Press information

Avesta Art 2024" opens on May 18th at Verket in Avesta. This international exhibition brings together artists from Sweden, Iceland, South Africa/United Kingdom, Norway, and Denmark. The title is FluidFluid, the English word for liquid. Liquid like the iron melting in the massive preserved blast furnaces and open-hearth furnaces in the old ironworks, which for decades has been a bastion for contemporary art.

The exhibition Fluid includes works where the physical properties of artistic techniques, such as flowing colors or the materiality of ceramic glazes, are the focus. We also encounter works that conceptually address the fluid substances of nature, while other artworks are grounded in the concrete; water in the form of melting ice, floods, or storms, and humanity's relationship to these phenomena. The concept of fluid identity touches upon questions of national, linguistic, and cultural belonging, who you are, or are allowed to be.

• De sju konstnärerna bidrar med sina helt olika stilar och tekniker till en rik blandning av konstnärliga uttryck kring ett tema som är precis så bokstavligt enkelt som det låter – Fluid, flytande, och samtidigt rymmer många lager av mening, säger Charlotte Wells, verksamhetsledare på Verket.

• Även denna sommar har vi glädjen att kunna ta emot en residenskonstnär som också får ställa ut i Verket efter sin arbetsvistelse i Avesta. Utlysningen pågår nu och residenskonstnären presenteras i april, berättar Charlotte Wells.

Medverkande konstnärer Avesta Art 2024

Idun Baltzersen
Norwegian artist Idun Baltzersen is active as an artist in Stockholm. She works experimentally and inventively in the traditional art graphic method of woodcutting and is one of those who position it as an indispensable technique for contemporary art. Her works are created in very large formats, sometimes as collages. As part of Avesta Art, works from the series will be exhibited. Badarna To be displayed. She has obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Bergen Academy of Art and Design in Norway and a master's degree from Konstfack in Stockholm.

Gideon Mendel
Gideon Mendel is a photographer, artist, and activist, originally from South Africa but long based and working in London, England. Mendel's photography combines artistry with social questions. Over the past few decades, he has documented ongoing global climate effects, such as floods and fires, in several photo projects. The presentation of Mendel's work in Avesta will be comprehensive, featuring a large number of photos and two video works. Gideon Mendel earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Katja Bjørn
Katja Bjørn lives and works as an artist in Aarhus, Denmark. She works with moving images, performance, video, and installations. Recurring themes in her work revolve around nature, gender, water, and the body – the human as a bodily, biological, thinking, and spiritual being. During Avesta Art, she will exhibit an installation with video sculpture. She holds a Master's degree in Religious Studies and Art History from Aarhus University.

Helena Malm
Helena Malm is based in Stockholm and works with ceramic sculpture. Her work in ceramics is characterized by an exploration of materials and an interest in the transformation of and within the material. Themes of control and the uncontrollable, time, and transience are recurring in her work. Helena Malm holds a Bachelor's degree in Ceramics and Glass from Konstfack, Stockholm, and a Bachelor's degree in Design from HDK Göteborg.

Stefan Johansson
The visual artist Stefan Johansson is based in Stockholm, where he works with acrylic painting. His creative process involves elements of control, meticulous calculations, and randomness. At Avesta Art, Stefan Johansson will show large-scale paintings. Johansson received his education from the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts and the Gerlesborg School of Fine Art in Stockholm, as well as advanced courses at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm.

Christine Dahl Helweg-Larsen
Christine Dahl Helweg-Larsen is based in Stockholm, where she works with sculpture, spatial installations, sound, and video, often creating experiences that are both visual and auditory. Her works explore themes such as the transformative processes of materials and challenging the idea of an original form or state. Her participation in this year's exhibition includes two installations. Born in Denmark, Christine Dahl Helweg-Larsen holds a Master of Fine Arts from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm.

Anna Rún Tryggvadottír
Anna Rún Tryggvadottir är verksam och bosatt i Reykjavik, Island. Hon har tidigare arbetat med både kinetiska skulpturala installationer, fotografi, film och illustration. På Avesta Art visar hon en platsspecifik storskalig installation, med ljuddesign av Sam Slater (Tjernobyl, Joker). I hennes verk ingår ofta naturens egna material och rörelse, det är konstverk där teknik och natur kombineras. Anna Rún Tryggvadottir har en masterexamen från Concordia University Montreal Canada och kandidatexamen från Iceland University of the Arts.

About Verket Avesta järnverks fd hyttanläggning från 1870-talet är en av Europas bäst bevarade järnbruksmiljöer från den storskaliga industrialiseringens första epok. Industriarvsmiljön med slaggstensväggar och stora ugnar är intressant både som industrihistoriskt kulturarv och som arena för kultur. Konst, kultur och lärande samspelar här med industriarvets föremål och monumentala arkitektur. Verket drivs som en kommunal verksamhet av Avesta kommun.

Avesta Art arrangeras av Verket och finansieras av Avesta kommun, Region Dalarna, Kulturrådet.

Om Avesta Art Residency. Residenset återkommer för andra året där den yrkesverksamma konstnären som väljs ut kommer att presenteras den 5/4 och visas i anslutning med residensperioden under Avesta Art 2024. Residensen genomförs med stöd från Region Dalarna.

Vernissage och öppettider

Vernissage: Lördagen den 18 maj.

Öppettider: 18 maj – 22 september, kl 11-17 alla dagar (midsommarafton stängt).

Pressvisning: Onsdag 15 maj, klockan 10.00.
Möjlighet till att träffa konstnärerna på plats: Fredag 17 maj
Anmälan till susanne.carlzon@avesta.se

Verksamhet och program: Industrihistoriska guidningar, dagliga konstvisningar, konstverkstad, föredrag, musikevenemang med mera.

Entré: 140:- vuxen, 95:- stud/pens, t o m 19 år fri entré.

Tillgänglighet: Hiss till alla våningsplan, WCR.

På vår parkering finns 2 laddstolpar till elbil

Contact:
Museiintendent Charlotte Wells  0226-64 51 56
Konstpedagog Cecilia Elgh 0226 – 64 56 86
Museiassistent Sussie Carlzon 073 – 060 14 62

VERKET

Tel och webb: 0226 – 64 51 62, verket.se

Adress: Kanalvägen 1, Avesta