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1/12/2004

Snorre Ytterstad

Galleri Wang, Oslo

0 Gravity

Since the middle of the 1990s, Snorre Ytterstad has become a distinctive figure on the Norwegian art scene. His original, unconventional and surprising works have been shown at everything from major exhibitions in Scandinavian museums to small, alternative, underground exhibitions in Oslo.

Ytterstad is a concept artist: in other words, his primary concern is with the idea behind his art. But in contrast to many of the purist conceptual artists who made a name for themselves during the 1960s and 70s, Ytterstad produces most of his works himself and nearly always uses existing, everyday articles as his starting-point. However, he also works as a traditional sculptor.

Movement' and Å’transformation' are key concepts in Snorre Ytterstad's oeuvre. Due to his recycling and processing of everyday and artistically unconventional materials and objects, he may be compared to contemporary artists such as Gabriel Oroszco and Cornelia Parker.

Ytterstad's creative process normally begins with something ordinary and close at hand such as a pen, a tooth or a coin. He then files, shapes and hones the chosen objects to such an extent that they sometimes become unrecognisable, or they turn into something completely different. This technique suddenly makes what was once a small and anonymous object seem absurd, humorous, frightening and thought-provoking. Ytterstad can turn a human tooth into a skull, or a pen into a telescope for star-gazing. He redefines the everyday objects he uses as objets d'art by means of small intrusions that are nevertheless radical and often time-consuming.

The exhibition at Galleri Wang consists for the most part of small objects. But the objects are often more significant than they at first appear. This is Ytterstad's deliberate intention and derives from his unceasing interest in disturbing our normal perception of proportions and scale by which we relate to the world around us. By focusing on objects that we generally use without reflection in our everyday lives, we are made aware of their potential both as bearers of an explosive artistic and political content, but also as materials that can be further employed in a sculptural process.

In addition, Ytterstad's works contain an element of criticism directed at politics and institutions. In '0 Gravity', for instance, Ytterstad has turned a so-called Fischer space pen (which Fischer developed in collaboration with NASA) into a small telescope. Under the telescope he has place a pen drawing based on NASA's headquarters in Houston. The ball of the pen has orbited round the 'launch pad' and the diminutive telescope is directed at a point on the wall where the ball of the pen is currently located. The ground-breaking ambitions of the space industry are in this way presented on a more palpable scale, while simultaneously making us feel extremely small and vulnerable in an interminably huge and cold universe.

Opening reception Thursday 2 December at 7 pm

Galleri Wang
Kristian Augusts gate 11 Oslo

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