2008 Esposizione a Cura Di Oscar Aschan Bigert & Bergström Roland

Director/Curator Director/Curator Director/Curator Anima (e) Exposizione a cura di Oscar Aschan Anima Anima (e) Exposizione a cura di Oscar Aschan Anima Anima (e) Exposizione a cura di Oscar Aschan Anima Oscar Aschan Oscar Aschan Oscar Aschan Administrative Staff Administrative Staff Administrative Staff Enrica Borghi Enrica Borghi Enrica Borghi Francesco Brugnetta Francesco Brugnetta Francesco Brugnetta Giorgio Caione Giorgio Caione Giorgio Caione Paola Ceriotti Paola Ceriotti Paola Ceriotti Giada Guidetti Giada Guidetti Giada Guidetti Angelo Molinari Angelo Molinari Angelo Molinari Francesca Polistina Francesca Polistina Francesca Polistina Esposizione a cura di Oscar Aschan Esposizione a cura Maria Silvia di Pegorin Oscar Aschan Esposizione Maria Silvia a Pegorin cura di Oscar Aschan Maria Silvia Pegorin Davide Vanotti Davide Vanotti Davide Vanotti 29 marzo – 6 luglio 29 marzo – 6 luglio 29 marzo – 6 luglio Municipal Staff Municipal Staff Municipal Staff 2008 Noemi 2008 Noemi 2008 Noemi Marco Robozzi Marco Robozzi Marco Robozzi Fortini Fortini Fortini Municipal technician of Miasino Municipal technician of Miasino Municipal technician of Miasino Press Office Press Office Press Office Gec. Torino Gec. Torino Gec. Torino Gaia Enria Gaia Enria Gaia Enria Alessandra Valsecchi Alessandra Valsecchi Alessandra Valsecchi Sponsors and groups Sponsors and groups Sponsors and groups Bigert & Bergström Bigert & Bergström The Sweden Embassy in Rom Bigert The Sweden Embassy in Rom& Bergström The Sweden Embassy in Rom The Italian Embassy in Stockholm The Italian Embassy in Stockholm The Italian Embassy in Stockholm Roland Borén Roland Borén The Italian Chamber of Commerce In Sweden Roland The Italian Chamber of Commerce In Sweden Borén The Italian Chamber of Commerce In Sweden Jan Cardell Jan Cardell The Italian consulate in Gothenburg Jan Cardell The Italian consulate in Gothenburg The Italian consulate in Gothenburg The city of Turin The city of Turin The city of Turin

