As the year 2013 is quickly coming to an end, thoughts run back over the year on interesting exhibitions and art experiences which made particular strong impressions, whatever the reasons may be. They are many and make for a very disparate list. C-print asked a number of artists and gallerists to share a few of their memorable moments from the past year. The directions given were kept at a very minimum, and the task presented widely, open to employ by choice. We hope you’ll enjoy the kind participation of our guests as much as we did. Our love goes out to all of them. <3
Richard Johansson (Galleri Magnus Karlsson) In the past year Richard Johansson participated in group exhibitions in Germany, at Borås Museum of Modern Art and with Galleri Magnus Karlsson at the Market Art Fair in Stockholm. His solo exhibition “East goes West” at Galleri Thomas Wallner in Simris recently ended in November. – There’s one exhibition I’d like to highlight, namely Ulf Lundin’s ”5-9” at Galleri Magnus Karlsson in Stockholm. The big video installation just made my jaw drop. So freaking powerful.
Mette Björnberg (Galleri Magnus Karlsson) This year Mette Björnberg presented an excellent solo exhibition titled “Breathing Space” at Galleri Magnus Karlsson in Stockholm, and also participated in a group exhibition in Simris at Galleri Thomas Wallner. – I’m not a regular attendee at art exhibitions. On the contrary. I live an enchanted life of small moments. Family, our beloved home and my own artistry is devoted all my time. As a consequence, as I’m given the opportunity to highlight a few exhibitions which made an impression on me this year, the selection is small. I keep ending up at the same result. Richard Johansson outshines any other contender that comes to mind. This presents a little bit of a bias and conflict, as Richard also happens to be my husband. And yet, his solo show “East goes West” which recently ended at Gallery Thomas Wallner in Simris would have to be my pick from the past year.
Images: Johan Månsson Patrik Aarnivaara (Galleri Charlotte Lund) In November, Patrik Aarnivaara inaugurated a site-specific sculptural work, “Tidsglänta”, commissioned by the Public Art Agency Sweden for the Swedish Livestock Research Center in Lövsta (part of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences). In the past year, he also participated at Market Art Fair in Stockholm with Galleri Charlotte Lund and exhibited at narrative gallery in London alongside Shirin Sabahi. Patrik Aarnivaara presents below, in no particular order, a few exhibitions and artistries he found notably interesting in 2013.
“Nothing But Time: Paul Thek Revisited 1964 – 1987” at Pace Gallery in London. “E as in Invisible, E as in Invincible, E as in Disappear” (group exhibition) at Signal Center for Contemporary Art in Malmö. Camille Henrot’s video work “Grosse Fatigue” in “the Encyclopedic Palace” at the 55th Venice Biennale. Daniel Silver’s project “Dig”, produced for Artangel in London. Karin Hasselberg’s exhibition “Considering Sites” at the Museum of Sketches in Lund. Mika Taanila’s exhibition ”Time Machines” at Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki. Annika von Hausswolff’s exhibition “Time Out Photography and About” at Helsinki Contemporary in Helsinki. Emma Hart’s exhibition “Dirty Looks” at Camden Arts Center in London. It made me discover an interesting exhibition by Hart that took place two years ago at Matt’s Gallery in London in 2011. Vanja Lindberg (Galleri Anna Thulin) Vanja Lindberg's first big solo exhibition “The Assembly” just ended at Galleri Anna Thulin. Lindberg’s art practice sees her among other mediums working with installations of dollhouses. A selection of these works was also presented by said gallery at Market Art Fair in Stockholm earlier this year. – Assa Kauppi’s exhibition at Galleri Andersson/Sandström in Stockholm was very nice. Her sculptures of sleeping Barbie doll-like life-size infants made an impression. Innocently resting on pedistals, safe in their sleep. Without splints for protection. And with makeup, tulle and glitter on. A most horrible combination. They came across as so alive, it was almost as though you could get through to them beyond the made-up surface. Sad, interesting and beautiful!
