Boyle Family and historical poster art at Henie Onstad in Norway this spring

-As part of the Henie Onstad 50 years celebration we are proud to present two historical exhibitions this spring. The exhibition Boyle Family: "Nothing is more radical than the facts" presents the British artists Boyle Family's major assemblages moulded from the surface of the earth together with a reconstruction of their psychedelic light show made for the legendary Soft Machine concert at Høvikodden in 1971. In the second exhibition, we present Henie Onstad's poster collection for the very first time. Welcome to a deep dive into several fragments of an extraordinary history, says Tone Hansen, Director of Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.

Boyle Family: “Nothing is more radical than the facts”
Boyle Family is a collaborative group of artists pioneering forms of sculpture, light art and assemblage in European art of the postwar era. Mark Boyle (1934-2005) had been a poet before turning to theater, sculpture, light projection, assemblage and happenings with his partner Joan Hills (1931-) and their children Sebastian (1962-) and Georgia (1963-).

Henie Onstad’s close association with the group began at the 1967 Biennale de Paris, where HOK’s then director Ole Henrik Moe was among the jury that awarded a prize to Mark Boyle. Their acquaintance had a propitious outcome in the ensuing years: Henie Onstad purchased a number of works and became an active venue for Boyle Family projects such as Seeds for a Random Garden, Secretions and Journey to the Surface of the Earth. During Henie Onstad’s Winter Festival in 1971, Boyle and Hills created the light show for concerts by the British band Soft Machine, and in 1985 Henie Onstad established Boyle Family Archives consisting of sketches, photographs and notes, in addition to over 40 artworks.

This exhibition presents Henie Onstads large collection of works by Boyle Family in addition to several loans. For the occasion Henie Onstad has restored and mastered the original recordings from Soft Machine’s 1971 concert and digitally converted the original 16mm films Beyond Image (1969) and Son of Beyond Image (1969), to reconstruct the legendary concert experience.

Fleeting Form – Poster Art
Fleeting Form presents Henie Onstad’s collection of posters for the very first time. The collection consists of more than 3000 posters acquisited through purchase, donation and other exchange of printed materials. In addition, Henie Onstad arranged eight surveys of poster art within the first decade, and much of what was displayed was purchased and collected. Acquisition ceased in the early 1980s, and for almost forty years the posters remained untouched in Henie Onstad’s archives.

Ever since its emergence as a mass-communication form, in France in the 1880s, the poster has functioned as a bridge between art, design and consumer culture. The poster has been a vehicle for selling products, announcing events, rallying for causes and communicating effectively with a savvy audience. The poster, as an art form, has consequently held undeservedly low status: it lacks the exclusive character of painting and drawing.

Fleeting form focuses not on advertising or political posters, but rather the third major category: cultural promotion. The exhibition follows the cultural poster’s development, climate and influence over a 20-year period, as an original artwork, historical document and a strikingly effective form of visual communication, made by some of the 20th century’s most renowned artists, designers and devoted amateurs.

The exhibtions presents posters by: Paul Brand, Georgia O`Keeffe, Buckminster Fuller, GRAS-gruppa, Shigeo Fukuda, Sidsel Paaske, Andy Warhol, Christo, David Hockney, Gruppe Lyn, Pentagram, Willem Sandberg, Zdenka Rusova, Jean Dubuffet, Armin Hoffman, Cy Twombly, Sture Johannesson, Jan Lenica, Tanadori Yokoo, Siri Anker Aurdal, Laurie Grundt, R. B. Kitaj, Kjartan Slettemark, Marianne Heske, Tom Krøjer, Stig Brøgger, Hans Jørgen Toming, Per Kirkeby, Dieter Roth, John Melin and Anders Österlin.

In short:

Title: Boyle Family – Nothing is more radical than the facts

Exhibition opening: April 19, 7pm at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, 1311 Høvikodden, Norway

Exhibition period: April 20 to September 2

Curator: Lars Mørch Finborud

Title: Fleeting Form – Poster Art

Exhibition opening: April 19, 7pm at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, 1311 Høvikodden, Norway

Exhibition period: April 20 to June 24

Curators: Aslak Gurholt Rønsen and Lars Mørch Finborud