Helen Dahlman Helen Dahlman The region of Piemonte Helen The region of PiemonteDahlman The region of Piemonte Västra Götalands regionen Västra Götalands regionen Västra Götalands regionen Torsten Jurell Torsten Jurell The City of Gothenburg Torsten The City of Gothenburg Jurell The City of Gothenburg Ulla & Gustav Kraitz Ulla & Gustav Kraitz Province of Novara Ulla & Province of NovaraGustav Kraitz Province of Novara Municipal of Ameno Municipal of Ameno Municipal of Ameno Ingbritt Irene Lagerberg Ingbritt Irene Lagerberg Municipal of Miasino Ingbritt Municipal of Miasino Irene Lagerberg Municipal of Miasino The Foundation for the culture of the future The Foundation for the culture of the future The Foundation for the culture of the future Jenny Magnusson Jenny Magnusson Stena Line Jenny Stena LineMagnusson Stena Line SKF SKF SKF Mandana Moghaddam Mandana Moghaddam Handelsbanken Mandana Handelsbanken Moghaddam Handelsbanken Björn Perborg Björn Perborg Globex Transport Björn Perborg Globex Transport Globex Transport Astra Zeneca Astra Zeneca Astra Zeneca Nils Ramhöj Nils Ramhöj Göteborg & Co Nils Ramhöj Göteborg & Co Göteborg & Co Aga Aga Aga Mikael Richter Mikael Richter Octanova Stiftelsen Mikael Octanova Stiftelsen Richter Octanova Stiftelsen Pecka Söderberg Pecka Söderberg Göteborgs Relief & Offset Tryckeri AB Pecka Göteborgs Relief & Offset Tryckeri ABSöderberg Göteborgs Relief & Offset Tryckeri AB Stina Östberg Stina Östberg Special Thanks to StinaSpecial Östberg Thanks to Special Thanks to Ambassador Anders Bjurner Ambassador Anders Bjurner Ambassador Anders Bjurner Ambassador Francesco Caruso Ambassador Francesco Caruso Ambassador Francesco Caruso Lord Mayor Jörgen Linder Lord Mayor Jörgen Linder Lord Mayor Jörgen Linder Lord Mayor Armando Beltrami and Micaela Lord Mayor Armando Beltrami and Micaela Lord Mayor Armando Beltrami and Micaela Tarditi Tarditi Tarditi 29 marzo – 6 LugLio 2008 – 6 LugLio marzo 29 29 marzo – 6 LugLio 2008 – 6 LugLio marzo 29 Honorary Consul of Italy Jaan Kaber Honorary Consul of Italy Jaan Kaber 2008 – 6 LugLio marzo 29 Honorary Consul of Italy Jaan Kaber Municipal commissioner of Ameno Marco Municipal commissioner of Ameno Marco Municipal commissioner of Ameno Marco Baldino Silvano Giacomoni Baldino Silvano Giacomoni Baldino Silvano Giacomoni Castello di Miasino, Director Sabatino Castello di Miasino, Director Sabatino Castello di Miasino, Director Sabatino Galasso Galasso Galasso Cantine Cantalupo di Alberto Arlunno, Cantine Cantalupo di Alberto Arlunno, Cantine Cantalupo di Alberto Arlunno, Ghemme Ghemme Ghemme Grappe Francoli, Ghemme Grappe Francoli, Ghemme Grappe Francoli, Ghemme Cantine Il Rubino di Alfredo Bertaccini di Cantine Il Rubino di Alfredo Bertaccini di Cantine Il Rubino di Alfredo Bertaccini di Romagnano Sesia Romagnano Sesia Romagnano Sesia …and of course; …and of course; …and of course; All the artists! All the artists! All the artists! 1 car Aschan, tor Os OA ura Ga C ll Translater Ma e rtin ry Do + Graphic no 4 desi va 6 gn n, 7 Print Ste + 3 G fa 4 5 öt n 6 11 eb E 7 4 o lia 09 3 r ss 7 7 g o 1 2 n 8 s , 3 E R l 85 e ia l s i s e o f n

& I

n O f

f o f r s m e a t t t io r n y + c 4 6 7 k 39 19 14 12 e r I +4 6 3 1 25 15 00

2 3 Anima(e)