Image: Galleri Andersson Sandström
Bo Christian Larsson (Christian Larsen Gallery) Bo Christian Larsson has had a very busy year with multiple solo exhibitions in Germany (Berlin, Düsseldorf, Nuremberg, Berlin and Munich) and a solo exhibition titled “Falling Down Redux” at Borås Museum of Modern Art. He was awarded the 1st price “The Artist of the Year 2013” by VHV Group in Hannover and also selected for the sponsorship programme “New Positions” at Art Cologne. – The following art experiences made an extra impression on me this year, without any particular order: Hilma af Klint at Moderna Museet in Stockholm. Kent Iwemyr’s exhibition "The Vintage Show" at Galleri Magnus Karlsson in Stockholm. The group exhibition ”der schein | glanz, glamour, illusion” at the Kestnergesellschaft in Hannover featuring a few favourite artists like James Lee Byars and Paul McCarthy. Mark Manders’ amazing work at The Dutch Pavillion at this year’s Venice Biennale. Joëlle Tuerlinckx's almost manic exhibition "WORLD[K] IN PROGRESS?" at Haus der Kunst in Munich. Berlinde De Bruyckere’s imposing works in her exhibition "In the Flesh" at Kunsthaus Graz. Matthew Day Jackson’s exhibition “Something Ancient, Something New, Something Stolen, Something Blue” at Hauser & Wirth in NYC.
Image: Mark Manders's installation at the 55th Venice Biennale
Fredrik Åkum (Gallery Steinsland Berliner) This year saw Fredrik Åkum not only graduating with a MFA from Valand Academy in Gothenburg, but he also found the time to participate in a string of group exhibitions and presented solo shows in Gothenburg and Glasgow. Below, Åkum puts an interesting spin to his ”favourites of the year”: – Here's my list of the top three exhibitions I wish I saw, but didn’t. What I have seen is the documentations of the exhibitions online and in printed matter. Olivier Kosta-Théfaine ”En Flânant...” at Galerie Jeanrochdard, Paris. http://www.jeanrochdard.com/en-flanant,150
Andreas Eriksson ”Landskap (till Kjarval)” at Galleri Riis, Stockholm. http://www.galleririis.com/exhibitions/123/ Luc Tuymans “The Summer is Over” at David Zwirner, New York.http://www.davidzwirner.com/exhibition/luc-tuymans-ny-2013/ Carl Hammoud (Galleri Magnus Karlsson) Earlier this year, Carl Hammoud presented a solo show at Lorna Reynolds Gallery in Austin, Texas, and is currently on show at Galleri Magnus Karlsson with ”Analysis, Method, Unfold”; his awaited fourth solo exhibition at the gallery showcasing a range of techniques and formats. Hammoud is the first recipient of the Åke Andrén grant; the biggest of its kind awarded to young artists in Sweden. – At the beginning of the year I had the pleasure of visiting some remarkable private collections while I was in Austin, Texas for a show. These collections included works by artists such as James Turrell, Agnes Martin, Anselm Kiefer, Philip Guston, Louise Bourgeois, Fred Sandback and Yayoi Kusama to name just a few.
Viewing a serious private collection is something completely different from visiting a museum, a gallery or an institution. Many collectors build, shape and reshape their homes around the artworks, while the architecture of a museum or gallery is static; it precedes the artworks and is not meant to change. In both museums and private collections the selection of works are of course curated. But since a private collection is curated from one viewpoint (ultimately, the collector's), it will give you a completely different and more intimate viewing experience. There is also another aspect I would like to highlight, which is the way you move through the rooms and look at the works. The problem with museums and institutions - and I do consider this to be a problem - is that you sometimes feel like a reluctant actor in a play you did not sign up for. It is as if you are directed to walk through the space(s) in a given manner. Every move you make is registered; it is registered by other visitors and by the museum personnel... and it is recorded by security cameras. These are sociopsychological boundaries that limit your attentiveness, your concentration. When you walk through a private collection, or when guided by the collector, there is no "audience". You are walking with the other visitors or the collector, not in front of them. On the other hand, accessibility is of relevance. You have to have the privilege of being invited into a collector's home, but museums are open to everyone. So while my visit with the collectors in Austin was my personal favorite this year, I will take this opportunity to mention Mika Rottenberg's exhibition ”Sneeze to Squeeze” at Magasin 3 in Stockholm as the best public exhibition of 2013. Morten Andenæs (Galleri Riis) Norwegian artist Morten Andenæs has had a busy year. Besides presenting his solo exhibition ”enclosed circuit” at Galleri Riis' both premises in Oslo and Stockholm, he also had a selection of his works presented at Art Basel by said gallery and released a monograph titled ”Skyldfolk”. – Norwegian artist Espen Gleditsch's slender volume NOSTALGIA was published in 2013 and immediately put me in mind of something a friend once wrote: "it is sometimes forgotten that millions upon billions of failed experiments provide us far more useful data than any number of successful ones"...The book - an historical account of an unsuccessful expedition led by a British explorer in the 1800's, and a phenomenological study of the photographic medium itself - encompasses such fruitful topics as illusion, failure, the blindspots of perception and denial. In bringing together the deadpan text Phantom Hills at Lancaster Sound with ten convoluted black and white photographs of historical source material, neatly arranged crystals and reflective metal plates, NOSTALGIA elaborates on the structure of desire and eschews the often cited grievance that the best a photograph can hope for is to delineate the limits of the visible rather than transcend it.
