Earth, Wind, Fire, Water – Nordic Contemporary Crafts

Hildur Bjarnadóttir, Guðjón Ketilsson, Brynjar Sigurðarson & Veronika Sedlmair at 44th edition of Tendenser, the Nordic Contemporary Crafts Biennial

16. June - 4. October 2020

Galleri F 15, Jeløy, Moss, Norway

Curated by Randi Grov Berger (NO)

ARTISTS

Hildur Bjarnadóttir (IS), Ebba Bohlin (SE), Fellesskapsprosjektet å Fortette Byen (Sápmi/NO), Alma Heikkilä (FI), Karoline Hjorth & Riitta Ikonen (NO/FI), Guðjón Ketilsson (IS), Kasper Kjeldgaard (DK), Stian Korntved Ruud (NO), Ivana Králíková (CZ/SE), Valentin Manz (DE/NO), Britta Marakatt-Labba (Sápmi/SE), Pekka Paikkari (FI), Louise Sidelmann (DK), Brynjar Sigurðarson & Veronika Sedlmair (IS/DE), Ida Wieth (DK), Hedvig Winge (NO) and Charlotta Östlund (SE/FI).

Earth, Wind, Fire, Water – Nordic Contemporary Crafts is the 44th edition of the exhibition series Tendenser (Tendencies) at Galleri F 15 in Moss, Norway. For nearly fifty years, Tendenser has been one of the leading platforms for contemporary craft in the Nordic region. First presented in 1971 as an annual exhibition highlighting Norwegian practitioners, Tendenser has since expanded to a biennial format, incorporating trends from across the Nordic countries.

This year’s exhibition is curated by Randi Grov Berger and brings together seventeen artists and artist groups from the Nordic countries who uses their craft, their tools, and their deep material knowledge to address pending environmental issues. Acknowledging the powerful interdependence between humankind and often overlooked materials and organisms, many of the presented artworks evoke the fragility and transiency of our earthly existence by way of components that alter, dry up, or decay throughout the exhibition period. Others reflect holistic ecological practices, implementing material collaborations to connect with the surrounding environment, with a piece of land, or with the material itself.

The artists featured in Earth, Wind, Fire, Water each explore the potential of materials and the elements to co-author artistic works; to participate in and at times control the process and outcome. Encompassing biology, geology, and cosmology, their practices confront a longing for a deeper connection to the earth. They challenge our perception of materials, of the so-called natural world, and of ourselves.