anders winberg - wood artist

Anders Winberg is one of three artists in the first exhibition this autumn at Blå Stället konsthall, where I have my new job as curator/producer. Lucky me who will meet with so many artists and other creative people.

I first saw Anders' work at a hands-on conference for craft instructors some ten years ago. He still manages to challenge craft traditions in the most respectful way and can innovate a great idea from nothing.

The photos are from when we picked up his amazing ladders from his workshop. They ladder steps are attached by the wood shrinking when it dries, without any glue. Parts of the long straight ladder were nibbled by the elks in Slottskogen.

Anders workshop is history any day now, due to gentrification of the street, Tredje Långgatan.

koster island sculpture park walk

Koster islands, a summer paradise in the Swedish west coast archipelago. Since two years a sculpture park is slowly taking shape on the south island. Starting point for the walk in the woods: Koster gardens, best café/restaurant on the island.

This year Norwegian artist Solveig Egeland built a (to be two) tree cottage in a meadow, still smelling from the newly cut wood and tar in the roof.
She has built houses in other places, like Svalbard, in materials found on the site. Environment and sustainability; educating art work.

Ocean Hope, Svalbard, photos:
smaahytter.squarespace.com/fotogalleri

Solveig Egeland webpage, in Norwegian
www.solveigegeland.no

outdoor craft - upmarket 2013

 

The annual outdoor craft fair UPMARKET that KHVC organizes is on all weekend in the park Trädgårdsföreningen, Göteborg.

Besides all the fun shopping there are two performances:
Newly graduated ceramic artist Matilda Haggärde is making a clay performance where she totally encloses herself in clay (she will be there Saturday 16 - 18 and Sunday 15 - 17).

Textile art students Hållams Linnea Henriksson and Lina Sofia Lundin, Lproduktion, ask if it's possible to pruduce art and sell by the meter.

sculpture walk

We had a guided sculpture walk in Borås. These are just a few of those we saw, they are my favourites:

Walking to Borås - Pinocchio by Jim Dine was the very first contemporary piece the city placed here, now there is around 100 sculptures standing in public places.

Wholly by Eva Hild, well known ceramic artist, this is her first aluminum piece.

Bodhi by Fredrik Wretman

Presentations of many of the sculptures in Borås here...
Sculture biennial catalogue from last year here...

Take a walk.

yorkshire hills in spring time

Yorkshire Sculpture Park, what a place! Long, long walk in the park, it was between exhibitions but still worth spending lots and lots of time.
http://www.ysp.co.uk/

A few of the highlights...

James Turrell Skyspace
Read an interview here...
He will exhibit in Sweden this year, in Järna, look here... 

Elisabeth Frink standing men

And one of my favourite artists,  Andy Goldsworthy, Shadow Stone Fold
Read more about the fold here... and see past exhibition here...

Andy Goldsworthy work and philosophy; web page

getting started

I'm slowly getting started with my commissions. First all those boring preparations before getting hands on. Teenage assistant great help assorting all old pieces stashed in buckets everywhere, while I make slip tests, order this and that and most of all clear my space. New order.

Another bigger Art Factory at Konstepidemin - Pia König's 600 small sculptures for the hotel rooms at newly opened Clarion Post hotel in Göteborg. Artists Per Agelii and Per Petersson help her with this huge undertaking, along with other helping hands.
From the factory at Konstepidemin here...
and Camilla Engman's blog here...

from another viewpoint

This week spring is in progress after all, invites to long walks.

Umedalen sculpture park, among other artists:
Raffael Rheinsberg
Richard Nonas
Anthony Gormley
Wim Delvoye
Louise Borgeois
Klitsa Antinou
Anna Stake

more millenium - finally final summer

Things were so hectic after this summer, I totally forgot to post final photos from the USA trip. The fountain in Stockholm reminded me something was missing.

Cooling water in glass sculpture Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa, Millenium Park, Chicago:

Reason for the whole USA trip was my favorite soccer team Azalea BK girls 15, taking part in one of the world's major soccer tournament: USA CUP (and they won their group!). One reason this blog was so silent this summer was the other blog I was managing Football in my heart. The blog started in Swedish but later turned into English, so that our new American friends could follow.

Didn't know I had it in me, but now I feel like Soccer Mom Pro. Seems like focus turns more towards the younger the older I get. Very rewarding. And the trip was one of the most fun and fantastic I've made, ever. Being on a sight seeing tour with 24 teenagers is like discovering the world anew.