Image: NOSTALGIA, 2013 Galleberg Forlag
Jwan Yosef (Galleri Anna Thulin)
Based in London since graduating with a MFA from Central Saint Martins, JwanYosef presented his first big solo show in Sweden earlier this year with ”High Notes” at Galleri Anna Thulin. The gallery also showcased a series of his characteristic oil paintings on perspex at Market Art Fair in Stockholm. The year also saw Yosef participating in multiple group exhibitions in London and Madrid. Yosef tells us about his most memorable art experience this year; a work by Ragnar Kjartansson (Iceland) at the 55th Venice Biennale. – Watching the S.S. Hangover slowly take a turn towards the colonnaded shipyard. A five-piece orchestra with a melancholic brass composition, a melody faded by the open air. Reaching the covered resonating shipyard, suddenly the volume of the floating quintet is augmented as if it were played in your ear, only for you. Cancelling the bustling noise of the opening of the Venice Biennale.
Jesper Nyrén (Galleri Flach) Earlier this fall, Jesper Nyrén presented ”Unfold”; a solo exhibition composed of colours and patterns at Galleri Flach.The year also saw the inauguration of not one, but two monumental commissioned works of his; “Spectrum” at Rikstenskolan (an elementary school in the suburb of Botkyrka) and “Polygonal Wall” at Mariehällskolan (an elementary school in the suburb of Bromma). Below, Nyrén presents his top three picks of the year. Varda Caivano, the 55th Venice Biennale. – This tiny, modest and hidden suite of paintings was the best at the biennale this year. Fischli & Weiss "Suddenly This Overview", the 55th Venice Biennale. – Juggles between childish (and highly entertaining) slapstick and deeply moving. Hilma af Klint "A Pioneer of Abstraction", Moderna museet, Stockholm. – Silly title and poor curation, but excellent works. Truly amazing having been able to take part of this entire selection on one site. Emil Bertz (Christian Larsen Gallery) The always cool and kind Emil Bertz is a director of Christian Larsen Gallery, where he's been for the past four years. For next year Bertz generally hopes for more tolerance and compassion in the world. “It’s remarkable how cliché that actually sounds”, he notes. Here are some of his reflections on art moments from this past year in Sweden. The trend: The large amount of plants that made their way into gallery-, museum- and art space- exhibitions. The IKEA-yucca palm is the new IKEA-drawing table. Cutest: Jeannin/Schuurmans work "Le Rond Universel". Long-awaited: Hilma af Klint Expectations: Ai Weiwei Family-friendliest: “Cosmic Castration” in the suburb of Sundbyberg. Strollers, playground and art. The local pizzeria made an exclusive pizza for the exhibition; olives and pineapple - no cheese. Jeanette Steinsland (Gallery Steinsland Berliner) Alongside Jacob Kampp Berliner, Jeanette Steinsland is the director of Gallery Steinsland Berliner which recently celebrated its fifth year anniversary with an excellent group exhibition showcasing a great number of previously exhibited artists. Aside from the gallery’s own projects, Steinsland curated the group exhibition “Power is Exercised” at Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall in Arendal, Norway. – In the past year I've been fascinated by different artistries. Anastasia Ax, Linnéa Sjöberg, Malin Gabriella Nordin, Ylva Carlgren and Cajsa von Zeipel all had me floored at several occasions.
