To You(Kunstgaven 2018–2020)

Works by 14 contemporary artists, all either from or based in Norway, filled the four floors of the Main Building at Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium in the exhibition Til deg / To You.

The exhibition presented great breadth in forms of expression, themes and materials – from ceramic sculptures and paintings to drone films and interactive site-specific installations. Many of the artists represent a young, exploratory and experimental contemporary Norwegian art scene such as it appears today. The more established artists were, or still are, pioneering within a certain medium or in their own generation. What all the artists share in common is that they are socially involved; their works often contain political undertones and address current critical issues. As part of this year’s programme for the public, we made video interviews that gave visitors an opportunity to become better acquainted with the individual artistic practices. (The interviews are available at YouTube.)

The exhibition showed recently made works and recently purchased works that were the result of collaboration between VKL and various artists (or their representing galleries) during the period 2018–2020. This is thanks to Kunstgaven – a grant given to VKL by the philanthropic foundation Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, which we at VKL wanted to pass on to our public through this year’s main exhibition, its mediation and the administration of this art. A significant part of the Kunstgaven project, besides purchasing works, was to collaborate with producing artists by having them use our guest studio in Vestfossen.

VKL’s main exhibitions annually fill 2,500 square metres of space with art, and this naturally results in much collaboration with other institutions and art collections. The guest studio and Kunstgaven have given us a special opportunity to work closely and more extensively with producing artists. They have been invited to come to Vestfossen and to use the guest studio while working on new productions and in connection with the exhibition, thus for a time becoming part of the local art scene.

Several of the works were designed for a particular location. The artist duo Aurora closed off part of the mezzanine with their open fire installation, Hjelp, vi flytter! (2018-2021). And just beside that was the wire cage that housed Anja Carr’s while watching you (2019) – a greatly enlarged toy animal in a pseudo-green landscape.

The artists:

• Aurora Sander (b. 1991 / b. 1987)
• Anja Carr (b. 1985)
• Anders Eiebakke (b. 1970)
• Marianne Heske (b. 1946)
• Audar Kantun (b. 1986)
• Bjarne Melgaard / Sverre Bjertnæs (b. 1967 / b. 1976)
• Matthew Quentin Midtskau (b. 1980)
• Maria Pasenau (b. 1994)
• Aase Texmon Rygh (1925–2019)
• Kjartan Slettemark (1932–2008)
• Ahmed Umar (b. 1988)
• Ane Djuvan Winnje (b. 1975)

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Installation photography: Nina Ansten

Participating artists

• Aurora Sander
• Anja Carr
• Anders Eiebakke
• Marianne Heske
• Audar Kantun
• Bjarne Melgaard / Sverre Bjertnæs
• Matthew Quentin Midtskau
• Maria Pasenau
• Aase Texmon Rygh
• Kjartan Slettemark
• Ahmed Umar
• Ane Djuvan Winnje