KODE 2020
New decade, new artists, new world: The exhibition MA2020 presents 21 individual art practices that have recently completed the Master of Fine Arts program at The Art Academy - Department of Contemporary Art (KMD).
The group exhibition proves that the artists of tomorrow are socially engaged and academically grounded without yielding away from sensuous and emotional topics. They value artistic craftsmanship and immerse themselves in today´s technologies.
In light of the ongoing pandemic, they have also proved to be flexible and adaptable as the exhibition had to be rescheduled from Bergen Kunsthall in April to KODE in August.
About the artists
In the works of Amalie Vestergaard Olsen, Annelen Røe, Kaeto Sweeney, Nayara Leite and Robert Carter, political issues in feminism, LGBTQIA+, masculinities, class disparities and depopulation policies are discussed within documentary photography and video as well as installations or graphic prints.
The performative artworks of Haruka Fukao and Emma Fuchs Sjövall are based on spatial installations that are activated by participation. Here the audience is invited to observe ritual acts and exercises with improvised use of voice and body. Espen Pedersen takes the performative aspect further in an existential video on flesh and blood.
The paintings of Victor Rankanen and Laura Gaiger marks a return of the figurative. In their own way they both deal with topics on personal and cultural memories, identities and histories. Immigrants´ voices come to light in Sara Ortega´s installation where she conducted interviews on the wait for residence permits and finding oneself in Bergen.
Into the sensuous stands the sculptural figures of Daniela Bergschneider in textile and ceramic materials. PV Knude turns to pop music and a power driven plasma work in a study of the language of terror and alternative strategies for self-defense, and Oda Bremnes creates kinetic sculptures that shake the perception of an object’s being.
Katrin Rusten’s mapping of residual materials and reuse revolves around established hierarchies of object value, which is also reflected in a hyperrealistic sculpture by Lasse Hieronymus Bo. In Skade Henriksen’s work, artistic research is combined with scientific research on graphite, while Andrea Grundt Johns transforms light-sensitive chemical processes into abstract cyanotypes.
The ocean’s presence and mythology come to life through a sonic installation based on the tide by Emilie Wright, Christian Bergholt Dupont’s surreal island of sculpture, and the extensive photographic archive of Dale Rothenberg from his travels as a musician on cruise ships around the world.
The exhibition is curated by Maya Økland