Human Touch
November 9, 2019–January 19, 2020
Kunstnernes Hus
Wergelandsveien 17
NO-0167 Oslo
Norway
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11am-6pm
Tegnerforbundet/ The Norwegian Drawing Association
Rådhusgata 17
NO-0158 Oslo
Norway
Hours: Tuesday-Friday 12-5pm, Saturday-Sunday 12-4pm
Filippa Barkman, Per Inge Bjørlo, Eirik Blekesaune, Louise Bourgeois, Jennie H. Bringaker, Peder K. Bugge, Ann Iren Buan, Liv Dessen, Marthe Ramm Fortun, Ida Madsen Følling, Andrea Galiazzo, Guttorm Guttormsgaard, Silje Hammer, Ane Hjort Guttu, Anna Carin Hedberg, Nina Heum, William Kentridge, Käthe Kollwitz, Ingeborg Annie Lindahl, Per Maning, Elisabeth Mathisen, Pierre Lionel Matte, Ana Mendieta, Gunnveig Nerol, Randi Nygård, Cecilia Jiménez Ojeda, Shwan Dler Qaradaki, Bendik Riis, Anngjerd Rustand, Bente Stokke, Per Teljer, Monica Winther, Vera Wyller and Ina Åsheim
Curated by Helga-Marie Nordby
Entitled Human Touch, the Drawing Triennial 2019 focuses on drawing as means to explore and process human expression and juxtaposes both new and existing works by 35 Norwegian and international artists. In seeking to create a larger space for reflection around drawing, the curator not only attempts to understand drawing as artistic expression, but also as innate language and potential in human beings. By the simple act of looking at a drawing one can see both inwards and outwards, immediately encountering the drawer’s relation to the world.
The Drawing Triennial 2019 presents works by artists who probe their world through lines, who use drawing as a method for approaching who they are as humans. In a digital visual culture where physical encounters with artworks are often replaced by an exposure to screens or virtual realities, re-examining immediate experiences such as the touch of an ink pen on paper presents itself as imminent. The exhibition also draws connections to prehistoric phenomena and drawing as a form of communication that predates writing. The act of drawing is therefore emphasized as a primary form of human expression—both in a physical and mental sense.
Tegnerforbundet (established in 1916) is an artist-run organization and Centre for drawing-based art in Oslo. In 2002, Tegnerforbundet organized the first Drawing Biennial—an exhibition presenting some of the best works of drawing art in Norway, challenging the concept of drawing. In 2016, the biennial became a triennial. Ever since, the event has challenged and expanded the concept of drawing without losing sight of its tradition and history. The very first Drawing Triennial is curated by Norwegian independent curator Helga-Marie Nordby and will take place at Tegnerforbundet and Kunstnernes Hus.
Kunstnernes Hus is an art institution in the centre of Oslo. Established by artists in 1930 to show both Norwegian and international art, it has since then become the most important independent institution in Norway led by artists, specifically dedicated to contemporary art.
A wide mediation programme entitled Before and After the Line will supplement and support the Triennial. The activities will enable a greater reflection around drawing as a universally human form of expression and a tool for understanding the world around us, in a time where technological innovations are dominating our interaction with visual culture. The programme will function as an activating and reflective frame around the main exhibition.
In addition to the main exhibition in Kunstnernes Hus’ upper halls, three other exhibitions will also be presented:
Ornaments of the Soul: Ornamental Drawings in Norwegian Outsider Art (Kunstnernes Hus)
November 9-December 1, 2019
Curated by Simone Ritter, Trastad Samlinger, Sør-Troms Museum
Marthe Ramm Fortun and Andrea Galiazzo: Leda and the Swan (Tegnerforbundet)
November 9, 2019-January 19, 2020
The Archive’s Arabesque (Kunstnernes Hus)
December 6, 2019-January 19, 2020
Curated by Ellef Prestsæter, Guttormsgaard Arkiv
The Drawing Triennial has been made possible thanks to Arts Council Norway, Oslo Municipality, The freedom of Expression Foundation Oslo, Bergesen Foundation and The Savings Bank Foundation DNB.
