Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg, Rafael Gómezbarros and Per Kirkeby

The Wanås Foundation opens new exhibitions this spring. The artist duo Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg (Sweden) along with Rafael Gómezbarros (Colombia) occupy the sculpture park, the Art Gallery, and the buildings of Wanås. The artists observe our world and reflect our times, but also look inwards. They drift between dream and nightmare, internal movements and migration. Djurberg & Berg debut their new film work, Worship (2016) in which they seduce and shock us, blending desire and fantasy. Their unique universe also inhabits the beech forest as they display a work outdoors for the first time. In this installation, nature has changed proportions and color, and the accompanying sound both mimics and warps the natural surroundings. The close relatives of In Dreams (2016) are found in the richly populated world of Carroll’s Wonderland—pink acorns wear ruffled underpants and a bird in heavy make-up smokes out of its rear end. In this work, nonsense violates our attempts to make the world understandable; nonsense is rebellion. Like a segment of illusory nature, the sculptures are placed on a mirroring surface that encourages self-reflection and self-centeredness. Djurberg discusses the installation as a place that channels the transitional experience between dream and wakefulness.

Meanwhile, for the first time, a work has been installed on the façade of the 15th century Wanås Castle and the Art Gallery as the sculpture park presents Gómezbarros’ Casa Tomada (House Taken), comprised of hundreds of gigantic ants. He is motivated by the contemporary history of his homeland, which houses millions of internal refugees as the result of wars and conflicts. For Gómezbarros, the ant symbolizes the hard-working people who are prepared to transplant themselves when the situation necessitates. The installation raises questions of migration and displacement, but also of industriousness and society building. The bodies of his swarming ants are made of skulls and the installation also acts as a memorial for the ones lost in the wake of migration and conflict. As Casa Tomada travels to different places all over the world, Gómezbarros shows that it carries a story that reaches beyond Colombia’s borders and impacts us all. The global migrant weaves together one place with another, and the local with the global. The title is borrowed from a short story by the Argentinian author Julio Cortázar. He, in turn, was inspired by the 
master of horror, Edgar Allan Poe. Like Poe’s short stories, the ants in Gómezbarros’ Casa Tomada are both frightening and fascinating.

In the Art Gallery, Per Kirkeby (Denmark) displays new monoprints as well as work on masonite and sculptures dating back to 1981. The exhibition is a part of “Revisit,” a series in which artists work in dialogue with their permanent works in the sculpture park. Kirkeby’s brick sculpture Wanås in the collection is from 1994. In the exhibition, we can follow his versatility as an artist. He sets the standardized measurements of the red bricks against shapes that bear the imprint of the hand that kneaded the clay. Kirkeby works in series; motifs recur in altered, developed forms in every medium. One image gives birth to the next.

*(1) Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg, Worship, 2016. Stop motion animation with sound. Courtesy the artists, Gió Marconi, Milan; Lisson Gallery, London. (2) Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg, In Dreams, 2016, at The Wanås Foundation – Wanås Konst 2016. Courtesy of the artists. Photo: Mattias Givell, Wanås Konst. (3) Rafael Gómezbarros, Casa Tomada, (2008) 2016, at The Wanås Foundation – Wanås Konst 2016. Courtesy the artist. Photo: Mattias Givell. (4) View of Revisit – Per Kirkeby, The Wanås Foundation – Wanås Konst 2016. Courtesy the artist and Bo Bjerggaard Galleri, Copenhagen. Photo: Mattias Givell.

The Sculpture Park and the collection
The Wanås Foundation is a Center for Art and Education that produces site-specific, contemporary international art and education with an emphasis on innovation and accessibility. Wanås is located in southern Sweden, 1.5 hours from Malmö/Copenhagen. The permanent collection in the Sculpture Park hosts almost 70 permanent works—specially created for Wanås by artists such as Jenny Holzer, Tadashi Kawamata, Maya Lin, Yoko Ono, Srinivasa Prasad, Ann-Sofi Sidén and Robert Wilson. Wanås Konst is run by the Wanås Foundation. Marika Wachtmeister initiated the exhibitions in 1987. Since 2011, the Foundation is led by Elisabeth Millqvist, Director & Artistic Director, and Mattias Givell, Director & Head of Development.

Press contact: Sofia Bertilsson, press [​at​] wanaskonst.se / T +46 733 866820