Oslo: The National Museum’s autumn programme: Fiona Tan, Anna-Eva Bergman, comic strips, and much more

This autumn the National Museum is offering five new exhibitions in Oslo. The selection ranges from the internationally renowned artist Fiona Tan and comic strips to five centuries of woodcuts.

Autumn at the museum kicks off with “Fiona Tan: Geography of Time”, showcasing an artist who uses her own Australian-Indonesian background to explore how identity is formed and memories are created.

The way that architects use comic strips is examined in “Architecture in Comic-Strip Form”, where colourful fantasy worlds, full of speech bubbles and motion lines, give visitors insight into why and how architects use the so-called ninth form of art.

For the fortieth time the very best of contemporary arts and crafts will be on display at “Norwegian Crafts 2015”. After receiving over three hundred entries, a jury short-listed sixty of them, and on 21–22 September we will finally find out how many will be on display this autumn and who will receive the top prize for 2015.

The exhibition “Impressions: Five Centuries of Woodcuts” presents works that range from elaborate illustrations in old books to more recent monumental pieces, from an amorous couple in Edvard Munch’s Kiss to warring ninjas in Shunkōsai Hokushū’s Nakamura Utaemin III.

“Anna-Eva Bergman: Prints and Paintings” presents an in-depth view into Anna-Eva Bergman’s graphic universe. The artist is a pioneer in the field of Norwegian abstract art and is particularly interested in natural phenomena.

Finally, it wouldn’t be Christmas without the annual Gingerbread House Exhibition. “A Superhero House” takes its cue from the “Architecture in Comic Strip Form” exhibition and invites all bakers, young and old alike, to join us in making edible houses for superheroes.

More information about the exhibitions:

“Fiona Tan: Geography of Time”
Time: 25 September 2015–31 January 2016
Place: Museum of Contemporary Art
870 private photographs from Sydney, Tokyo, and London, ten pairs of twins from the Swedish island of Gotland, a portrait of Rembrandt’s illegitimate daughter: the Dutch artist Fiona Tan uses photography and video to explore memory and identity. Her Australian-Indonesian heritage gives her a special vantage point from which to convey the tensions between different cultural identities. The curator is Eva Klerck Gange.

“Architecture in Comic-Strip Form”
Time: 9 October 2015–28 February 2016
Place: National Museum – Architecture
Colourful fantasy worlds full of speech bubbles and motion lines, buildings with human characteristics, invisible architecture: the exhibition examines the relationship between the medium of the comic strip and architecture,to reveal an aspect of the architectural discipline that few people are aware of. The curators are Mélanie van der Hoorn and Anne Marit Lunde.

“Norwegian Crafts 2015”
Time: 11 October–6 December 2015
Place: Museum of Decorative Arts and Design
Feeling the pulse of contemporary Norwegian arts and crafts, this juried exhibition will present the crème-de-la-crème of the field. A total of 321 artists applied to participate, nearly fifty more than last year. Sixty-one artists were short-listed after the first round of jurying, and how many will ultimately be allowed to exhibit their works at the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design will only be revealed after the second round of jurying, which takes place 21–22 September. During the exhibition, the winner of the Visual Artists Relief Fund’s Crafts Prize for 2015 will be presented.

“Impressions: Five Centuries of Woodcuts”
Time: 6 November 2015–24 January 2016
Place: National Gallery
The woodcut allows a host of different styles, and throughout history the technique has served a variety of functions. Five hundred years ago the woodcut was the most modern form of pictorial communication. What place is there for this age-old technique in the modern day and its endless online stream of images? We want to surprise and delight visitors by highlighting the diverse stylistic avenues offered by this medium. The exhibition features everything from the meticulous book illustrations of yore to more recent monumental works, as well as woodcuts that straddle the line between two- and three-dimensionality. A cooperation with young artists also allows us to demonstrate the current relevancy of the medium. Visitors will have the opportunity to make their own prints. The curators of this exhibition are Møyfrid Tveit, Bodil Sørensen, and Andrea Kroksnes.

“Anna-Eva Bergman: Prints and Paintings”
Time: 13 November 2015–28 February 2016
Place: Museum of Contemporary Art
The Hartung-Bergman Foundation has donated 154 graphics works to the National Museum, and in connection with this generous gift the public is invited to a journey into Anna-Eva Bergman’s graphic universe. Fascinated by natural phenomena, Bergman culled her forms from mountains, fjords, stars, and planets. Her characteristic use of gold and silver results in an atmospheric effect of light and shadow, providing a special inner glow. The exhibition’s curator is Randi Godø.

For more information, please contact elise.lund@nasjonalmuseet.no or eva.engeset@nasjonalmuseet.no.