If you own more than seven things, the things own you.
Probably Lao Tzu (6th century BC)
In this year’s exhibition at Sogn Kunstsenter, we present various types of still lifes, interiors and craft pieces from our four art collections. Most of them depict objects, while others are objects. The works represent such disparate techniques as assemblage, collage, design, photography, glass, graphic art, installation art, ceramics, works in metal, painting, pastel and drawing, all from the period 1900 to 2020.
In our modern consumer society we are inundated with things. What significance do these things have for us? What is it about them that fascinate us? Is it what humans are capable of creating – the craftsmanship itself? The story they embody? Or what they tell us? If we look at Instagram, Pinterest and blogs, they are overflowing with the “still lifes” of our times; photographs of what people have in their homes and things they are preoccupied with, or desire. And this even without using the hashtag #still life (more than 4 191 000) #stilleben (more than 87 000) or #naturemorte (more than 165 000) on Instagram. The pictures ordinary people post of their belongings require a great deal of effort when it comes to selection, composition and lighting. It is all about arranging and displaying the things in the most stylish way possible, in order to make a good impression of ourselves. They serve to create our “image”. “These are my things, this is who I am!”
How have the artists, like Hans Gjesme (1904-1994), approached the objects they depict/create? What do they wish to convey? What is the motivation that underlies the use of the still life genre in the two-dimensional works? Are the depictions of objects in the 20th century merely a point of departure for formal experimentation for the artists, or do they propose something more with them? Artists up to our own time, such as Maria Brinch (1984), with roots from Lærdal, continue to show an interest in depicting and creating objects, and thus carry on and revitalize an age-old tradition with their innovative approaches.
Curator: Ingrid Norum
Installation: Berhanu Mekonen, Ingrid Norum, Stein Sandemose Baardsen
Lighting: Berhanu Mekonen
Oddleiv Apneseth, Nikolai Astrup, Ingunn Bakke, Alexandre Bau, Reidun Færøy Bergstrøm, Wenche Bjørkan, Maria Brinch, Harry Botn, Karen Disen, Tomasz Domanski, Lisbet Dæhlin, Snøfrid Hunsbedt Eiene, Ludvig Eikaas, Karen Erland, Odd og Kari Gjerstad, Hans Gjesme, Rolf Hansen, Erick Stanley Hanson, Elisa Helland-Hansen, Brite Hindal, Tor Hvamen, Ole Jakob Ihlebæk, Magni Jensen, Ji Hyun-A, Sten Magne Klann, Karen Klim, Vidar Koksvik, Torbjørn Kvasbø, Per K. Lefdal, Elisabeth Mathisen, Jussi Ojala, Adriana Popescu og Lise Schønberg, Kirsti Prøis, Ralston & Bau, Odd Sama, Kjartan Slettemark, Tone Storevik, Ove Svele, Kjersti Teigen, Ann Beate Tempelhaug, Svein Thingnes, Marit Thingnæs, Kari Ulleberg, Grethe Unstad, Jørleif Uthaug, Olav K. Vaagen, Elisabeth Østby-Deglum, Kirsten Øverås og Arne Åse.