Eija-Liisa Ahtila
Matts Leiderstam
Ann-Sofi Siden
Roi Vaara
Maria Hedlund
Maaria Wirkkala
Esko Mannikko
Joachim Koester
Until relatively recently, whenever we talked about Nordic art we tended to associate it to topics like landscape, light, melancholy, and personal relationships...But today those cliches do not have any sense, especially when dealing with contemporary art.
CGAC is pleased to present the exhibition "Eight Nordic Tales" which will
take place at Santiago de Compostela (Spain) from July 11 to September 15,
2002.
The group show counts on pieces by internationally known artists as
Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Matts Leiderstam, Ann-Sofi Sidén, Roi Vaara, Maria
Hedlund, Maaria Wirkkala, Esko Männikkö and Joachim Koester.
Until relatively recently, whenever we talked about Nordic art we tended
to associate it to topics like landscape, light, melancholy, and personal
relationships... But today those clichés do not have any sense,
especially when dealing with contemporary art. For this reason, this
exhibition does not aim at showing the artists, topics or means of
expression that could be typically called "Nordic", although we have not
shied away from their Nordic reality, its sublime nature, its solitude,
the way it relates to rest of the world.
In Eight Nordic Stories we present the work of eight artists who were
born in different countries but share what we could call a common
geographic destination. When grouping them, we offer the beholder
multiple readings, individual readings that respect the interpretations
and the particular universe of each language.
Some of them work from a biographic point of view, which must be
understood as the witness of a vital and creative experience, while
others prefer to highlight the tensions amongst individuals and our
present society, and others explore situations and materials taken from
daily life events. The exhibition wants each work to talk individually,
within their peculiarity: from extreme relationships (Eija-Liisa Ahtila)
to the distortion of looks (Matts Leiderstam, Ann-Sofi Sidén), humorous
depictions (Roi Vaara), the ritualisation of objects of common use (Maria
Hedlund), the confrontation of the artistic space with the existence of
the tangible and real world (Maaria Wirkkala), or the melange of
fictitious and real atmospheres (Esko Männikkö, Joachim Koester). Our
other aim is that the suggestions of images and stories lead the
spectator to enjoy the pleasure of deciphering and interpreting each of
the stories articulated around characters, situations and scenarios.
Image: Ann-Sofi Sidén: Station 10 and Back Again , 2001
For further information, please call + 34 981
546 632
Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea. CGAC
Rúa Ramón del Valle Inclán s/n
15704 Santiago de Compostela
Spain