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4/4/2002

Stop for a Moment

Proje4L, Istanbul

Proje4L - Istanbul Museum of Contemporary Art, Turkey

Stop for a Moment - Painting as Narrative, shown in Proje4L - Istanbul Museum of Contemporary Art, consists of figurative works with emphasis on painting's capacity to act as a story - hence, painting as narrative. The works investigate various ways of making particular, private experiences accessible and public. The position of painting in Turkey is quite similar to the one in the Nordic countries. In these relative peripheries the popularity of painting is very high. Rather than emphasising conservative attitudes related to painting's situation as market commodity or fetisch, the exhibition puts forward a critical and self-conscious attitude. The first Stop for a Moment exhibition, in a series of three, was shown earlier this year in Gävle Konstcentrum, Sweden. It examined issues such as slowness, 'painting's place' and painting as a place. The last exhibition in the series will be shown in autumn 2002 in the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art in Turku, Finland and, beginning in November 2002, in the Arken Museum of Contemporary Art in Denmark.

The artists featured in Stop for a Moment - Painting as Narrative:
Vanessa Baird (NO)
Birgir S. Birgisson (IS)
Niklas Engvall (SE)
Robert Lucander (FI)
Elina Merenmies (FI)
MillaToivanen (FI)
Lene Væring Jensen (NO)

Vanessa Baird's (1963) contribution consists of oil paintings, pastels and watercolours. Baird's works, which are reminiscent of the tradition in British illustrated children's books, reflect her own experiences as a woman and a mother. They also reflect more general topics, such as Norwegian folklore and different stereotypes connected to her native country. Baird puts forward a bitter-sweet image of our surrounding reality in a unique way. Birgir S. Birgisson (1966) has for several years worked consistently with the series Blond Nurses.
Whereas Baird's hospital scenes are violently explicit, Birgisson approach is more silent. His paintings, based on old photographs, are airy and quiet. Their almost invisible quality succeeds in raising disturbing questions about power and control, as well as issues connected to healing and human interaction. Niklas Engvall (1969) is also a fervent critic of Nordic welfare society. Engvall's Sweden - a model country of Western freedom - looks more like a twisted Twin Peaks, where so-called civil liberties cannot be taken for granted. Robert Lucander's (1962) works contain traces of authentic reality. While Engvall's sources may be the cold parking lots, Lucander is more at home on the pages of the tabloids. His works depict the heroes of modern society - pop stars, celebrities and beauty queens - in a way that is not necessarily flattering.
Lucander's warmly ironic approach gives the viewer new insights to apparently familiar situations. Elina Merenmies (1967) puts forward a rare viewpoint - that of the victim. Her disturbing images of a world, full of uncanny creatures, address issues of suffering and lack of compassion. Despite, or just due to their style, the works succeed in bringing about the idea of hope. Milla Toivanen's (1972) contribution consists of a series of small-scale paintings. Toivanen's works are fragmented narratives portraying her life and surroundings. They are strange stories without a clear beginning or end. Lene Væring Jensen (1973) also has her own life as a starting point. She questions and investigates the role of the artist in the contemporary situation. Jensen's cut-outs act as questions about the myths connected to the artist's position and possibilities.
The exhibition is initiated and produced by NIFCA in collaboration with Proje4L.
The exhibition is curated by Kari Immonen and Mika Hannula.

For further information, please contact: Tuulikki Koskinen +358 (0)9 686 43 102

Stop for a Moment - Painting as Narrative will be accompanied by a 64 page full-color catalogue with an introductory essay, artists' interviews and illustrations. The texts can also be read at www.nifca.org/stopforamoment

Other exhibitions in the series:

Stop for a Moment - Painting as Presence
6 September - 27 October 2002 in Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art,Turku, Finland, www.wam.fi Marcus Eek, Anna Fro Vodder, Jukka Korkeila, John Kørner, Elina Merenmies, Tiina Elina Nurminen and Tal R

9 November 2002 - 23 February 2003
in Arken Museum of Contemporary Art, Ishøj, Denmark, www.arken.dk

Image: Lene Væring Jensen

Proje4L Museum of Contemporary
Harmanci-Giz Plaza Levent 80640 Istanbul
Wednesday to Saturday, 12:00 - 20:00
Opening April 5, 2002 at 18:00

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