OCA International — In Brief

Norwegian Artists and Curators Abroad
Selected International Venues

Biennials

53rd International Art Exhibition
La Biennale di Venezia

From 7 June to 22 November 2009
Venice, Italy

Anawana Haloba participates in
'Fare Mondi // Making Worlds…',
The main exhibition of the
53rd International Art Exhibition
La Biennale di Venezia

At the invitation of Daniel Birnbaum, Director of the 53rd International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Anawana Haloba will exhibit within the main exhibition of the 2009 edition of the Biennale di Venezia. Titled 'Fare Mondi // Making Worlds…', the exhibition articulates different themes woven into one, expressing 'a wish to emphasise the process of creation'. It comprises works by over 90 artists, including Thomas Bayrle, Öyvind Fahlström, Sheela Gowda, Joan Jonas and Wolfgang Tillmans. Within 'Fare Mondi // Making Worlds…', Haloba will exhibit the large-scale spatial installation The Greater G8 (GG8) AD MARKET. The work functions as an advertising market stall for the products of the so-called GG8 members as fictionalised by the artist: Moldova, Iraq, Sudan, Colombia, Bolivia, Malawi, Philippines and Somalia. The project follows the logic and desires of a political dreamscape in which Haloba rewrites the rules of economic financial exchange by offering Third World fair-trade goods imbued with a sense of futility.

The Nordic and Danish Pavilion
'The Collectors' Curated by Elmgreen and Dragset

The Nordic and Danish Pavilion under the title 'The Collectors' and the curators/artists Michael Elmgreeen and Ingar Dragset received a Special Mention by the International Jury of the 53rd International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The jury, comprised of Jack Bankowsky (USA), Homi K. Bhabha/ (India), Sarat Maharaj (South Africa), Angela Vettese (Italy, president), and Julia Voss (Germany), awarded the special mention, entitled Curating Worlds, as a recognition of the re-imagining of the 'national pavilions' as a collaborative universe, bringing together the work of 24 artists and collectives within the two pavilions. The artists/curators were commissioned by Marta Kuzma, OCA's Director, on the part of the Nordic Commission and Christine Buhl Andersen on the part of The Danish Arts Council Committee for international Visual Art as Curators for the pavilions for 2009 with the understanding that they would approach both pavilions as one territory. 'The Collectors'approaches the topic of collecting, and the psychology behind the practice of expressing oneself through physical objects, addressing questions such as 'why do we gather items and surround ourselves with them in our everyday lives?' or 'which mechanisms of desire trigger our selection?'. Exhibiting artists are Thora Dolven Balke, Massimo Bartolini, Hernan Bas, Guillaume Bijl, Maurizio Cattelan, Elmgreen & Dragset, Pepe Espaliú Tom of Finland, Simon Fujiwara, Han & Him, Laura Horelli, Martin Jacobson, William E. Jones, Terence Koh, Jani Leinonen, Klara Lidén, Jonathan Monk, Nico Muhly, Norway Says, (Torbjørn Anderssen, Andreas Engesvik and Espen Voll), Henrik Olesen, Nina Saunders, Vibeke Slyngstad, Sturtevant and Wolfgang Tillmans.

For press enquiries related to the project, and for interviews with the artists, please contact the following:
For Norwegian press: Marthe Tveitan at marthe.tveitan@oca.no
For international press: Brian Phillips/Black Frame at bphillips@framenoir.com.

Pushwagner and Kristina Kvalvik to exhibit within
2009 Gothenburg International Biennial for Contemporary Art
'What a Wonderful World'
Gothenburg, Sweden
5 September–15 November 2009

Pushwagner and Kristina Kvalvik have been invited by curators Celia Prado and Johan Pousette to exhibit within the 2009 Gothenburg International Biennial for Contemporary Art, entitled 'What a Wonderful World' and taking place in various venues throughout Gothenburg, Sweden from 5 September to 15 November 2009. As stated by the curators, 'What a Wonderful World' 'aims to present a generous, poetic and sensual portrayal of human diversity and the human capacity for wonders as well as failures through the gaze and works of contemporary artists'. At Gothenburg City Library, one of the biennial's venue, Pushwagner will exhibit Soft City, a pictorial novel drafted between 1969 and 1975 which narrates a day in the live of a family living a mechanical life in a dehumanized city. Within the biennial, Kvalvik will exhibit a new video work commissioned by the curators. Among other exhibiting artists are: Fiona Tan, Amar Kanwar and Candice Breitz.

