KUNST FüR ANGELN recommends
art silo in Kristiansand
Interesting article about a project in Norway
Something new in the north
One of the most spectacular museum buildings in Scandinavia, the Kunstsilo, has opened in Kristiansand, Norway. In a former granary, the first exhibition asks about the Nordic in modernity – but has not yet found an answer.
As you enter, all visitors make the same movement – which does not look entirely healthy from an orthopedic perspective. They look up, throw their heads back, and some of them actually have their mouths open.
CASTLE OF THE VALKYRIES
May 1st – November 3rd, 2024
Joana Vasconcelos at Gottorf Castle in Schleswig
UNSEEN
EXHIBITION BY
ANISH KAPOOR
Till October 20th, 2024
AT THE ARKEN MUSEUM FOR CONTEMPORARY ART
IN ISHØJ / DÄNEMARK
Kapoor’s art revolves around absence and the void…
CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH
Different locations
THE YEAR 2024 is a year of ROMANTICISM
Caspar David Friedrich’s 250th birthday is commemorated by several large exhibitions…
olafur ELIASSON
Is the latest guest curator for WeTransfer’s WePresent creative portal
WeTransfer announces Olafur Eliasson as its new annual guest curator.
Artist Olafur Eliasson becomes the latest guest curator for WeTransfer’s WePresent creative portal.
WeTransfer, the favourite file transfer service, just added another creative string to its bow with the announcement of 2024’s annual guest curator, the Icelandic–Danish artist Olafur Eliasson.
This partnership with an artist famed for his focus on environmental issues also highlights WeTransfer’s newly elevated B Corp score, the rating that grades companies that meet ‘high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency’. Eliasson will use the WePresent arts platform to showcase work by artists who are dedicated to highlighting the climate crisis.
Back in April, Eliasson took to WePresent to publish ‘10 rules for celebrating food’, part of the site’s ongoing A Manifesto By series. As the site’s latest guest curator, Eliasson joins a list that includes the artist Marina Abramovic, musician Solange Knowles and actor and art collector Russell Tovey.
Eliasson will give a number of new voices a place on the WePresent platform, addressing not just the climate crisis but ‘adjacent issues which he views as deeply interconnected’. These will include the little-discussed issue of climate justice, along with systemic racism and gender politics.
‘I’m grateful to WeTransfer for inviting me to be the guest curator of this year,’ Eliasson says. ‘WePresent is a vibrant space that is both personal and boundless – something I find particularly valuable in 2024. Together, we hope to amplify voices addressing the pressing issues of our time.’
As Eliasson notes in his opening editor’s letter, ‘Artists, musicians, writers, dancers, performers – they all give shape to the complexity of our present moment and can speak to us directly as individuals.’ Confirmed collaborations include the art director Sarah Masete, artist Hadeer Omar, and writer and theorist Neema Githere, ‘all [of whom] address complexity and host discussions that I find deeply inspiring’, according to Eliasson. ‘I am extremely pleased to work as a guest curator with WeTransfer to further amplify their crucial voices, to spark important discussion and inspire others.’
WePresent finds a monthly audience of around 3 million people across 190 countries, while the file transfer platform itself has a user base of over 80 million people. ‘We’re committed to amplifying the voices of artists who use their platforms to do good, and Olafur Eliasson is exemplary,’ says Holly Fraser, VP of Content at WeTransfer. ‘He has long been a champion of sustainability, climate activism and the need for collective change.’
OlafurEliasson.net
@StudioOlafurEliasson
WeTransfer.com
@WeTransfer
WePresentWeTransfer.com
@WePresent
www.wallpaper.com
“CASTLE OF THE VALKYRIES”
Joana Vasconcelos at Gottorf Castle in Schleswig.
MAY 1st – NOVEMBER 3rd, 2024
This is the largest show of works by the Portuguese star artist Joana Vasconcelos in Germany to date.
Vasconcelos is known for her elaborate sculptures and gigantic installations, often employing traditional craftsmanship techniques. Her cheerful and ironic works frequently address questions of cultural identity, consumer society, and the recurring examination of the role of women in society.
Her art is considered a homage to her homeland, Portugal.
Now, she has transformed Gottorf Castle into a “Castle of the Valkyries” with her gigantic installations. It is not only a tribute to her homeland but also to warrior women.
The artist is very pleased with this new venue for her imaginative sculptures at the Gottorf Castle Museum. “It is the perfect place. I am thrilled with the chapel and the castle. It is beautiful here and very different from where I come from. For me, it’s a perfect scenario – with my art, I want to give the place a new dimension and create a dialogue between traditional spaces and my work. Many things can only be hinted at on paper. When you actually see it, it is impressive how the pieces find their place in a unique way every time.”
The centerpiece of her exhibition in Schleswig consists of three giant figures, the so-called Valkyries “Marina Rinaldi,” “Martha,” and “Thyra.” The artist has named all her Valkyries after historical heroines. These are huge floating beings made from fabrics, lace, embroidery, wool, sequins, beads, feathers, and LEDs.
“The Valkyries are inspired by the Nordic warrior goddesses: They have the power to bring back the deceased. I have taken this element from Nordic mythology and transferred it into a new, colorful dimension. That is what I do: I take things from the past, present them in the present, and hope they reach into the future,” says the 52-year-old Joana Vasconcelos. “Thyra,” which hovers under the ceiling of the castle chapel, was created specifically for Gottorf and named after the Danish Queen Thyra, who lived in the early Middle Ages. A woman who was very impressive, very feminine, but at the same time very strong.
