A random collection - or a collection of random things?

On the 6/2/09 MA student Marianne Pedersen exhibited " A random collection - or a collection of random things?" at the NB8 Gallery, Nordahl Bruns Gate 8, Oslo.

Collecting being one of my favourite past times, I was drawn to Marianne's unique perspective, and the anthropomorphic nature of her assemblages.

Sweet Norway

Curious sweet curiosities of Norway. I always enjoy looking at the local delicacies of another country and the branding and packaging of lollies and junk food. Norway has a great selection of retro packaged sweets that often translate humorously.

Geek Crafts

After years of searching through the inner chaos I think I have finally found something to latch on to. It is http://geekcrafts.com/ Browse, enjoy, and relish geek craft.

There IS a square for me in the rubiks cube of life!

Ministry of Culture grant recipients for 2008.

Relief carving of Albertina, a prostitute from the 19th century that was depicted in many paintings and murals as well as written about by well known Norwegian authors.

Work on the left by Ole Lislerud

View of exhibition held at The Oslo City Hall.

Oslo Ceramics @ Galleri FORMAT

Work by Stine Walderhaug

Jim Darbu, Who wants to live forever, 2009.

Jim Darbu and his work Same old day, different shit, 2008.

Professor Ole Lislerud giving a lively speech at the Opening of Oslo Ceramics. I have no idea what he said, as it was all in Norwegian, but I heard later that he was mainly praising the artists for their unique approach to the medium of ceramics.

On the 20th Jan I attended an exhibition opening titled Oslo Ceramics including KHIO talent Jim Darbu http://www.jimdarbu.com/. Now here is the work of someone with a great imagination! Gotta love that room temperature glaze. Jim has a unique way of working with acrylic spray on paints and car paint. A great way to push the boundaries of ceramics.

The group Oslo Ceramics comprises of 5 artists working in the ceramic medium. They are all recent graduates that share a passion for expressing themselves with the ceramic medium but not afraid to incorporate unconventional techniques.

The exhibition was held @ Galleri Format http://www.format.no/

This is a gallery that specialises in showcasing the best from the arts & crafts scene. It is funded by the Norwegian Association of Arts and Crafts (NK) that is in turn supported by the Ministry of Culture. The NK organisation supports professional experience within the areas of ceramics, textiles, metal, wood, glass, and leather.

Arne Aase

Ole Lislerud, Ignis - Bybrann Monument Skansekaia, Aalesund, Norway, 2005.

Knut Natvik, Form, 1995.

As most of you aware, I am in Scandinavia for 6mths on exchange at the Kunsthogskolen i Oslo internationally known as The Oslo National Academy of the Arts http://www.khio.no/ or simply known by the locals as KHIO. I am in the presence of great professors and tutors such as Ole Lislerud http://www.olelislerud.com/, Arne Aase http://www.arneaase.com, Haico Nietzsche, and Knut Natvik. I am using their expertise to follow up my past research into ceramic enamel colours and printing on clay techniques. In the past few weeks I have been observing the students making decals and applying designs on glazed surfaces with enamels both oil and water based. I am also working towards an exhibition so have been furiously making molds while chatting away to Arne Aase about his current research into mineral fertilizers as a way of increasing transparency on a clay body. His research is still in its infancy and many students are experimenting with it and achieving exciting and promising results that could revolutionise the world of porcelain and transparency. Anyway, stay tuned for more info on the topic.

I have concocted a project for myself based on the Norwegian landscape. My room in the Kringsja student housing project overlooks the Sognsvann Lake and surrounding woodland even though I am only 15min by train from the city centre. Sitting here by the window and looking out at the large snowflakes drift to the ground seems like a fairytale reality. I am also engrossed in re-watching Twin Peaks, so the woods are truly alive for me at the moment!. I am creating a dreamscape narrative that will protrude from the wall using found objects and a 2D composition on the wall. It may sound like I have the project fastidiously planned out but they are all just fragments of ideas in my mind at the moment. Anyway, it has been 4weeks now and I am over the plaster making hurdle and can now focus my creativity on the materialisation of these threads of ideas. It is a true luxury to have this time to realise the potential of my ideas!

Art & Culture in Norway

Paul Chan, My birds...trash...the future..., 2004.

Frank Benson, Chocolate Fountain #2, 2008.

Matthew Barney, Torii, 2006.

Shilpa Gupta, There is No Explosives In This-Table II, 2007.

Anselm Kiefer, Barren Landscape, 1987-1989.

Liu Wei, Love it, Bite it!, 2007. Tanned ox hide and pig skin.

The Astrup Fearnley Collection - Rotation #1 Exhibition @ Dronningens gt. 4, Oslo.

http://afmuseet.no/?top_menu=2&sub_menu=0

Visited on Sunday 18th January 2009.

The Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art houses an exceptional collection of international contemporary art that for the next two years will go on a temporary rotating display within the museum. It is not a historical collection nor does it aspire to present specific artistic movements or overviews. Rather, it can be described as a carefully selected cluster of major works by leading international contemporary artists. What constitutes the selection criteria is information that I was not able to decipher from its web page or museum guide, I did however enjoy the seemingly arbitrary selection of contemporary art.

The current exhibition includes artists such as Allora & Calzadilla, Matthew Barney, Frank Benson, Cao Fei, Paul Chan, Chu Yun, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Olafur Eliasson, Gilbert & George, Douglas Gordon, Shilpa Gupta, Guyton \Walker, Damien Hirst, Anselm Kiefer, Ann Lislegaard, Liu Wei, Bjarne Melgaard, Shintaro Miyake, Adam Putnam og Yang Fudong.

I took delight in seeing many early Damien Hirst artworks such as his butterfly series I Feel Love from 1995, and Leukaemia 2003 from his Cancer Chronicles. The later piece hangs in the gallery looking like a monochromatic black painting but upon close observation it becomes evident that the blackness is not made with thick paint; it is composed instead of thousands of flies affixed to the surface with resin. Encased in glass these picture surfaces also deal with the death of painting, a discourse that Hirst is only too familiar with. Hirst is an interesting character and it is probably best that I do not start on a rant about his 'interesting' art practices. This article titled Inside Damien Hirst's factory http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/arts/article-23410356-details/Inside+Damien+Hirst%C2%B4s+factory/article.do covers a lot of ground. All gibes put aside, I think most artists would tear off their left leg to be in his position.

Another courageous piece in the exhibition that attracted my attention was the wonderful reconstruction of famous buildings of the world made entirely of stitched pig skin by Liu Wei titled Love it, Bite it!. I guess this piece appealed to me because the sewn nature of the work had a delicate handi craft aesthetic only to be subverted by the very materials used. It is Liu Wei's way of saying that the world has gone mad with affluence, corruption, and aggression. Animal hide is used as a symbol of the dog treats that are feed to animals which presents at the same time a spectacular and comical vision of the world.

Other works worth mentioning are from Anselm Kiefer. In Zweistromlan/The High Priestess (1985-89) he has constructed about 200 oversized books, constructed from lead. Each book in the library weighs approximately 300 kilos and although Kiefer maintains that they can be pulled off the shelves, opened and read, their weight and size make this an almost impossible task. The books contain trivia about the world - maps, pictures and materials including dried peas - yet this remains hidden from our eyes. The gigantic library can thus be read as a metaphor about the impossibility of knowledge and a reminder about the heavy burden of our past.