In order to understand the art in this exhibition and the respect, or love( of certain objects,) persons, or phenomena, The more powerful the effect, the better, regardless of not really feel what he wishes to express, but is doing it exhibition itself, it is necessarySoul to cease to consider it as a and others are affecteds by the same feelings. The artist subject matter, i.e. without considering the quality of the for the receiver, a resistance immediately forms. The out- means to pleasure and to consider it as one of the condi- in the exhibition is the conveyer of clear, complex and feelings it conveys. come of this is that even the most individual and original tions of human life. Viewing it in this way we cannot fail powerful emotions and the visitor is seen as the receiver. It When I selected the artist for the exhibition, I considered feelings and the cleverest artistic techniques not only fail to observe the works as a means of communication. It is is this capacity of man to absorb another man’s expression the degree to which the art would affect people and the to produce any emotion but can even cause repulsion in the soul that is being exhibited. Every work of art in the of emotions and to experience those emotions himself, diversity of the artist’s work. I had three criteria when I the receiver. exhibition causes the viewer to enter into a certain kind of that is at the core of this exhibition. The feelings with made my selection. I have mentioned the three criteria that I have used relationship with the artist. Speech conveys thoughts and which the artist affects the visitors in the exhibition are • The individuality of the emotions being conveyed; when selecting art for this exhibition, but they can all be experiences and serves as a means of union. The works manifold; strength or weakness, gravitas or insignificance, • The clearness with which the emotions are conveyed; summed up in one prerequisite and that is sincerity. This in this exhibition act in a similar manner. Communica- good or bad, feelings of love for the planet, self-devotion • The sincerity of the artist, i.e. the passion with which means that the artist should be inspired by an inner need tion through art is a way of conveying feelings, whereas and submission to fate or to motherly love, raptures of the artist feels the emotion he is conveying. to express his feelings or soul/anima. If the artist is sincere verbal or written communication is a way of conveying lovers or feelings of voluptuousness. The more individual the feeling being conveyed, the he will express these feelings as he experienced them. As thoughts. The exhibition’s foremost aim is to convey The main theme of this exhibition is that art can evoke greater effect it has on the receiver. The more individual everyone is different, the feelings will be individual. The feelings. feelings that the artist has felt or has experienced. By me- the soul in the artwork, the more pleasure the receiver ob- more individual they are, the more the artist will have The exhibition enables the observer to absorb the expres- ans of movements, lines, colours, sounds, or forms expres- tains, and therefore the more readily he identifies with it. drawn them from the depths of his soul and the more sions of emotion that first inspired the artist. To take sed in words, the artist aims to convey these feelings so Clearness of expression is important because the receiver, sympathetic and sincere they will be. This same sincerity the simplest example; someone laughs and this causes others may experience the same emotions. Art is a human who mingles in consciousness with the artist, will be more will inspire the artist to find a clear expression of the someone else to feel happy; or someone weeps and this activity where one person consciously passes on to others satisfied if the emotion is conveyed clearly. This emotion feelings that he wishes to convey. The primary aim of the causes someone else to feel sorrow. A man is excited or emotions they have experienced, so that other people can is something he has long felt and has only now found a exhibition is that it will be a conveyor of emotions. irritated, and another man seeing him adopts the same also experience them. If people lacked this capacity of be- means of expression. But how are we to define emotion in art with reference to emotions. By his movements or by the tone of his voice, a ing moved by art, the world would be a more hostile and But it is primarily the artist’s sincerity that creates the its subject matter? man expresses courage and determination, or sadness and unpleasant place to live. The exhibition hopefully states greatest impression. When the visitor senses that the artist calmness, and this state of mind is passed on to others. that art is very important, just as important as speech. is passionate about his work, and is creating art not only Anima(e) curator Someone suffers, expressing their sufferings by groans and There is one indubitable indication, namely, how con- for others, but also for himself, the visitor is affected in a spasms, and this suffering is conveyed to other people; a veyable the art in the exhibition is. It is true that this positive way. Conversely, when the visitor senses that the man expresses his feeling of admiration, devotion, fear, indication is internal (one that I call the soul or anima). artist is not creating art for his own satisfaction and does

