Platou's Cave at NoPlace

Platou's Cave
Per Platou
13.4.-22.4.12
NoPlace, Oslo
Spacial installation, light, sound

This exhibition space is really a NoPlace, I walked by it twice before I realized it had to be this spot. The heavy traffic is rushing by, even on a Sunday afternoon. Inside I was invited into a dark room, with only dimmed light, carpet and pillows on the floor. A sound track was played, with sounds from environment that could be from exotic places, but could also be from the nearby areas in East Oslo. The sounds are intertwined with the noise from the outside, until you cannot distinguish what is inside and what is outside. The lights dim up and down to underline the variations in the sounds. After a busy day walking around in the city getting wet, sitting down and just contemplate on the sounds was a bliss both for body and soul.


NoPlace

 

Sound is difficult to photograph, so you will have to imagine for yourself.

Apocalyptic Bliss

Apocalyptic Bliss
6.4.-29.4.12
Galleri Maria Veie, Oslo
Apocalyptic art in black&white

A visit to the gallery's new location in what used to be successively a black metal music shop and a hairdresser. An exhibition in black and white well fitting to the gallery, with nothing less than the Apocalypse as topic:

Johannes Høie: Floodland IX

Painted live on Chinese silk during the Hong Kong Biennale last year.


Eirin Støen: State of Nation


Sverre Malling: Submission is a Gift to Your Brother
(try to imagine it without the reflected lights)


Peter B Booth: Used to be Somebody

Sculpture made from cremation ash


Linn Pedersen: Transformers

A creature is caught in the transformation process from rock to man, or the other way around.


Christina Leithe: Wine Ranks and Barrel


Martin Skauen: All the Lonely

A weird story about a quest for the ultimate experience, to what you can gain access by injecting the substance of the eye's black spot of many people. A video I should have watched fully if I was not in a rush.

Galleries at Tjuvholmen

Galleries at Tjuvholmen, Oslo:
-Damien Hirst and Magne Furuholmen and one more in Stolper+Friends
-Pushwagner in Galleri Pushwagner
-The Feast by Ingvild Kjær Tofte in Pushwagner Window Box
-Thomas Pihl in Galleri Brandstrup
-Construction of the new Astrup Fearnley art museum

The new epicenter of contemporary art on the upper west side of Oslo, in a slick, posh and slightly sterile area of new expensive housings, crowded outdoor serving areas and thoroughly organized outdoor spaces on the old docks of Aker Brygge / Tjuvholmen.

*

Damien Hirst and Magne Furuholmen and one more
Stolper+Friends, Oslo
Butterflies and typography

The exhibition guard knew the names of two of the artists, the last one remains unknown. This was supposedly a temporary exhibition of their collection, instead of a cancelled exhibition. Anyway great to see Damien Hirst's work, and the letters of Magne Furuholmen and the pin-up-ish works of the unknown were interesting as well.




 

*

Pushwagner
Galleri Pushwagner, Oslo
Colourful futuristic prints

Always a thrill to step into the world of Pushwagner.






*

The Feast
Ingvild Kjær Tofte
23.3.-24.4.12
Pushwagner Window Box, Oslo
Window shadows

A very nice concept, where a window of Galleri Pushwagner is turned into a showcase gallery.



*

Thomas Pihl
13.4.-6.5.12
Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo
monochrome paintings

I came too late to get inside, but at least I got a peek through the window of Pihl's wonderful thick layers of monochrome painting, with only tiny variations of the colour, giving the paintings a very tactile look.



*

Jeff Koons mural
Astrup Fearnley museet (under construction)

- and I came too early for this one, the building is not finished yet. 

Sellout at UKS

Sellout
Art from the students, teachers and alumni of Oslo Art Academy
14.4.12
Unge Kunstneres Samfund, Oslo
Sales exhibition

A great concept where you do not know the author of the art, you just have to follow your instincts. All items are for sale for nok1000,-, and first when you have bought it you get to know the author's name.

More exhibitions at Kunstnerforbundet

Johannes Borchgrevink Hansen
Bjørn Kowalski-Hansen
12.4.-6.5.12
Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo
Drawings, logos

Some impressions from the second floor:


Johannes Borchgrevink Hansen


Johannes Borchgrevink Hansen


Bjørn Kowalski-Hansen

Mattias Härenstam: Jeg vet at du er der

Jeg vet at du er der
Mattias Härenstam
12.4.-6.5.12
Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo
Wooden installations with engravings and mixed media

Probably the art highlight of the day, a bewitched forest of strange beings, all carved into tree trunks, like a nightmare, but at the same time erotic and tempting.

