsen, Louis Poulsen HQ, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2024. 6/Daily コンビニ — Cash only with Frederik Nystrup-Larsen, The Plug, Tokyo, Japan, 2024. The materiel life, group exhibition, Sophienholm Art Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2024. Loop of life, group exhibition, Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, Stockholm, Sweden, 2024. Symphony hour public-service gallery, Stockholm, Sweden, 2023. Air Trivoli x Chart, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2023. Colossal youth V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2021.