The art of the Portuguese artist is thoroughly feminist. Her figures are powerful, self-confident, and loud: They take up the space they deserve, which is often denied to women. “There are so many fabulous women that no one ever talks about. That is how the idea for the Valkyries came about: They create spaces and identities for women who have been forgotten by history,” says the artist.
Vasconcelos achieved her international breakthrough in 2005 with “The Bride” at the first Venice Biennale curated by women; in 2013, she designed the entire pavilion for Portugal.
“My first Biennale in 2005 was the first ever curated by a woman. Later, I was the first woman to exhibit in the Palace of Versailles. And then I was the first Portuguese artist with a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Bilbao. So, it is not about some feminist concept, but about reality: I have learned that many women before me did not have the same opportunities as I did.”
Also on display at Gottorf Castle are the delicate heart made of plastic cutlery and a meter-high stiletto, which upon closer inspection, is made of pots and pans. These opulent sculptures made from everyday objects are among Joana Vasconcelos’ trademarks.
“It is a kind of transformation process. I take something from the kitchen, and then pots become a shoe, and the shoe suddenly stands in a museum. I find it funny: A household object that nobody paid attention to before is suddenly greatly admired. Yet, it is still the same object. I have never shied away from simply opening some drawers and placing things that no one is interested in into a new context,” says Joana Vasconcelos.
Her art is also a homage to her homeland: to traditional craftsmanship, to typical Portuguese colors and patterns. The Schleswig exhibition also reminds us of an important anniversary: the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. “I am happy to be an ambassador for my country, and I am glad that I, as a woman, have the opportunity to do so. I belong to the first generation in Portugal that grew up in a democracy, and I hope that my generation is a good proof that it is worth fighting for democracy. You are freer, more creative, and the times are clearly better than they were 50 years ago.”
STILL ON VIEW UNTIL NOVEMBER 3, 2024: Joana Vasconcelos: Le Château des Valkyries. Schleswig-Holstein State Museums, Museum of Art and Cultural History, Gottorf Castle, Schleswig.
ART FOR ANGELN e.V. Rating: Highly recommended!!!
www.schloss-gottorf.de
“UNSEEN”
EXHIBITION BY ANISH KAPOOR
AT THE ARKEN MUSEUM FOR CONTEMPORARY ART
IN ISHØJ / DÄNEMARK
RUNNING UNTIL OCTOBER 20, 2024
Kapoor’s art revolves around absence and the void, giving unseen things a tangible presence. This exhibition explores how his works engage our senses while hinting at deeper meanings. Kapoor transforms materials and space using techniques like mirroring and color, altering our perceptions. His art prompts us to reconsider our relationship with the physical world and our own selves, offering a sensory experience crucial in today’s digital era.
arken.dk
FOR 2024/25 WE RECOMMEND A CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH TOUR!
THE YEAR 2024 is a year of ROMANTICISM.
Caspar David Friedrich’s 250th birthday is commemorated by several large exhibitions of the most famous German painter whose art was dismissed as kitsch for decades. This year his art will be celebrated comprehensively and appropriately. An exhibition overview:
Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin
In his hometown GREIFSWALD the Pomeranian State Museum (Pommersches Landesmuseum) shows from April 28th to August 4th, 2024 the exhibition “Caspar David Friedrich – Lifelines”. Then from August 18th to October 6th “Caspar David Friedrich – Places of Longing”; and from October 16th, 2024 till January 5th, 2025 the exhibition “Caspar David Friedrich – Hometown”
Off to BERLIN! From April 19th to August 4th, 2024 the Alte Nationalgalerie presents the exhibition “Caspar David Friedrich – Infinite Landscapes”.
For more than 40 years DRESDEN was the center of Caspar David Friedrich’s life (1774-1840). The Albertinum (August 24th, 2024 to January 5th, 2025) and the Kupferstich-Kabinett (August 24th till November 17th, 2024) show on the occasion of his 250th Birthday the big special exhibition “Dresden – where it all began”!
…and at the end of the year: Let’s go to Weimar! There the chapter C.D. Friedrich and Goethe will be illuminated, in the Schiller Museum from November 22nd. Opening ceremony on November 21st, 2024. A special exhibition by the Klassik Stiftung Weimar “Caspar David Friedrich, Goethe and Romanticism in Weimar” will be shown until March 2nd, 2025.
In 2025, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NEW YORK will launch the first major CDF solo exhibition entitled “Caspar David Friedrich – the soul of Nature”.
BOOK TIP: Anyone planning to visit one of the Friedrich exhibitions is recommended to read the current book by Florian Illies in advance: “ZEIT DER STILLE – Caspar David Friedrichs Reisen durch die Zeiten”. Published by S.Fischer. The ideal preparation for every CDF exhibition!
An inspiring year full of exciting and emotional art moments wishes you KUNST FÜR ANGELN!
NORDIC ART NEWSLETTER
For whom is interested what is happening art wise in Scandinavia and Schleswig-Holstein, we are offering the NORDIC ART NEWSLETTER.
Special tips published more or less quarterly only on this website.