Trond Arne Vangen: Tøys

Tøys
Trond Arne Vangen
13.-22.4.12
Galleri 69, Oslo
Object and word combinations

A wonderful game of materials and game of words. But even if the title suggests fun and innocence, the themes are dead serious, 




Verktøy


Sukkertøy

Matias Faldbakken: portrait portrait of of a a generation

Portrait portrait of of a a generation
Matias Faldbakken
29.3.-23.6.12
OCA Office for Contemporary Art, Oslo
Installations and conceptual art

I find it very interesting to see how he turns things upside down (literally as well as symbolical), and how he by an action creates art.


young young girl girl with with hands hands  in in front front of of her her mouth mouth

A female sculpture turned around and fixed with strap bands is making fun of the art of earlier times, but also recognizing it, pushing it forward. After all this art piece would be nothing without art history.


wave wave

Art set in a great venue, the shadows on the wall are beautiful as well.


Jacked Wall

A wall with the purpose of dividing and directing, is turned into an art piece by a single movement. Jacked up it is destroyed, but it still serves its purpose. This tiny movement upwards has changed the position and the shape of the large construction.


sunrise sunrise + portrait portrait of of a a generation generation

Mixed materials set together and put in a box. Somehow this is the language of the 2D cartoons put into 3D and exceeding the limits of the frame.

How to find the best exhibition in town?

It is hard to resist the urge to experience as much as possible when visiting a new site. That also goes for visiting art exhibitions. In spots with a wide range of galleries that may become tough, like at the Venice Biennal, in Beijing 798 Art District, or in any city of a decent size. It is practically impossible to visit all, seeing it all, you simply have to choose. How do you make that choice? You may have advisors, may have done some research, and know some from before.

In Oslo there are several choices of paper and web guides. There is “Listen” - a national overview leaflet, mainly focusing on Oslo. There is “Underskog” - a web based portal  with information about theatre, concerts and exhibitions. And the newcomer “u-f-o” - a paper and web based portal focusing on contemporary art. None of these are perfect. “Listen” has a very limited number of presentations of Oslo sites, and even thinner outside the Oslo municipality border. ”Underskog” has unlimited space on the website, and seems to have no rules for layout and content in the posts made by each venue. Few, if some, inform about the opening hours and address. “U-f-o” is a stylish, well edited web page and leaflet with all practical details, but limited on the descriptions. It seems to cover most of the venues, from high-brow to low-brow.

I would love to get something like “Listen” when I arrive in a new country. With this I could start diving into the art world. But after a while I would get a craving for more. I love the rough, democratic touch of “Underskog”. It is a mess, but a very charming mess. And I love the stylish, informative and no-nonsense approach of “u-f-o”.  The web is crucial to get the latest updates, but nothing beats a good map on paper.

Which one to use? My method is this: Use “Listen” to get an overview of the most important, or at least largest exhibition sites. Then “Underskog” may give you impressions and teasers of what might be interesting in both the large and the smaller sites. With these impressions in mind, it is perfect to pick up a copy of “u-f-o” for all the practical details, what is where, opening hours, and addresses and a map. And there is an exensive list of happenings as well.

Then appears the next difficulty: How many exhibitions can you really absorb in one day? I  flicked through 12 galleries on two days. How many of those leave an impression? The spectacular stays in mind, while the silent ones slip away. Especially video art is hard to grasp when you are in a hurry. The first impression is crucial. It is like watching TV with too many channels, you just end up zapping through back and forth, not daring to settle for one movie, because there might be a better one just starting on another channel. Without a system all exhibitions will just blend into one gray mess. I use photos and notes. (Which is why I really hate photo bans in exhibitions, and in one gallery in Japan it was even prohibited to take notes!) The results of my photos and notes are found in my posts here on VWW.

Links:
www.listen.no
www.underskog.no
www.u-f-o.no

Elin Melberg: What's mine is yours to borrow

What's mine is yours to borrow
Elin Melberg
19.-29.4.12
Tou Scene, Stavanger
sculptures

I struggle to find the words to describe this magical exhibition. This is one of the art experiences that has left me almost shocked with awe. The sculptures, the setting, the experience through the interactions with the visitors make this an exhibition you just can not miss out.

In "What's mine is yours to borrow" Elin Melberg presents three large boxes about 2 metres high, oval or mandorla shaped. All are hollow, one you can only peek into, while two of them you can even stand inside. All sculptures are placed in their own dark hall, where the only light is set on the sculpture.


The first sculpture is covered by red, plastic flowers, and from the inside a mass of glossy flower paperclips are bulging out from the door.


The second sculpture is covered by mirror, you may go inside, and be surrounded by hundreds of small mirrors. There is a handle on the outside, none on the inside.