Image: Ylva Carlgren NAU Gallery With a modern take on art dealing – with the philosophy of art as something fun – and with an ambition to make it more accessible and to serve as a platform for emerging talents, Young Art has since the inauguration in 2010 exhibited well over 300 artists. The gallery division of Young Art, NAU Gallery, located in the gallery cluster of Hudiksvallsgatan, has in the past year exhibited young talents such as Gustaf Lillienstierna, Malin Gabriella Nordin and Viktor J. Fremling. The team behind Young Art, consisting of Antonia von Euler-Chelpin, Írena Sólevig Steinsdòrsdòttir and Julia af Robson, was kind enough to disclose their internal mail thread regarding their participation in this feature. Antonia von Euler Chelpin <antonia@youngart.se> 19:11 (15 hours ago) to Írena, Julia We're going to be featured in C-print and drop our best art happenings. Give me yours so we can all contribute each from the Young Art family. Julia af Robson <julia@youngart.se> 23:36 (11 hours ago) to Antonia, Írena, Julia QL! Hmm, tricky… I would have to say one of these: ”The Fashion World of Jean-Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk” exhibition at Arkitektur- och designmuseum which was super cool with the way the projections on the faces of the models were done. The video piece by Niki de Saint Phalle at Moderna Museet. Paolo Roversi’s “Secrets” at Fotografiska - the portraits. “Art of Memory” at Bonniers konsthall – especially the way the exhibitions spread out across town in various ways. Antonia von Euler Chelpin <antonia@youngart.se> 10:08 (1 hour ago) to Julia, Írena, Julia Írena, you have 1h to answer! Irena Steindorsdottir <irena@youngart.se> 10:42 (27 minutes ago) to Antonia to Antonia Holymoly! I can’t remember a thing of what I saw this year. Embarrassing to think how little I actually saw. But Venice (the Biennale) was grand I have to say - a real experience, crazy much to see and take in. In Stockholm: Mika Rottenberg at Magasin 3 Niki de Saint Phalle at Moderna Museet Other than that I went to see an awesome exhibition with works by Konstfack’s textile division - “Realness”- curated by themselves. That’s as far as my memory extends... ;) Damn, this year just flew by... KISS Irena Steindorsdottir <irena@youngart.se> 10:47 (23 minutes ago) to Antonia AND HOW AWESOME that we’re going to be in C-print!! Totally like them! :) Antonia von Euler Chelpin <antonia@youngart.se> 11:08 (2 minutes ago) Beata Fransson’s exhibition at ANNAELLE, never felt such a consumer desire before. Don’t know who or what to sell to get 90 000 kr. The opening at Nordenhake fall ’13 with Meriç Algün Ringborg. Venice (Biennale); Antti Laitinen, the Romanian pavilion and the gondola ride with prosecco and a block of chocolate. Meriç Algün Ringborg (Galerie Nordenhake) Aside from opening fall season with a solo exhibition titled ”A Work of Fiction” at Galerie Nordenhake, C-print favourite Meriç Algün Ringborg presented her ”The Library of Unborrowed Books” in New York and exhibited at Galeri NON in Istanbul. Having also participated in numerous group exhibitions in places such as Vienna, Detroit, Reykjavík, Rome and Jalisco, Mexico in the past year, she is currently on show in ongoing exhibitions in Malmö, Vancouver and at MOSTYN in Wales. – In Stockholm, Karl Holmqvist's exhibition at Moderna was my favourite of this year.
Image: Karl Holmqvist
Ditte Ejlerskov (Elastic Gallery) Ditte Ejlerskov has had a year of being widely exhibited and is currently participating in a string of ongoing group exhibitions; at Malmö Art Museum, Stolper + Friends in Oslo, ANNAELLEGALLERY in Stockholm and Piccadilly Exhibition Company No.5 in Copenhagen. In the past year, she also presented the solo exhibition “We Found Love in a Hopeless Place” at Elastic Gallery in Malmö. She is set for a busy 2014. Ditte Ejlerskov presents her contribution as a letter from Paris where she is currently residing as a resident in the premises of Cité Internationale des Arts. PHILIPPE PARRENO at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, FR Title of the show: Anywhere, Anywhere Out of the World I have a hard time understanding what people mean when they say that the art scene in Paris is not very contemporary. That it would belong to the past is most definitely not true at all. Well, at least this fall season in Paris has been exceptionally contemporary. The galleries as well as the institutions have delivered vigorous monumental productions. Anyway, my under-stimulated Malmö-brain has had a lot to digest. I could tell you about so many shows here, but I will resort to presenting only one; the rightfully sensational “Anywhere, Anywhere Out of the World” at Palais de Tokyo. While his friend Pierre Huyghe is on show at Centre Pompidou (an equally truly majestic show including a skinny pink-legged dog sneaking around the exhibition space – for real!), Philippe Parreno takes on an exhibition that fills the Palais to its entirety. It is in fact the first time an artist has been invited to take on this challenge and he genuinely succeeds. Both Parreno and Huyghe are French and as I understand it, the two shows in question seem immensely important for the Parisian scene right now, since there’s been a tendency for years to show mainly non-French artists in Paris. Well, let me try to put something together about Parreno's show. Text, sound, film, sculpture, performance and drawings