Arrangement av Format
Exhibitions 8 August - 22 September 2024
EIRIK GJEDREM
Bølgelengde / Wavelenght
Eirik Gjedrem possesses a deep fascination with water and its connection to the subconscious mind. He explores how the depths of the ocean can reflect the inner landscape of humans, and how the movement of water can shape both the physical and mental realms. Water's constant motion through all forms of life symbolizes an eternal connection and driving force. This theme has been central to his entire body of work.
Water is a vital component and shares properties with clay, the artist's preferred material. The connection with water is essential for clay's ability to be molded and transformed. Perforated surfaces, the use of glazes and colors, layer upon layer, create an illusion of depth and reflect the multifaceted nature of water. Movements, textures, and contrasts in form and surface seek to imbue the works with a vibrant, dynamic, and weightless character.
Eirik is particularly fascinated by the unique state experienced underwater. A world unfolds with sensory impressions, weightlessness, and a boundless universe. Diving into the depths provides an opportunity to sense oneself and explore one's own boundaries. Daily excursions combined with diving into the sea throughout the year offer experiences that can be transformed into his works. This essential morning ritual, an investment in the day, often contributes to solutions for artistic or technical problems or challenges and can turn around a poor start to the day. In addition to drawing inspiration from this, he also gathers seaweed, kelp, and other natural materials, which are used in molds or as texture materials.
Eirik Gjedrem (b. 1959, Ås) resides and works in Søgne. He has held solo exhibitions at venues such as Kunstnerforbundet (2022/1995), Kunstsilo (Sørlandets kunstmuseum) (2010), Kraft Bergen (2019), Telemark kunstsenter (2020), Risør kunstpark (2015), Ski kunstforening (2024), Søgne gml. Prestegård (2016/2004), Sandnes Kunstforening (2002), Centrum Goed Werk, Zulte, Belgium (2001), Galleri RAM (2000), and Kunstpunkt Lista (2023). In recent years, he has participated in group exhibitions at Agder kunstsenter (2020), Peder Balke-senteret (2019), Sørlandets Kunstmuseum (2015/2006), Hå prestegård (2021/2004), and Galleri Format (2012/2003). His works have been acquired by Kunstsilo, the National Museum, KODE, the Grimmerhus Ceramic Museum, the Röhsska Museum, Telenor, the Northern Norway Art Museum, the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, and the Vest-Agder County Municipality, among others. Selected public commissions include: Søgne gml prestegård (2023), Jens Bjørneboes Plass, Kristiansand (2018), Justvik School, Kristiansand (2017), Moldebadet, Molde (2011), Badehallen, Skien Fritidspark (2008), University of Tromsø (2007).
Photo: Lisbeth Finsådal
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INGRID AARSET
Hagerom / The Garden Room
In recent years, Aarset has worked with textiles in large formats, using historical references from various visual cultures as a foundation for her projects. The overarching theme of her projects involves organic patterns and ornamentation, with a focus on color, texture, and tactility. She processes the textiles in various ways, painting with reactive dyes on silk, laminating, and using different surface treatments to create textures and give the materials the desired character. The artworks are typically double-sided.
This exhibition references an underground room from antiquity with frescoes on all walls: painted trees, plants, and birds of all kinds in a forest landscape of blue-turquoise tones. It belonged to Livia Drusilla, the wife of Emperor Augustus, and is currently housed in a museum in Rome. The room is an illusion of a garden, created for enjoyment and reflection. Aarset has retained the rectangular format of the original room and aims to fill the viewer's horizon. She has abstracted the plant motifs and sought to convey an atmosphere and a more abstract illusion of a garden.
The works were developed in connection with an interdisciplinary Nordic performing arts project led by Lene Therese Teigen, who wrote a play about Livia and the women of her court. The titles refer to Livia and the location where the room was discovered and excavated in 1867. The project is supported by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
Ingrid Aarset (born 1958) studied at the Bergen National Academy of the Arts and Middlesex Polytechnic in London. She lives and works on Askøy, outside Bergen, and in her studio at USF. She has exhibited individually at venues such as Galleri Soft, Sogn and Fjordane Art Museum, Northern Norway Art Museum, Kunstnerforbundet, the Textile Industry Museum in Salhus, Oppland Art Center, and Hå Old Vicarage, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions across the country. Her works have been acquired by the National Museum in Oslo, Kode in Bergen, the Nordenfjeldske Museum of Applied Arts in Trondheim, and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has created decorations for numerous public buildings and is employed as an Associate Professor at the Department of Contemporary Art at KMD/UIB.
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REINHARD HAVERKAMP
Puls / Pulse
As in all natural processes where various factors work together to create functioning systems, Haverkamp's works are based on forces found in nature. This may involve using material properties such as rigidity or elasticity to create tension in unconventional structures; it may involve wind energy that keeps sculptures in constant motion; it may involve gravity as a prerequisite for balancing silent pendulum or rotational movements. The physical experimentation and exploration underlying these works are not ends in themselves but are prerequisites for creating tangible visual experiences. In the silent interplay of forms in slow motion, seemingly living organisms are formed, unfolding in time and space.
The exhibition "Pulse" primarily features smaller kinetic sculptures on walls or pedestals that can be set in motion by the audience.
Reinhard Haverkamp (born 1954 in Reichenbach, Germany) is based in Bergen and works in both Bergen and Berlin. He was educated at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Münster department, and holds a teaching degree in art and crafts from the Hochschule der Künste Berlin. Haverkamp has exhibited his works at venues such as the Goethe-Institut in Budapest, the Young Artists’ Society (Oslo), RAM Gallery (Oslo), the Norwegian Sculpture Biennial (Oslo), and Kunstgarasjen (Bergen). He has also completed a number of public art commissions, including at the Technische Universität Berlin and Kilden Theatre and Concert Hall (Kristiansand).
The exhibition is curated by: Henriette Noermark Andersen