You need to rely on your fellow visitors for the full experience. Alone you will not be able to close the door, there will always be an opening, a connection to the outside. You need others to be able to lose the grip.

 
The third and last sculpture has a red glow, which turns to white when you come closer. The outside is also covered with mirrors on this one, but both the door and the backside is covered with a large number of handles. Here are so many handles it is hard to choose, but they all have the same purpose. Inside the sculpture is covered with white fabric, white roses and one door handle.The inside feels at the same time like a wedding dress and a coffin. Or rather, it feels like a wedding dress as long as the door is still open, but as it closes, the interior becomes a coffin.

There are three sculptures that may be percieved as three phases of life. There is love of birth and childhood, then there is the maturing and self-conciousness of being able to reflect on yourself. And then there is the end you step into and where you close the door after you.

The sculptures are like exotic vessels or containers from another world. To get near you have to walk to the end of the dark tunnel towards the glowing object. The interaction with and the placement in the Beer Halls at Tou Scene is just incredibly effective. The accurate light setting add an outerworldish glow to the sculptures, circling like an aura, affected by the people moving around or opening the door.

Hege Tapio: Eksperimenter fra en barndom i Sør Afrika

Eksperimenter fra en barndom i Sør Afrika
(Experiments from a childhood in South Africa)
Hege Tapio
18.-24.4.12

Trykk 17, Stavanger
Photographic prints

Hege Tapio presents prints made from photos made in South Africa. The pictures show children exploring both their micro- and macrocosmos. They explore the small wonders of the seaside, and the marvel of an exotic country. Some frames look like family pictures, others like travel pictures. What makes them special are not only the motives, but the technique: rubber print / cyanotype. I am not able to describe the process, but the result are blue, grainy, beautiful pictures, with different results for each print. The bunch of prints on a table in the gallery shows different versions of the prints on the walls.

Absalon

Absalon
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen
-13.5.12
Installations, videos, futuristic buildings

It is not often the art and the artist is as connected as this. The art of Israeli/French artist Absalon are intriguing, but his short lifestory is fascinating as well. After serving in the army for four years, he left Israel for France to become an artist. His successful career lasted for only six years until his life ended at 29. It is tempting to look at his background when looking at his art, after all his artist name has deep historic value - Absalon was the rebellious son of the biblical hero King David. His art not only closely connected to him, he actually had plans to live in his art.

Absalon was inspired by the Modernists, but unlike Le Corbusier he created buildings for himself to live in. Just big enough for him to move around in, but still containing all things necessary. He would have his own world to himself, like a hermit. But the buildings were destined to be in the cities where he lived, Frankfurt, Paris, New York and Tokyo. The home decides how to live, on the border of the possible physics. He creates his own reality, his own borders. Within his realm he is in control of everything.

The buildings are in life size, where the visitors can enter. There are also different studies on form and shape, and videos with quite different expressions.


Rumours

The protagonist screams and screams until he can no more.


Disposition



Cellule no. 6 (Prototype / Tokyo) + Cellule no. 5 (Prototype / Frankfurt)



Inside Cellule no. 6 (Prototype / Tokyo)
 

Exhibition page here

Sands Murray-Wassink: Sincere

Sincere
Sands Murray-Wassink
Cokkie Snoei gallery, Rotterdam
18.3.-8.4.12
Opening, sexual art



Sometimes I get this feeling of being totally misplaced, and not getting any idea of what is going on. I just happened to get to know about this opening, knowing nothing more than the address and time. I found it interesting to see how openings happen in Rotterdam, so I just went there with an open mind. It is this great feeling not knowing what you will experience, being open to whatever may be. I know the artist has always been working towards the opening, and the gallery has done its best for the visitors to get a memorable impression.

At this opening there was a long speech in Dutch, and the art was incomprehensible for me, not knowing its history or context. What I see are colorful materials with texts and pictures of explicit sexualt contents. As I do not know the artist, the gallery or the culture, I do not know, is this meant to provoke or is it everyday topics? In Norway photos of a male nude with erection would probably create fuss, but how is it recieved in a country where the sexuality of the Red Light Districts are main tourist attractions?

Neither the technique or contents are exactly my cup of tea. Would I have had stronger impressions if I knew the background? I wonder how many visitors of any opening get this same feeling of not getting it. But do we ever dare to reveal that to anyone?

Somehow this exhibition stays in my memory, but for the "wrong" reasons. I do not want to blame the artist or the gallery, I am sure they did their best, I just did not get it this time.


Sorry, Hannah + Seriously


Gay Pornographic Modelling Tryout Wallpaper + Fuck Piece + Psychology


I Don't Want to Disappear + Practice + I am not in Exile I'm in Love