Before we left I read about a banana fly study; they live longer the more they hang around with younger flies. Human beings and banana flies are close genetically, so this summer must have made my life at least some years longer. At least it felt so.

Good luck with your week!
Only one link, so much to see:
Kristof Kintera, via Eddy and Edwina
The electric potato man is fine.

Stockholm lights

Top photo of the fountain outside Stockholm Fair, by Mikael Pauli and Dag Birkeland. Just wonderful smoke, sound and light show.
More and better photos here, video here.

Stockholm subway stations are amazing, like being inside of treasure caves of art. Kungsträdgården, by Ulrik Samuelsson is a favorite. I haven't seen the newer suburb stations in real life yet, they seem worth the trip.

Here a slide show with some of the almost 100 stations.
Here is a slide show with the full subway art history (in Swedish).
Stockholm by pixels, blog

Yesterday was the annual Kulturnatta, Culture night, here in Göteborg. I was too full, stayed content at home and read Jenny Diski On trying to keep still. I kept still though I know I missed plenty. Wish you a peaceful weekend.

middle summer; cloud gate

The sculptures in Millenium Park, Chicago, is the only art experience I managed while in USA this summer. Ambitions were higher for trips and visits here and there but this is all I got. Almost enough, I'm a big fan of the British sculptor Anish Kapoor. Cloud Gate, or "the bean" had a great impact on all us small people moving in and around it. All in yellow t-shirts are my friends.
Read here about The bean
Early works of Anish Kapoor here

The water leak at my office job will be fixed this week, there will be a big hole in the street outside. Floor is opened, a noisy fan will dry the place out before they can lay a new.

Lucky I have other places to be, organizing an open day at Konstepidemin this Thursday. Almost 70 visitors from institutions and companies will be guided around different studios. Our hope is they will make use of the artists in the future, buying their work or their skills.

inside outside

Was up early today, the wood anemones were not awake yet.

Almost finished hanging the show. Very small sneak peek today, window views. Inside out and outside in. Proper photos will come, today was not the day for taking photos. Today was the day for fixing little details.

My sculptor neighbour Per Agelii added another football sculpture to his blog Lagbygge (Team building). He writes so nice in Swedish, here parts in rough translation:

As a sculptor and leader for a boys football team, the idea of a show with the theme (team building) came up. I want to make the art audience interested in football and the football audience interested in art - Football is art!

...Create identity and interest for the roles on the field. What you do, what is important, the quality of every player...create discussion, how we build the team, how everybody gets involved? Different capacities, when and where are they best used?

Scuplptures shall work a space, just like actors on a stage or a player on a football field. To buid a football team is a proper and good task for sculptures.

Sculptures Around the world. You can add what's missing.

rytmobiles and groovy grass

This can't be a safe house.

Promised to post more Jan Cardell, one of the exhibitors in Italy, who creates the most amazing sound and music sculptures. So sorry I can't do better than this, until his website is fixed.

A small rytmobile is all I can bring you; imagine how a whole orchestra could sound!
For a dance performance by Crowd Company, he made an interactive sound sculpture. A similar sound sculpture was shown at Octava, video here.

We were happy to have Jan at Konstepidemin, until he moved south. Tomorrow I hope I can show a sneak peek from the upcoming show at Lerverk.

ice by northern artist

Photos from Anna-Sofia Mååg website

Final winter post, here all snow is gone now.

Not until a few weeks after I saw the Swedish movie "PingPong-Kingen" I found out it was Anna Sofia Mååg who created the ice sculptures for the set. It's a funny/sad story shot in a wintery landscape, first I thought I didn't like the film much but it really grew.

Anna Sofia is a ceramic artist living far north in Sweden, did ice sculpting before for the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi. She says the best thing with ice as material is that it doesn't need firing! But she is clever with clay too. See the whole ice process here.

Web cams from Ice Alaska, World Ice art Championships, that just closed but the sculptures are still there.

This must be final winter post.

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!

sverker's horses

Sverker Eklunds girls maybe you saw before here, but not his big, gentle horses. Show at Göteborgs Konstförening (until March 9). Sverker is one of my nice studio neighbors.

Wooden horses, can't get more Swedish than this.
Making of the traditional wooden horse
Collection of older horses
Elin Tidbäck's horses at Cosas

Tomorrow I hope to visit the studio, if everything works well. Couldn't be there as much as I wanted this week, office job calling. Some of the precious continuity it lost but I hope to repair it next week. Wasn't this week shorter than usual?