Rogaland Kunstsenter, Stavanger
1.-30.3.12
10 artists:
Ole Martin Lund Bø, Synnøve Gallis Anfinsen, Marisa Ferreira, Line Anda Dalmar, Elizabeth Croft, Marianne Hannig Bertelsen, Anne Haaland Bland, Christine Hansen, Teresa Puig, Kristin Velle-George
Vernissage
In the annual exhibitions "Inngang" (Entrance) Rogaland Kunstsenter presents local artists. This time the new members of the regional visual artists' union were presented. 10 artists, with a wide variety in both age, expressions and methods. This is a great opportunity go get an insight in the art scene not only of today, but also of the future. Most of the artists are in transit, either just moved to Stavanger, moving out of Stavanger, or continously moving. The connecting theme is thus "Place".
Kristin Velle-George: Rom 102
Discovering the hidden spaces in the gallery, Kristin Velle-George creates magic. In a secret cupboard there is a wide selection of magic potions. It is far from certain what they contain and what they may do. In a storage room there is a video animation of another potion. She puts various organic or unorganic matters in glasses and let it live its own life, blending, growing, or separating. With light set on to the containers, it looks like magic.
Elizabeth Croft: Three Windows Recovered
Elizabeth Croft has revealed a secret about the buidling. As she was investigating the building, she discovered that the gallery floor had five windows on the outside, but only two on the inside.Three windows were hidden, they are phantom windows. She not only recovered the windows on their original spots, she also recovered the view. The view even exceeds the frames of the windows. Even if the windows now have returned in the gallery, there is something missing. There is no connection between the inside and the outside window, now there are two sets of blind windows.
She also presents digital drawings of the same views. But there is one major difference. There are people on the drawings. This is a view that is frozen. The presence of people shows that time stand still, while the windows on the wall could be a live view. Windows and buildings do not move (but apparently they may appear and disappear).
Line Anda Dalmar: Still untitled 3
A giant hollow cone of firewood, stacked like a decent pile of wood. But this one also offers a cylindrical room inside - a wooden sanctuary. A woodpile is usually stable and solid, but due to its shape this one is fragile and unstable. It is trembling as you walk by, threatening to fall down. Staying inside all the outside is blocked out, except some light rays seeping in between the wood.
Marisa Ferreira: Passenger I
Marisa Ferreira: Passenger I (detail)
From one sanctuary to another: When I first saw Marisa Ferreiras installation, it seemed like a secret floating sculpture made of red ribbons hanging down from a grid. There seemed to be structures in it, but I did not dare to look inside, afraid of destroying sometning. But then I had the great pleasure of having the artist guiding me into it. I discovered that it was divided into several sections, and she told me it was an exact 1:80 copy of the room plan of the 3rd floor in the building. I could walk from room to room, but I was never sure exactly which room I was in. Suddenly there are more people inside, there are kids running fast through, and other adults getting lost inside. They do not notice me until they bump into me. That is the thrill of being able to walk through walls. It is like a maze, but it is always possible to find the way out. If you want. Actually I would like to just stay in this red wonderland for a while.
Christine Hansen: Hauger
I wanted to have a closer look at the photos in the corner, and almost tripped over the pile of dirt on the floor. Just like you usually do not notice the building site until you step into the dirt or mud. But Christine Hansen has discovered the beauty in a building site. There is something fragile and ephemeric about this. The building mud piles are only temporary, nobody wants it to look like this at the site, but it is inevitable at some stages. But now the moment of transformation is noticed. And through the artist's impressions, I will maybe also start noticing the beauty of the numerous building sites in the region.
Ole Martin Lund Bø: Uten tittel
From the 3D-all-senses-experiences to the minimalistic: Ole Martin Lund Bø has restricted the use of material and expressions to a minimum. Only plastic on canvas on the wall, and a strange installation of mirror black in a wooden frame. It is so minimal it is almost provoking, it is on the border of readymades. The pictures are not really pictures, they are rather installations or collages. The installation on the floor seems like it is made for a purpose, but then again it is probably not. It is a sculpture with its own value, without instrumental value.
works by Teresa Puig, Kristin Velle-George, Marianne Hannig Bertelsen and Anne Haaland Bland in Trykk17
Some of the works are even put in another space, visible 24/7. Downstairs on street level, some works are shown in the window of the Trykk17 gallery. A great idea to present some of the works, persuading passerbyers to have a closer look upstairs.
Worth mentioning is also the fanzine following the exhibition. Here the artists present their works, and there are short presentations of the artists. I really appreciate this approach. As the purpose of this exhibition is to present "new" artists, the fanzine does exactly that.