Solo Exhibitions and Projects

In the Autumn/Winter 2009 Norwegian artist Matias Faldbakken will hold two solo exhibitions in important venues in Europe. Within 'Matias Faldbakken Extreme Siesta', at Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland from 19 September to 22 November 2009, the artist will exhibit a series of new works that mirrors a 'non-productive production' and that engages in a DIY-aesthetics. 'Matias Faldbakken Extreme Siesta' is curated by Giovanni Carmine, Director Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen and a guest at OCA's International Visitor Programme (IVP) in January 2008.

From 25 November 2009 to 24 January 2010, Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, UK, will present a survey of Faldbakken's works from the last five years. Curated by Helen Legg, Ikon curator, the exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue produced in collaboration with The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, Norway which presents documentation of works since 2003 and includes newly commissioned texts from cultural theorist Peter Osborne, critic Jennifer Allen and curators Øysten Ustvedt and Dr. Andreas Kroksnes.

Knut Åsdam has been invited by Stuart Comer, Curator of Film and Events at Tate Modern, London, UK to hold a solo project at Tate Modern. Entitled 'The Long Gaze', the project consists of a publication, a screening series of complete film works and the exhibition of monitors' works. During 'The Long Gaze', which takes place from 9 to 12 October 2009, the artist will also premiere the film Abyss.

In March and April 2010, Verdensteatret, a Norwegian collective founded in 1986, will hold a solo exhibition at Guangdong Art Museum, Guangdong, People's Republic of China. The exhibition, not yet titled, will present new works by Verdensteatret and the electro-mechanic installation The telling Orchestra, which, Zhang Ga, a NYC based media curator and curator of the exhibition described as 'he Greenlandic voodoo ritual performed in an utterly unlikely fashion with circuit fabricated instruments, phantom shadows dance a electrified folklore'.

Group Exhibitions

Lars Laumann has been invited by Adam Szymczyk, Director Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, Switzerland and a guest at OCA's IVP in October 2006 and May 2009, to take part in the exhibition 'Report on Probability' at Kunsthalle Basel from 28 June to 30 August 2009. According to the curator, the exhibition 'brings together a group of works that seek to establish history on a foundation of unfulfilled possibilities, and turn it to our advantage'. At Kunsthalle Basel, Laumann will exhibit the film Morissey Foretelling the Death of Diana, a video montage of found film and video footage, appropriated song fragments and a researched voice-over narrative, that suggests that Morrissey, the former lead singer of The Smiths, somehow anticipated the death of Princess Diana in 1997 via clues and asides hidden in his lyrics or embedded in images on The Smiths' record sleeves and music videos. Among other exhibiting artists are: Sven Augustijnen, Andreas Bunte and Patricia Esquivias.

From 27 June to 12 September 2009, Knut Åsdam is exhibiting within 'Summertime; or, Close-ups on Places We've (Never) Been', at San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, USA. According to the curator, Hou Hanru, SFAI's Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs, the exhibition raises 'anew the question how certain forms of spatial organization – in particular, the utopic socioeconomic experiments of modernist architecture and design – have become so naturalized a force within the urban environment that they inform the very infrastructure of our identities'. Other exhibiting artists are Jimmie Durham, Nina Fischer & Maroan el Sani and Mark Lewis with installation by Atelier Bow-Wow.

On 15 September 2009 Bonniers Konsthall in Stockholm, Sweden opens a new project entitled 'Life Form' and curated by Sara Arrhenius, Director Bonniers Konsthall. 'Life Form', which consists of an exhibition, a publication and a series of seminars, displays works of artists who depicts of nature, the universe and the broader ecological contexts, among them, the Norwegian artist Ane Graff. Within the exhibition, Graff will present drawings from the series Silver Structure I-III, Leaky Abstractions, Structural Analysis (Dragonfly) I-III, the work Diffuse Nebula, together with new works. 'Life Form' stays on view until 10 January 2010 and also presents works by Micol Assaël, Charles Avery, Rosa Barba, Andreas Eriksson, Tue Greenfort, Henrik Håkansson, Helen Mirra, Katie Paterson, Jani Ruscica and Tomas Saraceno.

