Imago Mundi I

art, recent work, time-out

The format of Imago Mundi is strict: each curator is contracted to collect a number of representative works from a defined geographic area – usually a nation, but sometimes a group of countries, a single city (Vienna) or a native territory such as the Kalahari. Each invited artist receives a framed canvas 10 x 12 centimeters, and is free to alter it by any chosen artistic technique; the result has to fit into the pre-designed display system, though. Each geographical collection is given a title by the curator. I remember some of them, holding an open or concealed statement: Syria Off Frames; Israel/One; North Korea, A Unique Country; The Andinian Gaze; Tibet: Made by Tibetans. The Swedish collection is presented under the title Archive of Visions and Actions – a very apt one.
Although the conditions of this project may well be questioned from several aspects, I find the body of artworks not only overwhelming by quantity but also surprisingly interesting. But a press review isn’t really the ideal instance for experiencing the art… I’ll have to return later.

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Opening Day at Fondazione Cini

art, recent work, time-out

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Sitting on the quay at Isola San Giorgio Maggiore, dipping my feet in the water, waiting for the press conference to begin. This is the opening day

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for a permanent exhibition of more than 6000 artworks from all inhabited continents on the globe. It’s also a release event for the book presenting the Swedish part of the collection (in which I contribute). Look,

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there’s the Swedish curator Paula von Seth. We – the artists – gather around her trying to get a clue, while the photographers are clustering in front of the man in the blue jacket. Photo session finished, he invites us into the Fondazione Cini to present this project of his:

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the Luciano Benetton Collection Imago Mundi.
More to follow…

3 + 2 Diary Paintings

art, recent work

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Three diary paintings, 2015

In mid-August, these paintings made a brief excursion to the Art Garden – a one-day event in my neighbouring village, Järna. I have no recordings from the occasion (because I was completely immersed in the flow of it) but please imagine the light and warmth of a summer evening, people moving around or sitting down to chat or to enjoy quietly, the subtle soundspace of a Spanish-Mexican classical guitar concert unfolding to embrace the paintings on display, plenty of finest home-cooked food, improvised theatre and a bronze casting performed in the garden… which, in itself, is a living artwork.

två dagboksmålningar 2015bTwo diary paintings, 2015

EVERYTHING IS FINE!

art, recent work

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On Thursday May 28th, spring exhibitions opened at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. During the last weeks of the spring term, a sometimes heated debate has been going on – mainly between the Royal Institute of Art and the likewise Royal Academy of Art – considering the future development of art education, internationalization and theoretical impact… so, EVERYTHING IS FINE (and you can spot artist Ehab Aljaby running to prove it).

ps. For exhibition opening hours, see:
https://www.facebook.com/events/439879216180424/

text font print I

art, recent work

150519 b mässing i holländska badetBrass plate being etched

Swedish poet Mara Lee held a text seminar earlier this spring at the Royal Institute of Art. I was among the lucky handful to benefit from Mara’s exceptional mentoring skills – we were writing and reading texts of our own as well as others, having really fruitful discussions around them; and I ended up with a short text too – or, maybe, an image made up from words. And so, I decided to take it a bit further into the material, etching it on a brass plate…

Broken stone

art, recent work

150311 1bAnd then – oh, and then my litho stone broke. Passing under the press cylinder, it gave off a tiny sound, and I knew immediately what had happened. Then it came out in two parts. And I felt so bad; because this stone was my friend, and I broke it.

And it took me some time to know what to do next. Not that there aren’t other stones (there’s a whole library of stones in the litho printshop), or other things to do with them (unlimited possibilities). But the impetus got lost somehow. And that can be a drawback, of course. It can also be the cause to re-think and re-settle. So I did.