Res Ipsa | Sunnfjord Kunstlag

Oct 19, 2019
2 min read

At the end of October, I did the last instalment of the Res Ipsa exhibition at Sunnfjord Kunstlag in Førde. I had a lovely trip over Hemsedal on the way there including a view of the Bøye glacier. The mountains and fjord were terrific. Gunnstein Brakestad, the chairman of the art association, greeted me, and he helped me unload the car that was full to the brim with paintings. I was exhibiting in Festsalen (the Grand Hall) of Førdehuset, which was huge. 14x14 meter and very high ceiling. Gunnstein had arranged for me to spend two nights at his place while installing. The next day we started working in the room. Gunnstein helped me together with another person from the art association, Arnstein. I was delighted with the result and made use of almost every work. Because the room was so big, the works looked a bit small, but I managed to get excellent documentation. Afterwards, Gunnstein treated Arnstein and me with food and wine. We had a splendid evening. Sunnfjord Kunstlag had arranged the opening very well. They had invited one of the founding members, Roar Gulbrandsen, to make a short speech. I met with Roar the day before, and we had a great conversation. The address was exact and well formulated. Gunnstein also made a thoroughly prepared interview with me. When introducing the SIT DOWN For Equality event, there was a bit of hesitation. Finally, some visitors made imprints one by one, instead of all at once, like in the prior instalments. The first one faced the wall instead of the camera. I was so surprised that I forgot to take a picture. She said she wanted to study the works on the wall while sitting, which was an excellent explanation, I think. The TABLES project went ok, but one person complained that another visitor was making a drawing inside hers. She tried to erase what he did, but when I finished the work, there were still some remains of it. This incident was rather amusing, I think. Usually, there was very little arguing and mostly smooth cooperation, but of course, the open nature of the projects involves a risk that these things can occur. I might want to explore this possibility more in later versions. After the opening, I went straight home to Oslo, so it was a very long day. When I went back for the return transport Gunnstein and I were invited to Roar and his partner Ellen for a lovely dinner with deer moussaka, dessert and wine. Roar gave me copies of his last collections of poems, which I appreciated. All in all, exhibiting at Sunnfjord Kunstlag was an excellent experience.