From 24 July to 20 September 2009 Knut Henrik Henriksen will be exhibiting within 'Beyond These Walls', at South London Gallery, London, UK. Curated by Margot Heller, Director South London Gallery, 'Beyond These Walls' is an international group show of site-specific and commissioned works made in response to South London Gallery's Victorian architecture, interpretations of its spaces and its geographic context. Within 'Beyond These Walls' Henriksen exhibits four concrete sculptures inspired by the relationship between different levels of the building. Other participating artists include: Tue Greenfort, Public Works and Pieter Vermeersch.

Norwegian curator Nathalie O'Donnell has been selected amongst 114 applicants to participate in the first International Curator Course of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, Gwangju, Korea. The course aims to embark on some in-depth interdisciplinary research and discussion sessions dealing with a wide range of discourses that include many practical topics like curatorship and exhibition practices, the human and sociological backgrounds of visual art and also touching on issues like cultural theory and audience research.

Until 15 July, Lina Viste Grønli and Anders Nordby exhibit within As Small As It Gets, at Gallery Art Since the Summer of '69, New York. As Small As It Gets is the second exhibition at Art Since the Summer of '69, a a new nonprofit space run by Norwegian curator Hanne Mugaas, Fabienne Stephan, and Paul-Aymar Mourgue d'Algue. As of the upcoming projects of Art Since the Summer of '69, Ida Ekbad will hod a solo exhibition curated by Hanne Mugaas in which the artist will present new works. Ekbla's solo exhibition takes place from 28 July to 30 August 2009

Matti Lucie Arentz is currently exhibting within 'Works that Works' at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark. According to the curator, Charlotte Bagger Brandt, Director Råderum – Office for Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark, the exhibition 'focuses on the artistic processes and on experimentation, in which the artwork is not completed by the artist's hand, but rather when the work finds its 'right' form through the active participation of the visitors at exhibition. Within 'Works that Works' the artist will exhibit the video-installation Rotary Notation and 'Arcade', an installation with references to arcade/gaming culture. Among other exhibiting artists are Bosch & Fjord, Büro Detours and Urban Sound Institute. The exhibition is on view until 30 August 2009.

Anawana Haloba has been invited to participate in the 'International Performance Manifestation2', taking place at CEIA; Belo Horizonte, Brazil from 30 July to 10 August 2009. 'International Performance Manifestation2' is a international performance art festival, curated by Marco Paulo Rolla and Marcos Hill that includes workshops, lectures, and presentation of more then thirty international and Brazilian artist. Within the event, Haloba will present a new work titled For the Acquaintance of My Mind (working title), that combines, in a synchronised matter, video, performance, sound and sculpture to duel over issues of migraton, being internal, societal, communal, etc.

During Autumm 2009, curators Hans Askeim, Tom Keogh and Miranda Pope unfold the project 'Overland: London to Beijing' in which an artwork by prominent German artist Tobias Rehberger is transported from London to Beijing. The art work will be exhibit in different venues, throughout the journey, including the Istanbul Biennial, Turkey and XCOMA, Xian, People's Republic of China. 'Overland: London to Beijing' considers the nature of artist and curating practice in today's changing global and markets.

From 25 September 2009 to 10 January 2010, Marit Følstad exhibit within 'The 21st Century, The Feminine Century, and the Century of Diversity and Hope', one of three curatorial projects that constitute the 2009 International Incheon Women Artists Biennale, Incheon, Korea. Curated by Heng-Gil Han, Curator, Visual Arts Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning, the exhibition aims to provide visitors an opportunity to discuss various subjects related to questions of society seen from a feminine perspective. Within 'The 21st Century, The feminine Century, and the Century of Diversity and Hope', Følstad will exhibit a three-channel video work entitled Its All in My Head.

From 19 November 2009 to 20 January 2010, Anne Szefer Karlsen and Heidi Nikolaisen participate 'On Articulating Works & Places', an exhibition, conference and publication as part of Art in Marrakech Festival, taking place in various venues in Marrakech, Morocco. 'On Articulating Works & Places' is constructed on two ideas relating to the works as artistic projects and to the spaces of appearances. Anne Szefer Karlsen has been invited to contribute with the production of the exhibition, as well as partake in the conference and publication. Heidi Nikolaisen will contribute to the exhibition with Sofia, a project with video, photography, text and objects that looks into personal histories as an opposition to the construction of History.

