Painting, Space & Society
20 June-5 August 2007
GÖTEBORGS KONSTHALL
Götaplatsen, SE-412 56
Göteborg
tel +46 31 61 50 40
fax +46 31 61 50 43
www.konsthallen.goteborg.se
Participating artists:
Birgir S. Birgisson (Iceland), Gardar Eide Einarsson (Norway), Jens Fänge (Sweden), Jukka Korkeila (Finland), Elina Merenmies (Finland) & Fie Norsker (Denmark)
Curators: Mika Hannula & Göteborgs Konsthall
Contemporary art is constantly up for discussion and in the process different positions are drawn up. Typical contrasting positions are those between the immediate, expressive or symbolic on one side and the analytical, reflexive and more conceptual on the other. This discussion is perhaps especially evident in the context of painting. Differing approaches and values are dependent on point of view. Some will stress the accessible and recognizable qualities possessed by expressive and figurative art while others point to the critical qualities within painting which are the fruit of a more conceptual or social methodology.
One of the underlying causes behind the ongoing discussion is our relationship towards visuality and the role and function it is ascribed in society today. It has to do with how we relate to ourselves and our surroundings: the constant contrasts of give and take, push and pull, hide and seek, contact and isolation. There is thus far more at stake than just marking a position. Our relation to the visual has to be regarded in a broader perspective and seen in terms of developments in society and our awareness of time and space. This exploration of the critical consequences of the visual can be seen as an axis that Painting, Space & Society evolves around.
Painting, Space & Society is the first of two exhibitions to be held at the Göteborgs Konsthall in which the focus is on painting, visuality and society. The exhibitions will display clear divergences in expression and content both individually and in combination and in this way present some of the manifold variation within contemporary painting.
The second of the two exhibitions will take place in summer 2008. The collective title for the whole project is A Good Idea. The idea is to focus on the chances, demands and potentialities of contemporary painting as a vehicle for thinking thoughts and sharing experiences. The aim of the project is not to gaze backwards or to predict the future of this particular medium. Instead, with the two intertwined exhibitions, the task is to generate a space in which each separate work can stand out and challenge our perceptions, our sense of space and our view of the society we live in.
Linked to the project A Good Idea two workshops are conducted in collaboration with Valand School of Fine Arts in autumn 2007 and spring 2008. Through a range of initiatives and forums within the project the intention is to present and make possible an exchange of thoughts and experiences as well as to critically discuss the potentials of painting.
Exhibition opening:
Wednesday 20 June, 16.00-21.00.
16.00-17.30 Talk to me (like lovers do) – panel discussion with the participating artists on the subject of contemporary Nordic painting. The discussion will be in English.
18.00 Presentation of the exhibition by Lene Crone Jensen, director of the Konsthall, and its formal opening by Mika Hannula, Professor at the Kuvataideakatemia, Helsinki, and the Department of Fine Arts, Valand, Göteborg.
18.15-21.00 Music and mingling. D.J.s: Demonika and Mika Hannula.
Opening hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays 11-18
Wednesdays 11-20
Friday-Sunday 11-17
Entrance free
Guided tours
Guided tours covering different aspects of the exhibition take place
On Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays
Exhibition production
Mika Hannula and Göteborgs Konsthall
Art works
The artists respectively
The exhibition is supported by
the Nordic Culture Fund & FRAME Finnish Fund for Art Exchange
Our thanks to
Hämeenlinna Art Museum
Heino Collection
JKS a/s
Galleri Nils Stærk
Mogadishni
Christian Larsen AB
Malmö Art Museum
and not least all the private lenders
