2023 has been a long and productive year. I have worked extensively with my Speaking Stones series, which developed substantially throughout the year. During the summer, I did some significant pieces with fuel hose, and to the end, I continued with my Real Thing series, which led to some interesting results which I will continue with this year.
It has been a challenging year as well. First, I engaged in the situation in Iran after the Mahsa Amini uprising, and after October with the ongoing war and genocide in Palestine. To some extent, it has made an impact on my production.
I made six solo exhibitions and participated in three group exhibitions at Buer Gallery. Quite a tight schedule at times, but that's how I like it.
I got a grant from the Norwegian Visual Artists Fund (BKV), and the exhibition in Bodø was funded by the Regional Funds, so financially, I was ok despite rising prices and rents. Sales went down a bit from previous years, perhaps due to economics.
In March, I made an exhibition at the small artist-run gallery space Oslo Prosjektrom. It was fun to exhibit in my hometown and meet friends. I showed the nine works from the We Are Many participatory project I did in 2022. Read more here.
Simultaneously to the exhibition in Oslo Prosjektrom, I participated in the Oslo Open, where the public is invited to artist studios all over the city. Not too many people showed up to my cellar studio, which is located by itself, so I decided not to join this year. I was also part of the group exhibition "Mellom sort og hvitt" [between black and white] at Buer Gallery, so there were actually three opportunities to see my work in Oslo that weekend.
In June, I travelled to the north of Norway to exhibit at Harstad Kunstforening. I made two large crates, and the works were shipped so I could fly there. It was really fun to experience the midnight sun and the staff were so friendly. The exhibition, titled Pitchfork Address, turned out really well, I think, on the grey walls in their gallery. Read more here.
The summer exhibition at Buer Gallery was called Konstellasjoner (Daisy). I participated with two works.
I spent a lot of time producing artist books this year, and during the summer, I could finally publish them. It was the first two volumes of my Catalogue raisonné and books about my major exhibitions in the previous years. They can be ordered here both as e-books and on paper.
At the end of summer, I exhibited at Galleri 21 in Malmö, Sweden, opening the fall season. The exhibition was titled Closed Circuit after the main works which included pieces of fuel hose. It was great to be in Malmö, a very nice city and I met many friends and relatives. I also got to see some interesting art there. Read more here.
Now the exhibitions came close. At the beginning of September, I opened a small exhibition of some new but mostly slightly older works titled White & Grey at Rygge Kunstforening. Read more here.
Next was a big exhibition at Bodø Kunstforening, which is located very far north in Norway and has a large and excellent gallery. I shipped my works and got to show many new and vital works in a setting that made them justice, including the We Are Many series that I installed as one piece and the Swedish Conditions series. I also exhibited the Closed Circuit works in a new way as an installation. Artist Torgrim Wahl Sund had a beautiful show in an adjacent room, and we had a great time at the opening and after. This exhibition was important to me. I took terrific documentation that I used for applications, and seeing so many of my works in optimal conditions was satisfying. The exhibition was titled Murder And Betrayal and lasted for a long period, from the middle of September to the end of October. Read more here.
At the beginning of December, I did my last solo exhibition for the year at Orkdal Kunstforening in Orkanger, Norway. For some reason, I rebooted my Real Thing series during the fall, and this small show, titled Containers, contained almost exclusively of them. The exhibition doesn't end until the end of January this year, so I have not yet made a post about it.
Finally, I participated in Buer Gallerys' Christmas exhibition, Konstellasjoner (Noël). Unfortunately, I couldn't be at the opening due to installing in Orkanger.
Here is a compilation of my activities as an artist this year.
These works were produced in 2023. 37 works but one is missing. I didn't document it before the exhibition in Bodø, and the shipping has not been returned yet. Some are multipanelled and a few of those can also function as individual works.
Sales were moderate. All of them were sold online.
That's all folks!