4 5 Con lo scopo di comprendere l’arte all’interno di questa prime i suoi sentimenti d’ammirazione, devozione,timore, timismo che l’arte è molto importante, tanto quanto il viene infl uenzato in senso positivo. Di contro, quando mostra e quindi la mostra in se stessa, è necessario smet- rispetto oppure amore per determinati oggetti, persone, discorrere. C’è, senza dubbio, un’indicazione, vale a dire l’ospite percepisce che l’artista non sta creando l’arte per tere di considerarla un mezzo per ottenere piacere, ma al oppure fenomeni e gli altri vengono infl uenzati dagli quanto l’arte nella mostra riesca a comunicare. E’ vero la sua stessa soddisfazione e non prova veramente ciò che contrario considerarla come una delle condizioni della vita stessi sentimenti. che quest’indicazione sia interna (quella che io chiamo desidera esprimere, ma sta facendo ciò per gli ospiti, si umana. Osservandola in questo modo non possiamo non L’artista nella mostra è colui che comunica la chiarezza, anima). forma immediatamente una sorta di resistenza. Il risultato riuscire ad osservare le opere come dei mezzi di comuni- la complessità e la potenza delle emozioni e l’ospite viene L’effetto dominante, il migliore, non riguarda il tema, di ciò è che persino le emozioni più individuali ed origi- cazione. visto come colui che riceve. E’ questa capacità che ha bensì la qualità delle emozioni che il tema porta con sé. nali e le tecniche artistiche più intelligenti non solo non E’ l’anima che si sta esibendo. Ogni opera d’arte della l’uomo di assorbire le espressioni emotive di un altro Quando ho selezionato gli artisti per l’esposizione, ho riescono a produrre alcuna emozione, ma possono persino mostra induce l’ospite ad entrare in relazione con l’artista. uomo e di sperimentare le stesse emozioni di quest’ultimo considerato il grado con cui l’arte avrebbe interessato la causare una sorta di repulsione nell’ospite. Il discorso comunica pensieri ed esperienze e serve come che costituisce il cuore della mostra stessa. gente e la diversità dell’opera degli artisti. Ho usato tre Ho accennato i tre criteri che ho usato quando ho selezio- mezzo di unione. Le opere di questa mostra si comporta- Le emozioni con cui l’artista interessa l’ospite nella criteri, per la mia selezione. nato le opere d’arte per questa mostra, ma possono essere no in modo simile. mostra sono molteplici; forza o debolezza, gravità o privo - l’individualità delle emozioni comunicate tutti riassunti in un pre-requisito unico che è la sincerità. La comunicazione attraverso l’arte è un modo per d’interesse, buono o cattivo, sentimenti d’amore per il - la chiarezza con cui le emozioni venivano comunicate Ciò signifi ca che l’artista dovrebbe essere ispirato dalla comunicare emozioni, mentre la comunicazione verbale o pianeta, auto devozione e sottomissione al destino oppure - la sincerità dell’artista, cioè la passione con cui l’artista necessità d’esprimere le sue emozioni interne oppure la scritta è un modo per comunicare pensieri. Lo scopo della all’amore materno, entusiasmi degli amanti oppure senti- prova le emozioni che comunica. sua stessa anima. Se l’artista è sincero esprimerà queste mostra è di trasmettere emozioni. menti voluttuosi. Il tema principale di questa mostra è che Più individuale è l’emozione comunicata, maggiore è emozioni così come le ha sperimentate. Dato che ognuno La mostra permette all’ospite di assorbire le espressioni l’arte può evocare le emozioni che l’artista ha provato o ha l’effetto che essa ha sull’ospite. Più individuale è l’anima di noi è differente, le emozioni saranno individuali. emotive che in primo luogo hanno ispirato l’artista. Per sperimentato. nell’opera, più piacere prova l’ospite, e perciò più facil- Più individuali sono, più l’artista le avrà ricavate dalla fare un esempio semplice: qualcuno ride e questo provoca Attraverso i movimenti, le linee, i colori, i suoni oppure mente si identifi ca in essa. profondità della sua anima e più saranno umane e sincere. felicità a qualcun altro; oppure qualcuno piange e ciò le forme espresse nelle parole, l’artista punta a trasmettere La chiarezza d’espressione è importante perché l’ospite, si Questa stessa sincerità ispirerà l’artista a trovare una chiara provoca dispiacere a qualcun altro. queste sensazioni in modo che per gli altri sia possibile mescola consciamente con l’artista, e quindi sarà più sod- espressione delle emozioni che egli desidera comunicare. Un uomo è emozionato o irritato e un altro uomo avvertire le stesse emozioni. disfatto se l’emozione viene comunicata in modo chiaro. Lo scopo primario della mostra è di essere conduttore di vedendolo adotta le sue stesse emozioni. Tramite i suoi L’arte è un’attività umana, ove una persona trasmette L’emozione è qualcosa che egli ha provato a lungo e solo emozioni. movimenti o il tono della sua voce, un uomo esprime co- consapevolmente agli altri emozioni che essa ha sperimen- ora ha trovato un mezzo d’espressione. Ma come dobbiamo defi nire l’emozione nell’arte conside- raggio e determinazione, oppure tristezza e calma e questo tato così che le altre persone possano avvertirle. Ma è soprattutto la sincerità dell’artista che genera la più rando il suo contenuto? stato d’animo viene trasferito agli altri. Qualcuno soffre Se la gente non avesse questa capacità di essere smossa grande impressione. Quando l’ospite percepisce la pas- Oscar Aschan esprimendo le proprie sofferenze con gemiti e spasmi, e dall’arte, il mondo sarebbe un posto più ostile, più sione che l’artista mette nel suo lavoro e che sta creando Curatore di Anima(e) questa sofferenze viene trasferita agli altri; un uomo es- sgradevole in cui vivere. La mostra dichiara con ot- arte non solo per gli altri, ma anche per se stesso, l’ospite

6 7 Bigert & Bergström

Bigert&Bergström AB is a production company and an artist duo working from Stockholm, Swe- den. Bigert and Bergström started to collaborate in 1990, and since then they have produced a broad range of art and film projects. The project “Everyone talks about the weather but no one does anything about it” treats many areas within the research of weather and climate and its technology and mythology. The artists work resembles research as they perform own empi- rical experiments, therefore their work includes both discovery and mimic. Bigert and Bergström highlight eager questions that show that the contemporary also constitutes a transition time. Weather and climate are no longer questions of believe or fate, but questions of manipulation and survival experiments. They work with awareness and they put revealing information mixed with humour into a renewed artistic context.”Inverted Space Molecules” is an installation which include pictures from a SMHI weather station, from the icebreaker Oden, from a greenhouse in Cornwall and from the film “If you don’t like the weather change it”. Bigert and Bergström toss and turn the perspective and show the pictures as an inverted panorama formed to globe sculptures, these sculptures are joined to form a cluster of molecules. The artists make the observer hover between a large-scale angle and a very detailed one, certain information is almost exaggerated. The cluster form three different thematic groups called Weather Station, Expedition and EDEN and these three groups constitute minor headlines.

