To Spread | Kunstgarasjen

Johan Söderström
May 9
2 min read

Updated: Jun 19

I was very happy to have the opportunity to exhibit at Kunstgarasjen in Bergen. It seemed like a very nice and professional venue, and it didn't disappoint me when I arrived. It is owned by an artist association and managed by Monica Takvam with staff. It is located just outside the city centre with three spacious rooms and a black box for video. I had the two front rooms, and Magnhild Opdøl exhibited in the inner gallery. In the black box, Pouria Kazemi presented his work, "An Extended Study of Hands in 20th Century Home Movies."

I exhibited recent works I made from my Spread compilation. Read the press release here (in Norwegian).

I had a nice trip through the scenic route from Oslo to Bergen and made pit stops at Hardangervidda, Vøringsfossen, and in Eidfjord. I rented a room in a non-staffed hotel in the centre. It turned out quite fine, even if they had the exact same carpet in the corridors as in the movie The Shining (!).

The installation went smoothly as I didn't have any complicated work with me this time, except for the sculpture with my filler buckets, which I was very happy to exhibit again and this time give a more prominent space. I had brought 14 paintings, but I decided to only show 10 of them. I think it suited them to be exhibited with a lot of space.

The opening was so much fun. Monica gave a great speech, and I got flowers. I was delighted to meet my friend Otto Tveit, whom I met during a residency at KH Messen in Ålvik several years ago. He brought a bottle of Hardanger Cider to commemorate our trip to a great restaurant during our stay together with Bente Tømmerås. My son Nilas also showed up with a friend. He studies in Bergen, and we got the chance to have dinner and celebrate his 20th birthday during my time there.

The next day, there was an artist talk between Monica and me. It was great fun to discuss my work. Monica also had very interesting and insightful questions. Bjørn Andreassen, a colleague from my day job in Oslo, and artist Torgrim Wahl Sundt, with whom I exhibited in Bodø a couple of years ago, also attended. Great to see them both!

Afterwards, Torgrim and I went out for food and beer. He showed me some great bars in Bergen.

The documentation turned out great. Though there was great light in the gallery, it was slightly complicated by both light from the windows and the indoor lighting.