An Appetite for Painting
13 September 2014–4 January 2015
Opening: Friday 12 September, 18h
National Museum of Norway
Museum of Contemporary Art
Bankplassen 4
Oslo
Norway
Hours: Tuesday–Friday 11–17h,
Thursday 11–19h, Saturday–Sunday 12–17h
Opening on 12 September and running over the Christmas period to 4 January 2015, this exhibition offers a unique opportunity for museum visitors to see recently produced paintings by leading international and Norwegian painters. Fifty-three paintings, most of which were made in the past three years, show the work of 13 painters, some of whom have never exhibited in Norway before.
The exhibition is also the first dedicated presentation of contemporary painting for over ten years and is the culmination of three years of research, which included two conferences about contemporary painting. Accompanying the exhibition are two publications—a reader on painting and the exhibition catalogue.
For the vast majority of museum visitors, painting has remained a vital part of their understanding of contemporary art. Yet painting has not been a strong feature of museum exhibitions during the past decade. An Appetite for Painting offers a broad and international view of painting’s current achievements. Large and small easel paintings, experimental paintings that seek to expand the field for the medium and composite/group paintings, make a spectrum of what painters are doing the world over. At a time when the debate about visual art seeks alternatives to photography, installations, video and performance, painters are continuing the search for something new in art.
The painters included in the exhibition are Marlene Dumas (South Africa/Holland), Dag Erik Elgin (Norway), Olav Christopher Jenssen (Norway), Analia Saban (Argentina/USA), Mari Slaattelid (Norway), Jitish Kallatt (India), Chris Ofili (United Kingdom), Gordon Bennett (Australia), Andreas Eriksson (Sweden), Dorothy Napangardi (Australia), Kerry James Marshall (USA), Tomory Dodge (USA), and Brian Blanchflower (Australia).
Writers for the exhibition catalogue are Robert Storr (Dean of Yale University School of Art New York) and Gavin Jantjes (Senior curator, National Museum).
The reader publication contains essays and papers from two conferences about painting organized in 2012 and 2013. Speakers at these conferences were painters, curators and critics and included Glen Barkley (Australia), Marlene Dumas (South Africa/Holland), Dag Erik Elgin (Norway), Gavin Jantjes (South Africa/Norway), Olav Christopher Jenssen (Norway), Jitish Kallatt (India), Analia Saban (Argentina/USA), Geir Harald Samuelssen (Norway), Adrian Searle (UK), Mari Slaattelid (Norway), Hanneline Røgeberg (Norway/USA), and Kira Wager (Norway).
The curator of the exhibition is Gavin Jantjes; project leader is Lita Ellingsen; education curator is Line Engen. The editor for reader publication is Gavin Jantjes; editor for catalogue is Marianne Yvenes.
The two conferences on paintings are recorded as podcasts and available from the museum webpage and YouTube.
Programme
“An introduction to the exhibition” (No)
by curator education Lita Ellingsen
Sunday 14 September, 14h
“Seeing is Believing” (Eng)
by curator Gavin Jantjes.
Thursday 25. September, 17h
“Meet a conservator” (Eng)
by conservator Thierry Ford
Thursday 16 October, 17h
“Painting in the extended field” (No)
Lecture by art historian Nina Sundbeck-Arnäs Kaasa
Sunday 2 November, 14h
“Painting in the extended field” (No)
Lecture by art historian Nina Sundbeck-Arnäs Kaasa
Thursday 13 November, 14h
“Painting as an existential space” (No)
By curator of education Line Engen
Sunday 30 November, 14h
Talking About Painting
A group of students from the Oslo Art Academy has participated in seminars led by Gavin Jantjes and Dag Erik Elgin. For the exhibition An Appetite for Painting they have made works which include a publication and some audio podcasts where they talk about contemporary painting and interview some of the artists in the exhibition.
For images and further information, please see www.nasjonalmuseet.no or contact Lita Elingsen at lita.ellingsen [at] nasjonalmuseet.no.