8 9 Bigert & Bergström

10 11 Roland Borén

Roland Borén was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1956. He has had several solo exhibitions in Sweden and has also exhibited in Los Angeles and Berlin. Working both on a domestic and monumental scale, Roland Borén combines constructivis- tic forms with elements of engineering in his precisely made structures of wood, metal and other materials. A feature of Borén’s sculptures are the slanted cubes forming compositions in a parallel perspective. This has the effect that the observer sees the sculpture from an unusual angle, creating an optical illusion and confusing the observer. This unusual perspective can mislead the eye and cause dizziness. This is because the accep- ted central perspective is replaced with a parallel perspective, where all the lines run parallel to each other. The cube forms are built out of modules, where the smallest module dictates the dimensions of the other forms and shares the same angles. The cube forms make up compositions that often portray things like chairs, buildings, stairwells, wings and ladders, and these have several sym- bolic meanings. Borén’s sculptures are interpreted as both two- and three-dimensional forms. His work is influenced by artists like Kasimir Malevich and Piero della Francesca, as well as the Italian architect Antonio Saint Elia. Borén is also inspired by early industrial architecture and structures which were so well designed and built. Borén was awarded the Baertling Prize in 1985 and Edstrandska Prize 1992. He lives and works in Gothenburg

12 13 Roland Borén

14 15 Jan Cardell

Jan Cardell’s Caligari is a cheerful and elegant auditory artwork. Jan Cardell´s orchestra is a poignant proposi- tion in the exhibition. The fascination and che- erfulness here form the insight that enchanting renewal is still possible. After years of work, Cardell has created four computercontrolled mechanical orchestras that play when the visitor moves in front of the ultrasound sensor. The visitors compose the melodies by their movements. Sometimes the instruments look like fictitious insects, sometimes like real flies, sometimes like extraterrestrials, and often like versions of real instruments such as dulcimers, drums or string instruments. The remarkable thing about these “rhythm mobiles” or sculptural gramophones however, is that every beautiful detail or hilarious operation possesses a sound-bearing function. The welded wing is both a sound box and an amplifier, while the peg is an eye. If a leg is made of a coil of copper wire it also serves as the motor itself, the electromagnet that controls the transfer of current. Sounds are created when the wings rhythmi- cally beat against the stage floor, when the fly bangs its head against the floor, when beautiful- ly shaped sticks palpitate against drumheads or by gaping pupae of papiermâché as if straight out of an Alien film. Jan Cardell has arranged the wiring on the floor as elegantly as he has forged the thin iron legs of the members of the orchestra. He is a wiring aesthete among all the concept artists that don´t know what to do with all the electronic paraphernalia. If Jan Cardell´s mechanisms are born of concretism, his sound synchroni- sing is uniquely of our time – and it is in this encounter that renewal blossoms. Jan Cardell´s orchestra has a lasting effect on the visitor.

16 17 Jan Cardell

18 19 Helen Dahlman

Helen Dahlman is an international artist who mainly works with textiles and embroidery. Born in Gothenburg, she has lived and worked in Europe and the United States. Her works of fine art are based on the principles of structural balance which nevertheless manage to convey a distinct inner chaos. Her interest is in developing a new dialogue which incorporates feelings and intellect, thereby creating a new all-inclusive view versus more traditio- nal representation. This allinclusive view is independent of style, content and context. It is revealed through the composition. Meaning is created by the positio- ning and proportions of all elements as they relate to each other and their environment. Meaning can be recognized on both levels, that of feeling (unconscious) and intellect (conscious). In its purest state the integration of feeling and intellect communicates a certain aliveness. The Bear and the Girl is a symbol of the work of Dahlman. The installation reflects on themes such as power, culture, submission, violence and protection. The viewer’s conscious and subconscious react to different elements of the composition, thus creating a turbulence of feelings about our society, which cannot leave one untouched.

