Highly influential Norwegian artists in Paris

This autumn's major exhibition of paintings at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter:

ELECTROMAGNETIC – Modern Art from Northern Europe, 1918–1931

27, September –15, December, 2013

• Welcome to the press view 26,September at 10 AM. The curators will be present. Please register at: gv@hok.no
  
• Exhibition opening: 26, September at 7 PM

Electromagnetic presents for the first time key works from Northern Europe side by side with their European mentors. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to discover the importance of artists from Northern Europe in the development of modern painting. Unknown to many, the Scandinavian and Baltic artists included played a significant role in the international art scene in the 1920s.

Many of the Norwegian and lesser known Cubists such as Thorvald Hellsen, Charlotte Wankel, Ragnhild Keyser and Ragnhild Kaarbø were central figures in the art scenes in Berlin and Paris during this period, and their production was noted and lauded by their more known contemporaries.

–This exhibition presents new insights about modern painting. For the first time visitors can experience several famous international artists such as Le Corbusier, Fernand Léger and Juan Gris together with the Norwegian artists, says Tone Hansen, director of Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.

Art historical  accounts  have previously emphasized how the artistic influence in the early 1900s went from Paris and Berlin to Norway. This exhibition posits, however, that the influence did not only go one way. For example, the world-renowned artist Theo van Doesburg claimed that the most interesting works on the contemporary art scene in the early 1900s were made by the Norwegian artist Thorvald Hellsen and Fernand Léger.

Electromagnetic –Modern Art in Northern Europe, 1918–1931 includes works by Swedes Otto G. Carlsund, Erik Olson and Gösta Adrian-Nilsson (GAN), the Danish Franciska Clausen and Norwegian Thorvald Hellsen, Ragnhild Keyser, Ragnhild Kaarbø and Charlotte Wankel . In addition, the exhibition presents a rich selection of Baltic artists and European mentors as Fernand Léger, Juan Gris, Le Corbusier, Andre Lothe , Amédée Ozenfant and Jacques Lipchitz.

The exhibition includes approximately 150 works and documentary material. It is accompanied by an extensive catalog: Electromagnetic –Modern Art in Northern Europe, 1918-1931, published by Hatje Cantz.

After the presentation at HOK, the exhibition will travel to the Art Museum of Estonia, KUMU from 23, January to 18, May, 2014.

Curators of the exhibition is Gladys Fabre in collaboration with Tone Hansen and Gerd Elise Mørland (also editors of the publication).

Contact information:

Gunhild Varvin , Head of Communications, HOK , gv@hok.no , 402 17 573