occupy the immense 22,000 m2 gallery space at the Palais. Most of the works are impossible to photograph. As you might know; sound, darkness and cold do not capture very convincingly in a photograph... As I see it, this exhibition is perhaps primarily (but not only) driven by Parreno's negotiation with architecture and with the notion of the exhibition as a medium in its own right. But each individual work stands alone as beautiful, and invites you into other dimensions of experiencing for example nature through art in different mediums. The entire show is a dramatic composition of objects, sounds, projections and lights that rightfully and completely manipulate your experience. You walk like a zombie in the dark. You accept that the artist - or rather the show - is in complete control of your experience. You do not know where you are in the building and it is almost as if being afraid of what awaits around the next corner. Something loud? Something moving? Something unpleasantly ice-cold? Several times, after having walked in a small, dark corridor accompanied for example by the sound of rain, you find yourself in yet another huge room with an installation that is somewhat choreographed to perform for you as you walk across the floor. One of the many surprises occurred right after the film “Marilyn” – a 20 minutes tour of an apartment. It is an old-fashioned apartment. A voice-over describes the wallpaper and the furniture as the camera professionally slides through the rooms. There is a comforting sound of rain outside, which makes the apartment seem cozy and friendly. The film conjures up Marilyn Monroe through a phantasmagoric séance in a suite at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, where she lived in the 1950s. It reproduces Monroe’s presence by means of three algorithms: the camera becomes her eyes, a computer reconstructs the prosody of her voice and a robot recreates her handwriting. The Hollywood icon is incarnated in an image that is in fact an automaton, something resembling a human, and yet not quite real. A pleasant female voice-over lures me into the cordial slowness and I enjoy the detailed warmth on the immense screen in the room. I am so thoroughly entertained that I forget the rather unpleasant fact that I have to put on my wool jacket, my wool gloves and my wool hat as I sit there on the bench in the ice-cold dark room. As the film comes to an end the projection stops and the screen becomes transparent. White beams highlight what looks like a vast ice and snow glaciered landscape right behind the screen…? So, a snow-landscape was here all the time - while I was sitting on the bench…? The magic of this deception makes the entire audience stand up and immediately walk (like zombies again) across the space and into the newly created world on the backside of the projection. Is it ice and show? Is it salt? Is it okay to touch? Was I supposed to have seen this part first – before the film? And what sort of relationship does this cold white landscape have with the warmth of the voice-overed film...? “Anywhere, Anywhere Out of the World” is a journey through the diversity and variety of Parreno's practice, but what this show does – which I have not experienced before – is that it skillfully gets under your skin and alters your perception of a space you thought you knew. Also (and perhaps primarily) since you are stuck in the Palais for hours and hours, you really get involved, bemused and disjoined from your real life and thereby integrated into the world he has created. In fact, in the end you find yourself completely involved in Parreno's mindset and emotional artistic drama - and not just in the architecture that confines it. Another element that takes away your senses and your healthy perceptual system is the constant flickering of lights that follow you in all the rooms, hallways and corners of the exhibition. It is a light that is not constant but irregular – like lightening in the sky. For me this light was a classic tool of torture. And it was this light that eventually made me leave the building. Had I stayed a few more minutes, I am sure I would have thrown up my expensive Palais lunch on the exhibition floor. I am not sure how Parreno would have liked that. Or was my nauseous condition part of his script? That question remains unanswered. I left. So to conclude this review (…. in which I have hardly mentioned any exhibited artworks in detail); Parreno's carefully mastered script and his use of effects alter the building itself into a constantly engaging organism over which you have no power. The exhibition is a medium. It is an object in its own right. It can be an experience or a fictional journey of three hours. And by the way, to add a little something about fiction meeting reality; I just realized that the skinny pink-legged dog from Pierre Huyghe's show is living in my building here in Paris! What a pleasant surprise! Unfortunately, it is not a very friendly dog. In the show at Pompidou, I saw how he genuinely seemed to dislike when the visitors tried to touch him or communicate with him. He is obviously an art-dog and not a pet… Hmm…I must investigate this further. Well. All for now. Best wishes, Ditte
Image: Palais de Tokyo
llustrations accompanying this feature are exclusively made for C-print by Pär Lindström, Senior graphics designer at H&M, and Beckmans College of Design graduate. Much love to him <3