When, in 1976, the American photographer William Eggleston exhibited his first solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the decision to display 75 colour photographs of commonplace objects was regarded as a highly provocative act. Not only were the images of apparently banal motifs, but they were also in colour.

The debate about whether colour photography is appropriate for serious artistic or documentary photography has long abated. Black-and-white and colour photography co-exist peacefully these days. However, forty years ago, colour was not considered serious: frivolous, in fact.

In 2012, the Danish photographer Mads Gamdrup presented colour photographs which show no obvious motifs, represent no objects and illustrate no given or imaginable situations. In doing so, he has taken photography to a new level.

Gamdrup, whose recent body of work Just Noise was shown in two well-known Scandinavian art institutions – Kunsthallen Brandts in Odense and the Stavanger Kunstmuseum – during the winter of 2012/2013 directs all his artistic curiosity towards colour itself; its direct physical qualities, its interplay with neighbouring colours, its retinal effects. He explores the impact of colours on the viewer`s perception; the mental processing of pure colour in differently saturated states. He juxtaposes colour stripes, colour fields and primary colour dots on large-format panels (measurements 150 x 180 cm and 180 x 220 cm). In particular, his colour-dot works have a direct physical impact on the viewer. Organised in parallel lines, according to a specified formula, these dots appear to pulsate; the human eye is unable to focus on them precisely. The combination of an objective strategy and the subjectivity of human perception results in a kind of orchestrated disorder of diverse sensory impressions.

Gamdrup’s recent works have been compared with Gerhard Richter’s colour studies, Bridget Riley’s stripe paintings, Mark Rothko’s spiritual canvases and James Turrell’s metaphysical light installations. What differentiates them from these references is that Gamdrup’s images are photographs.

Mads Gamdrup, who was born in 1967 and graduated at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 1997, began his artistic career as a photographer of vast, often deserted or uninhabited landscapes: the quality of light always paramount.

In later years, Mads Gamdrup has rid his photography of all narrative elements. What remains is pure colour, a quality that infiltrates the viewer’s psyche much more than any image charged with content could ever do.