Karl Holmqvist – The Visit
and
Brannon, Büttner, Kierulf, Kierulf, Kilpper
9 March–8 April 2012
Bergen Kunsthall
Rasmus Meyers allé 5
5015 Bergen
, Norway
New opening hours 2012:
Tue–Fri 12–6pm
Thu 12–8pm
Sat–Sun 12–5pm
+47 55 55 93 10
bergen [at] kunsthall.no
On Friday 9 March at 8pm two new exhibitions open at Bergen Kunsthall: Karl Holmqvist – The Visit in NO. 5 and the exhibition Brannon, Büttner, Kierulf, Kierulf, Kilpper in Bergen Kunsthall’s main spaces.
BRANNON, BÜTTNER, KIERULF, KIERULF, KILPPER
9 March–8 April
Matthew Brannon, Andrea Büttner, Annette & Caroline Kierulf, Thomas Kilpper
Curated by Solveig Øvstebø and Steinar Sekkingstad
The exhibition revolves around what could be called ‘the materiality of communication‘ as well as the fluid and unstable meanings of communicated signs. The five artists all make use of graphic and printed media combining text, illustration and image. The use of these media is nevertheless situated in an inconclusive relationship where text, language, illustration and the actual material medium that communicates all these sign systems are set against one another, often in contradictory and enigmatic combinations.
Woodcut, letterpress and other printing techniques constitute a primary focus in the exhibition. Such reproduction technologies point back to the very first mass media where duplication made it possible for the first time to print many copies of the same text or illustration, and thus to distribute a message simply in large editions. The exhibition deliberately focuses on media that stand in a kind of historical intermediate position in the field of art. Although the woodcut has a rich tradition in art history, both woodcut and letterpress can be seen pretty much as anachronisms on the contemporary art scene. But the complex role of these techniques as historical mass media permits another perspective than the position that the print has acquired in the history of art, often as secondary to painting. The historicity of the media technology itself also permits a special kind of critical distance from art, mass media, and popular culture.
Read more at www.kunsthall.no
KARL HOLMQVIST
THE VISIT
9 March–8 April
Karl Holmqvist is a poet and visual artist. In his publications, readings, collages, wall texts and installations he problematizes the text and the mutable potential of language as the bearer of meaning-content.
The texts are often assemblages of ‘found texts’: quotations, pop lyrics or political slogans—with a rich diversity of references that point to both activism and alternative culture. Holmqvist’s works can be compared to concrete poetry, but also to graphic notation or text-based scores in experimental music. The written text functions as cues for improvisation-based readings. In a strange, flat, almost hypnotically chanting voice, Holmqvist exploits repetitions, variations and combinations to make constant changes in the nuances and layers of meaning inherent in an often quite minimal textual starting point. The multiple meanings of his works enable the viewer to put together his or her own different possible meanings, and thus help to counteract an authoritarian understanding of language based on ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.
At Bergen Kunsthall Holmqvist will present a series of new works especially assembled for the NO.5 space. The exhibition is part of an annual collaboration between Bergen Kunsthall and the Borealis Festival. This year’s Borealis has the concept of ‘protest’ as the general theme of the festival programme.
The exhibition has been produced by Bergen Kunsthall in collaboration with Borealis. The Borealis Festival: 14–18 March 2012.
To accompany the exhibition, Bergen Kunsthall in collaboration with Kunsthalle Zürich and JRP Ringier are publishing a new book with texts by Karl Holmqvist. The book will be available in our online bookshop.
Read more at www.kunsthall.no