Gisle Frøysland, in the contexts of Piksel Festival in Bergen, Norway, has been invited to develop two collaborations, in Canada and Europe. The curator has been invited for a ten-days workshop residency and a three-days conference at Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, Canada. The projects bring together artists to share practices and further the understanding of open source hardware as an artist endeavour. In Eindholven, the Netherlands, Gisle Frøysland has been invited to participate in 'Piksel@Baltan', a part of the Baltan Laboratories' Blueprint research programme. The collaboration between the festival and Piksel festival will promote artist research and creation through interdisciplinariey exchange between artists and developers.

Ivan Galuzin has been selected to attend the thematic residency 'Why Conceptual Artists Are Painting Again? Because They Think It Is a Good Idea' at the faculty of Jan Verwoet at Banff Centre for the Arts in Banff, Canada. During his stay in Canada, Galuzin will work with painting as a mean to express neo-romantic and post-cynical ideas.

During the New York Book Fair, from 2 to 4 October 2009, Øyvind Renberg as part of Danger Museum will launch the publication as part of an ongoing collaboration Multiple Choices, as part of an ongoing collaboration between Danger Museum (Miho Shimizu and Øyvind Renberg), Ana Linnemann and Alex Villar. Edited by Nuit Banai, the publication will include essays Mikkel Astrup, Eva Diaz and Gloria Ferreira. Multiple Choices will be presented at the stand of Torpedo Press, Oslo, Norway.

Aeron Bergman and Alejandra Salinas have been invited by Freek Lomme, founder of Onomatopee, Eindhoven and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to publish and exhibit the project Drawings of Monuments to Revolutions, which raises issues related to representation of social identity in public sphere. The solo exhibition titled Monuments takes place November 2009.

Victor Mutelekesha is currently participating in 'Art Enclousures – Confini d'Arte – Residencies for Visiting International artists in Venice', a residency programme at Fundazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice, Italy. As part of the programme, the artist will exhibit within Open Studios in August 2009 in which he will present the work Under the Belly and new works developed during the residency.

Anders Smedby has been invited by artists/curators Marius Wang and Olga Robayo to participate in 'El Parche Artist Residency', Bogotá Colombia. 'El Parche Artist Residency' was stablished in 2008 with the by artist group El Pache (Herman Mbamba, Olga Robayo and Marius Wang) to offer to invited artists and curators logging, integration with the local artist community and assistance to logistical aspects of their projects/and/or research. During his stay in Bogotá Smedby will develop a two-week long sculpture workshop in collaboration with local artists working within the field of sound and music experiments. It will focus on involving teenagers in making a functioning model for an instrument, analog sound sculpture, which will be shown and played during a public performance at the end of the workshop. The event will take place in July 2009.

Beate Hølmebakk has been invited by curators Sabina Shilhilnskaya and Beral Madra to exhibit within 'Maiden Tower – To Be a Woman', taking place at Center for Contemporary Art of Azerbaijan, Baku, Azerbaijan from 17 to 22 May 2009. The exhibition raises issues related to feminine roles in society. Within the exhibition the artist will present the project Virginia, consisting of 23 large pencil drawings and four large scale models of four homes built on a reading of four fictional female characters. Other participating artists and curator include Derya Yusel, Khatuna Khabuliani and Rusudan Oat.

Between 01 October and 30 November, Anne Stabell exhibits within Kaunas Biennial Textile 09, Kaunas, Lithuania. At invitation of artists and professors Annika Ekdahl and Birgitta Nordtröm (University of Gothenburg), Anne Stabell will partake in the project Shelter, a site-specif project to be develop within the biennial and exhibit in November 2009.

From 15 to 20 August 2009 artist duo Bull.Miletic and Jeremy Welsh partake in 'BUU: Bureau for Unstable Urbanism', at Kunstverein e.V, in Cologne, Germany. The project is a screening programme presenting works by German and Norwegian artists based on BUU, a loose affiliation of international professionals within a range of cultural practises who share a common interest in the investigation of urban cultures and phenomena. Curated by Doris Frohnapfel, Curator, Kunstverein e.V, 'BUU: Bureau for Unstable Urbanism' also includes works by Ivar Semstad, Amanda Steggell and Farhad Kalantary.

Liv Bugge, Thomas Kavan and Miree Abrahamsen within 'Crossroads', a 15 days symposium taking place at Baku Center for Contemporary Art, Baku, Azerbaijan. The symposium seeks to reflect on the idea of cultural integration, by reflecting on issues of traditions, cultures and 'world-culture'. During 'Crossroads' artist from Azerbaijan and Norway will work together to develop art works that will be exhibit at Baku Center for Contemporary Art.