this summer: dalsland

Dalsland is a dreamy piece of Sweden, full woods and lakes. A growing artist community attracts other artists and culture workers, as well as visitors.

Not Quite is located in a former paper mill, now filled with artists' studios, a bakery, galleries, shop and a fantastic café. It is getting better and better each time I visit.
notquite.se

Nearby is Dalslands Konstmuseum, the program always an interesting mix of contemporary art, design and craft.
dalslandskonstmuseum.se

rörstrand, rest in peace

A few years ago the last Swedish porcelain factory, Rörstrand in Lidköping closed down. Rörstrand as a brand still exists and there are new designs. A lot of energy is put into making the former factory area an arena for contemporary ceramics. I must take it in portions.

First, there is a museum with the production throughout the centuries and it's mindblowing to think how many Swedish ceramic icons who worked here. Find all the names here

Rörstrand history (Swedish wikip)
Museum
Rörstrand designers today

The huge sculptures are from an firing event with Danish clay artist Nina Hole last summer, click Beneath the blue to see photos.

craft salon

Kerstin Åsling-Sundberg, young at heart and behind work by TRANS


Kazuyo Nomura, article here...(swedish)


Eva Zethraeus, read article here...(swedish)


Ewa Szymczakowska, coral pillows

Last week opened a new craft juried show Konstslöjdsalong at Röhss museum, with craft seen in a wide sense. 50 Swedish craft artist were selected and I really enjoyed the show. It was announced on national TV, in Kulturnyheterna, as an exhibition with entrances with new craft from young craft artists. If they had not been ignorant for the cultural field of craft for years, they would have known the age range stretches from around 20 - 75. Elderly craft artists seem to be young at heart :)

So many talented people, the whole list here... More photos at Kurbits here...
Hope your weekend is full of fun!

animal park is back

Do you remember Erik Langert's animal park from February? The show is back in Göteborg and opens at the Maritime Museum today.
Erik's website.

Worrying: what happens in Tibet.
Radio Free Asia reports here.
Students for a free Tibet here.
Let's hope for a peaceful ending.

Wish you a weekend full of fun!

stroll along the beach

Frida Fjellman


Mia E Göransson


Renata Francescon

"It's no longer as it was to stroll along the beach" is the name of a craft exhibition, produced by the small but clever Dalslands museum. The show toured and is now at Röhss museum. It is all about artists' relation to nature and it's symbolism. Which us Swedes are known to have a strong, almost religious connection to, nature.

Curated by Love Jönsson, mostly younger artists, but also a couple of reminders of the radical sixties.

Sofia Björkman
Frida Breife
Tabea Dürr
Frida Fjellman
Agneta Flock
Renata Francescon
Mia E Göransson
Agnieszka Knap
Anders B. Liljefors
Jakob Robertsson
Charlotte Sinding and the group
Uglycute

Wish you all a fun and fulfilling weekend (including March 8)!

new danish ceramics

The Röhss museum shows two big group craft exhibitions now. One shows work by nine Danish ceramic artists, average 42 years old, 77,7 % non smoker and 55% female. 100% lucky and 22% homosexual (the other I hope to visit soon).

Gitte Jungersen is my favourite if I pick only one, but they are all interesting.
Morten Løbner Espersen, professor at the ceramic program at HDK
Bente Skjøttgaard
Steen Ipsen
Flemming Tvede Hansen
Lone Skov Madsen
Mikael Geertsen
Anne Tophøj
Turi Heisselberg Pedersen. Couldn't find links for all of them, such a pity.

Guldagergård, lovely place and fabulous international ceramic center; a place to grow self confidence as a ceramic artist. Interesting workshops, 25-29.3 Paul Scott, print processes in ceramics and glass.

Cally had a nice post yesterday, about Nek Chand's Rock Garden, dream to go there too...

Victoria & Albert

A few more London pictures to share...

V&A in London was not a bad place to hang out a few weeks ago. Tranquil inner yard and nice restaurant to gather new strength for another hectic gallery tour.

I love the museum, always grand exhibitions to experience and the collections are enormous, both the historical and contemporary. If not in London they are available for us all here, medieval English pottery, Turkish tiles, Indian embroideries, Korean lacquer ware, Asian ikat, glass, furniture, fashion, one can get lost...

V&A artist in residence blog here, beautiful work by Susan Lawty and museum pictures. She initiated the World beach project and invites anybody who likes doing stone drawings and patterns to take part.

Other little beautiful things to play with here.

Today I've been to a conference all day, about Culture in Schools and how to develop art as a teaching tool. At first scary feeling being surrounded by 200 teachers and head masters, transformed me into small school girl. It passed, with the shared sense of art's importance for young and old, giving room for self expression and communication.