30 January 2015

Christopher Jonassen: Ectopia

Ectopia
Christopher Jonassen
29.1.-1.3.-15
Rogaland Kunstsenter, Stavanger
Photos of artist studios and art venues in the Stavanger area.                      

There may be many different ways to present the life of an artist. It may be done by a survey on the artists' working conditions, a systematic documenting of the conditions, or it may be done artistically. Christopher Jonassen does the latter, mixing in elements from the two first.

A recent survey has concluded that visual artists are the working group with longest working hours, the worst working spaces and the lowest income. This is especially the case in Stavanger, due to high rental prices. In this exhibition we get an insight behind those numbers and facts, seeing impressions from artist studios, their environments, and the art venues of Stavanger.

The exhibition consists of three parts: Inside artist studios, outside studios and outside art venues. Some texts from the survey mentioned above are also present. I am a bit unsure if the different themes are to be considered as parts of the whole picture or if I should rather consider this being three different exhibitions.

Christopher Jonassen: Ectopia
Artist studio interiors

This is not a systematic presentation of the variety of artist studios and their locations. That could also have been an interesting project. This is rather a limited choice of photos of exteriors and interiors that also has photographic and aesthetic value. The stains we see on the walls are put there by the artists, not as a result of decay of the building.

Christopher Jonassen: Ectopia

Jonassen has found the beauty in the buildings that most would consider ugly, hopeless or ignorable. These buildings are loved by their artists, despite of the cold, the noise, the mould, the draft and the bugs inside. And these are actually spaces where wonderful art is made.

Christopher Jonassen: Ectopia
Artist studio exteriors

It is great that the art center shows behind-the-scenes photos of the creation processes of art, or rather the spaces where the process takes place.  I am also a bit amused by the fact that I have to enter one of the art venues on the photo to see the photo of it. Maybe I was even inside that building when this photo was taken?

Christopher Jonassen: Ectopia
Art venues

I am most moved by two photos of a burning building, where there was an artist studio in the basement. The plan of destroying the ruins of this historically and artistically important building has already been made and has been approved. This very much shows the chronology of things: Many of the old buildings now used as artist studios are not being torn down yet due to their heritage value, but sooner or later "progress" forces its way through anyway. The number of buildings available for artists are decreasing. The positive section of the exhibition is photos of renovation works at the Tou Scene buildings, investments that are done exclusively to make better working conditions for visual artist, yet only for a few. 

Christopher Jonassen: Ectopia
Artist studio exteriors

All in all I consider this a great exhibition combining Jonassen's mission of promoting the artists' conditions (as some kind of continuation of the "Hvem eier historien?/Who owns history?" installation at MUST in March 2014), and his skills as a photographer (as for instance in his "Before we begin" exhibition at Tou Scene in 2010).

Anne Haaland Bland: På jakt etter paradiset i naboens hage

På jakt etter paradiset i naboens hage
(Searching for Paradise in the neighbor garden)
Anne Haaland Bland
29.1.15-
Galleri Koll, Stavanger
Paintings

Maybe you do not have to travel far to find your paradise, it may be quite close, maybe even in the neighborhood. Anne Haaland Bland has searched for paradise in her neighbor garden, and found it. Here we see close-up paintings of flowers, with the colors used represented on the side. One single flower is a wonder of colors and forms, symbolising summer, flavour and sunshine. We see how a miracle has happened: The same colors of the dots are put together on a canvas, and the result reminds us of Paradise. It is that simple and that complicated.
     
Anne Haaland Bland: På jakt etter paradiset i naboens hage

Anne Haaland Bland: På jakt etter paradiset i naboens hage

Anne Haaland Bland: På jakt etter paradiset i naboens hage

28 January 2015

Graffiato

Graffiato
Taupo, New Zealand
Annual streetart/graffiti festival
Festival webpage

Taupo town, in the centre of New Zealand's North Island, is famous for its beautiful lake and all possibilites for hiking and action. Walking in the streets it seems like an ordinary Kiwi town. But if you start looking in the backyards and backstreets, the town is stuffed with great streetart. This is due to the annual Graffiato festival. This is what I found in the centre, knowing there is much more around.

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

Streetart in Taupo

15 January 2015

Bente Ånestad: Hope This Helps

Hope This Helps
Bente Ånestad
9.-11.1.15  
Studio 17, Stavanger
Drawings

A brand new year has started, with possibilities to live smarter, healthier, more efficient or more evironmentalfriendly. But you know how it is: The aspirations and ideals may be fine, but in the end it is just so easy returning to the old habits. These contrasts are much present in the works of Bente Ånestad.

The attention is first drawn to the colourful explosions of peptalk and inspirational quotes, in drawings on paperdisks. But the bleak reality is well documented in the black&white drawings of solitaire games, lazing on the sofa, staring at the TV. And as a brutal judge, the wall clock spins fast around, showing how time flies while you do nothing.

Or really? What is so bad in enjoying life a little, use some time to relax, doing stuff that is utterly non-productive? I mean not all the time, but some of the time? Maybe we should better ditch some of this pressure to be oh-so-perfect, and just appreciate life? Do you feel better now? I hope this helps.

Bente Ånestad: Hope This Helps

Bente Ånestad: Hope This Helps

Bente Ånestad: Hope This Helps

Bente Ånestad: Hope This Helps

Kinetic Rain by ART+COM

Kinetic Rain
ART+COM
2012
Changi International Airport, Singapore
Public art installation

This is probably the most spectacular, intriguing and amazing artwork I have ever seen in an airport. (The only thing that comes close is the giant Smaug dragon in Wellington Airport.)

Two fields of a massive amount of golden drop-shaped sculptures float in the air, moving up and down in an unknown number of movements, not random, but skillfully orchestrated. The result is a flow of movement constantly creating new ephemeral wonders.

Being flabbergasted by the beauty, there is a serious risk you may forget all about your flight.

Kinetic Rain by Art+Com

Kinetic Rain by Art+Com

14 January 2015

Winter Retrospective

Winter Retrospective
Various artists
5.12.14-9.1.15
Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Gillman Barracks, Singapore

Art in Singapore
Barry Freedland: Dancing Drones

Art in Singapore
Tayeba Lipi: My Mother's Dressing Table

Art in Singapore
Edward Burtynsky: Dryland Farming #24, Monegros County, Aragon, Spain 2010

Art in Singapore
Edward Burtynsky: Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station, Baja, Mexico, 2012

Art in Singapore
Annie Leibowitz: Cindy Crawford, Brookville, New York, 1993

Art in Singapore
Annie Leibowitz: Hillary Rodham Clinton, The White House, Washington D.C.

Art in Singapore
Sebastiao Salgado: Bighorn Creek in the Western part of the Kluane National Park, Canada, 2011

Yayoi Kusama:

Yayoi Kusama
28.11.14.-11.1.15
Ota Fine Arts, Gillman Barracks, Singapore
Paintings, sculptures

Famous for her dot paintings and installations, Yayoi Kusama has put her dots in use in new ways.

Art in Singapore

Art in Singapore

Art in Singapore