Artists look at the Kunsthaus collection. Their multi-perspective approach opens up a fresh, inspiring polyphony. In this way, the Kunsthaus continues the tradition in which artists are important interpreters of works of art and open up new perspectives.
At first glance, the works of Matias Faldbakken (b. 1973) and Ida Ekblad (b. 1980) appear very different. But the pair are united by an interest in object-based art – both its possibilities and its problems. They also share an attitude to art-historical material that is part enthusiastically affirmative, part slapdash. This approach of ‘homage–cum–neglect’ is a productive force in both their practices. It opens up spaces for critique, humour and experimentation. Ekblad bulldozes into the traditional male spaces of large-scale painting and bronze sculpture with her energetic and fearless output. Faldbakken counterbalances his reticent visuals – what he calls ‘imaginative dissent’ – with a more generous, free-wheeling fiction writing.
For ‘ReCollect!’, the two are working together for the first time, creating a joint installation where they interpret selected works from the Kunsthaus Collection, as seen through their own hands-on activity. Their gestures will open up new viewpoints on the ways in which museum holdings are normally exhibited.
