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Nov 30-Dec 30, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday, Nov 2, 6-8 pm
NOoSPHERE Arts, an artist-run, nonprofit exhibition and performance venue on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, is excited to present C YA! showcasing Ingrid Berven and Lillian Presthus, curated by Bjørn Inge Follevaag.
C YA! – short for see you – is not only a parting comment, but also acknowledgement that somebody has noticed another person. In turn, it may also represent an outside observer looking at the world, but not sharing in it. Berven & Presthus allow us to share in what they have observed, leaving us to analyze, consider, accept or reject their observations.
In her deconstruction and transformation project, Lillian Presthus started shredding her old paintings into thin strips before weaving them together as new work. Meticulously, she tore up years’ worth of family portraits, then reassembled the pieces to re-stitch the remains with methodical precision and dogged efforts. The result is a whole new series of work where slices of life can be glimpsed in-between the interwoven strips of canvas. The original themes vanished. Through a painful process, what used to be cohesive works speaking of identity and remembrance became fragments of narratives and shards of identity.
Ingrid W. Berven questions authority and the art world. In her videos, she becomes an outside observer of a system that defines art on her behalf. She comments on the power structures of the art world; the curators, market mechanisms and issues of integrity. In her videos, through the lens of her camera and in her installations, the artist casts herself as the spectator. Her comments on the heavy hand of the market are highly relevant. Berven also works with themes of identity and belonging. She offers insights into the world we live in; our consumerism, lifestyle, shallowness and greed. Acute observations of life, Berven’s pieces make us reflect on the systems of which we all are part.
Ingrid W. Berven (Norway) trained as a visual artist at Bergen National Academy of Arts in Bergen and in Helsinki, and also attended the Grieg Academy for Music. Working within the fields of new media, she has completed a series of commissions and shown widely in her native country and abroad. She has also served as a curator and stage designer for theater troupes, and was the initiator of the artist-run gallery BY THE WAY – Gallery of Contemporary Art, Bergen.
Lillian Presthus (Norway) studied fine art in Norway and Finland. She is a painter who is influenced by textile tradition. Identity and family relations are recurring themes. A recipient of several grants, Presthus has shown extensively in the Scandinavian countries, received several public commissions, and is represented in the collection of Art Council Norway.
Bjørn Inge Follevaag (Norway) graduated from the Curatorial Program at Bergen Academy of Art and Design. For almost 20 years, he served as gallery manager for the arts venue 3,14 in Bergen; an artist-run gallery focusing on art from beyond Europe. Together with co-curator Feng Boyi, he is now presenting Real Life Stories at Art Museums of Bergen with a world premiere of a new installation by the renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
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