Hordaland Kunstsenter

The exhibition Back to basics opens on Friday the thirteenth of the first month of 2012 – a year saddled with a multitude of doomsday prophecies, among others based on interpretations of Nostradamus’ mythical predictions, historical arguments such as the end of the Mayan calendar, and pseudo-scientific contributions claiming that changes in the world’s magnetic field will in the near future cause a pole shift. The exhibition is in this regard situated in a landscape where the borders between the rational and mystical are examined, where the future is insecure, and where humankind’s relationship to natural forces is highlighted.

The works in Back to basics are by four young artists: Frøydis Lindén, Inger Wold Lund, Tore Reisch and Anngjerd Rustand, and are free from direct doomsday symbolism. Nonetheless, some of the works touch upon a number of the existentialist propositions highlighted by the perception of impending doom. By the artists taking rational categorisations, collective convictions, and individual experiences of natural environment as their point of departure, the works converge in a space between science, faith, and superstition. Further, the works reflect historical and potential relationships between nature and culture, and express concerns about a growing cultural colonisation of our surroundings. This notwithstanding, the exhibition testifies to the possibility of more natural and immediate interactions with the world.

To accompany the exhibition, curator Eva Rem Hansen has written the text Back to basics, where she discusses world views, art as culture criticism and our relation to time through the four commissioned pieces. Back to basics is Rem Hansen’s first curatorial project.

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Frøydis Lindén (1973) has studied ceramics at Hochschule Niederrhein in Krefeld, Germany, and at The Danish Design School, Bornholm, Denmark, and holds a BA in ceramics (2006) and an MA of Fine Arts (2011) from Bergen National Academy of the Arts. Lindén has also studied at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, from where she holds an MA of agroecology (2002), still influencing her artistic work. Lindén has been involved in several collaborative projects, such as Cupola, with the artist collective Ytter at USF Visningsrommet, Bergen (2010), Rasteplass Nytorget at Rogaland Kunstsenter (2010), the art in landscape project Eksperiment SUS 2 at Prosjekt Alvøen, Bergen (2010) and Eksperiment SUS 3 at Fron-fjellet (2010), Present with the group Før/Nu at Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall, Arendal (2007), and Living tool at Galleri Korea, Berlin (2007).   

Inger Wold Lund (1983) holds an MFA from Oslo National Academy of the Arts (2011). She has also studied at Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm, Sweden, and Århus Art Academy, Århus, Denmark. She has presented solo exhibitions at Borderline Centre for Foreign Contemporary Art, Stockholm, Galleri Fisk, Bergen, and One Night Only, UKS, Oslo, and participated in group exhibitions such as Approaching is distancing at BKS Garage, Copenhagen (2011), Reshuffling Forest, Holodeck, Oslo (2011), Festival Junger Talente 2010, Frankfurt (2010), and Sympathy for the Devil and Multipple Stress at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo (both 2009). Wold Lund has also made commissioned work for the Norwegian National Broadcasting (NRK).

Tore Reisch (1978) has studied art at Rotvoll Art School in Trondheim, and holds an MFA from Trondheim Academy of Fine Art (2011), where he currently works as a workshop manager in the sculpture department. He has attended several group exhibitions, such as The artists are present at Trøndelag Centre for Contemporary Art (2011), Manufacturing today in the bunker Dora, Trondheim (2010), and the national annual exhibition Høstutstillingen at Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (2007). Reisch has also made several projects in public space, like his MA-project The Great Forgetting, an outdoor sculpture now in the collection of Trondheim Museum of Art, and permanently installed at Sverresborg Trøndelag Folk Museum.

Anngjerd Rustand (1982) has studied art at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, Sweden, and holds an MFA from Bergen National Academy of the Arts (2010). She has presented solo exhibitions at Holodeck, Oslo (2011) and Galleri N. Bergslien, Eidfjord (2011) and participated in several group exhibitions, such as Opplandsutstillingen and Vestlandsutstillingen, both 2011. Rustand has also been involved in several projects with the artist group Ytter, such as ART IS KUKU NU UT in Tartu, Estland (2011), Bergen Biennale’10 at Landmark and Entrée, Bergen, and Bergen Biennale II, The Woodmill, London, both 2011. Rustand founded and directed the gallery Borderline Centre for Foreign Contemporary Art, Stockholm between 2008 and 2010. She is also a writer, and has published artist books like Erratic (2010) and Bolivia (2010), and acts as a member of the editorial board of the literary magazine Vagant. 

Eva Rem Hansen (1983) holds an MA of Art History from the University of Bergen, with the thesis Kontrastfylte kunstforståelser (2008). After graduating, she has worked as an assistant professor at the University of Bergen, teaching modern and contemporary art and theory. Rem Hansen is also manager of information and public programs at Hordaland Art Centre, art history editor of Masterbloggen.no, and freelance writer.

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The exhibition is produced by Hordaland Art Centre. Frøydis Lindén, Inger Wold Lund, Tore Reisch and Anngjerd Rustand have received BKH-project support from Hordaland Art Centre. Inger Wold Lund and Tore Reisch have received Statens utstillingsstipend. Lie Blikk AS in Sandnes supports Anngjerd Rustand. Frøydis Lindén wishes to thank Arne Stensvand and Trude Slørstad at Bioforsk Ås, Irén Lunde Knutsen at Bioforsk Ullensvang, and Inn AS og Gjesdal Aluminium AS.