23 May–8 June 2014
Kunstnerners Hus
Wergelandsveien 17
Oslo, Norway
Once again the graduating MA students of the Academy of Fine Art in Oslo are invited into the two skylight halls named Spring and Autumn at Kunstnernes Hus.
Throughout their studies the 21 emerging artists who define this year’s Graduation Exhibition (23 May–8 June) have been instrumental and integral to the Oslo art scene through exhibitions, projects, publications and international accomplishments—and will continue to be so in their chosen contexts after their studies. The MA students choose their curator—this year Anne Szefer Karlsen, Director of Hordaland Art Centre in Bergen, Norway, has been given this honour.
Class of 2014
Mo Abd-Ulla, Hedda Roterud Amundsen, Tiago Bom, Victoria Durnak, Serina Erfjord, Karin Erixon, Silje D. Henden, Julia Lee L. Hong, Matilda Höög, Chandra Sen, Linda Lerseth, Mimmi Mattila, Andreas Hald Oxenvad, Jóhanna Ellen Ríkharðsdóttir, Daniel Slåttnes, Ayatgali Tuleubek, Vikram Uchida-Khanna, Tarald Wassvik, Jessica Williams, Silje Eugenie Strande Øktner, Knut Ivar Aaser
As you enter Kunstnernes Hus, going upstairs to access the exhibition, you will experience the 22-meter-long fresco in the ceiling titled the artist’s thorny road to the heights (1931–32) by Per Krogh, professor at the Academy of Fine Art from 1946 to 1958. This is one of the permanent reminders of the two institutions’ close historical ties.
The Graduation Exhibition is one of several programmes throughout the year at Kunstnernes Hus, further solidifying the two institutions’ collaboration and contribution to the lively Oslo art scene.
Every Monday at 7pm during the semester a dedicated group of students host the lecture series Open Forum, open to the public at Kunstnernes Hus. This student initiative was conceived in 1999 and their ever-growing digital archive of lectures from scholars and practitioners from arts and science was compiled and made public in the spring of 2012 by, amongst others, MA student Tiago Bom in the exhibition Open Forum: 13 Years Of Archive. Julia Lee L. Hong has also served as co-curator for three semesters during her MA.
Kunstnernes Hus also houses Akademirommet (the Academy Room), where the public can take part in projects, view exhibitions and discuss the students’ and staff’s spatial projects. In 2013/14, MA students Julia Lee L. Hong, Matilda Höög, Linda Lerseth and Jóhanna Ellen Ríkharðsdóttir participated in student exhibitions; Chandra Sen challenged the concept of collecting while Tarald Wassvik exhibited new works in the exhibition ‘MISSING. SMALL WOLF IN BRONZE. HAS DISAPPEARED’: Art at the Academy of Fine Art, Oslo 2013 – In dialogue with the Art Collection of the State Academy of Fine Art Oslo 1954-1980, curated by Professor Dag Erik Elgin. MA student Silje Eugenie Strande Øktner contributed to the book Proximity and Distance, edited by Professor Jeanette Christensen, that was launched in Akademirommet; and MA students Vikram Uchida-Khanna and Mimmi Mattila participated in the inaugural exhibition KAKA curated by associate professor Anders Smebye.
The Academy of Fine Art is one of six departments of The Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Norway’s largest educational institution for artists and designers. The Academy of Fine Art offers educational programmes at Bachelor and Master levels within Fine Art, taking active part in the Oslo art scene through a close collaboration with Kunstnernes Hus and the public. Academy Lectures feature speakers in contemporary art and culture. Some participants from 2014 include Doug Ashford, Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi, Silvia Federici, Ane Hjort Guttu, Jiří Kovanda and Zbyněk Baladrán, Elizabeth A. Povinelli and others.