20 21 Helen Dahlman

22 23 Torsten Jurell

Torsten Jurell was born near Gothenburg in 1951. Torsten Jurell works mostly in wood and bronze. Only hardwoods will do, such as oak or red iron- wood (or azobé as it’s called where it grows in tropi- cal Africa). Torsten Jurell says that hard, shortgrained woods are easiest to work with, as you can always achieve exactly what you’re looking for. If you don’t gouge too deep, but remove the material little by little, the process is relatively easy. The three sculptures, Blondie, Ninka and Grace by Torsten Jurell are first made in wood and subse- quently cast in bronze. Jurell points out that he is adjusting the faces to the singularities of the wood. The direction of the grain affects the direction of the nose and the facial expression. From what seemed to be just a piece of wood Jurell has carved a unique person. Blondie, Ninka and Grace are short sensual meetings at a metro station, in a street or in a bar. The erotic electricity that Jurell places in his sculptures is from people he has met. He said it sometimes feels that after a day in the studio that you emerge from an orgy but with splinters in your hands.

24 25 Torsten Jurell

26 27 II (Ingbritt Irene Lagerberg)

Ingbritt Irene Lagerberg, or simply II, as Lagerberg never uses her real name, only her trademark “II”. Since 1979 she has had successful exhibitions mainly in Sweden and Norway but also in Scotland, Spain, Belgium and USA. Her symbolism is based on a gender theme, communication, relations and experiences. The installations are generally colourful and decorative, refl ecting love, hap- piness and warmth. They are enjoyable experiences with an exceptional bright fullness that meets the visitor. II started to use these symbols at the beginning of the 1990s. These mystic installations with mythical undertones took shape and now symbolize the works of II. They generally have strong feminine symbols of strength. Myths based around female power are themes that II always returns to when she creates new constellations, but she never repeats herself. The crowns made of the bark of the mulberry trees are explained by II in the following way: “The one that rests in the shadow of the mulberry tree will have his deepest requests answered”. This is an old English saying. The following texts were written by II: “Give me dreams to dream, or poison to die!!!” “The night gives the crown its life.” “They fly close together to the stars of heaven, like souls striving to find each other.” “Every crown is a soul filled with hopes and dreams.” “They are in search of their dreams, like people who live on Earth.”

28 29 II (Ingbritt Irene Lagerberg)

30 31 Ulla & Gustav Kraitz

Ulla and Gustav Kraitz, Sweden´s foremost artistcouple, have ever since their mutual career started over four decades ago complemented each others aesthetic. Together they have revived the ancient Chinese technique of flame firing – resulting in the characteristic sumptuous deep glazes of their sculptures. The Kraitzs often find inspirations to their works in the forms of the nature. Although Ulla and Gustav Kraitz are true creative col- laborators each artist has predililections for certain forms. Gustav seems to be drawn to the more geometric while Ulla tends to use more organic forms, like seeds, embryos, and the female body. Their sculptures shape the land in numerous parks and public settings, among many other places their installations may be seen in the Botanical gardens of Chicago and New York and in the Washington D.C´s Smithsonian Institution. Entering the exhibition you are confronted with a pillow on grani- te gravel and, behind it, cages full of coal appear. The stark power of this work is intensified by Gustav Kraitz´s own biography. As a student in Budapest 1944 he was taken prisoner by the invading Russians. Gustav Kraitz endured five years of excruciating labour on an abandoned coalfield. However coal does not only bring him memories of pain and the deaths of fellow prisoners, it also allows for the energy behind his creations and their unrivalled glazes. The work also stages the play of elemental contrasts. Darkness and light are potently pitted, as the black density of coal counters the radiant white spheres. It is also a match of the raw and refined. Locked in a showdown, crudely shaped coal chunks stand in opposition to the ideal geometry of the ord. The installation is an elegant yet fierce monument to pain and redemption, and our ability to transform brutality into beauty. 32 33 Ulla & Gustav Kraitz

34 35 Jenny Magnusson

Jenny Magnusson works with quiet forms of expression. While many artists exaggerate to gain attention, Magnusson whispers to her viewers. Large, sweeping gestures are not always effective, small means can make a powerful, individual impression. Picabia´s inference that art is like a map of cloud or steam is apt for the installations of Jenny Magnusson. What Picabia meant was that art could not be described with the terminology of rational science or by picto- rial description. It is an irrational human activity that nonetheless makes an enormous amount of sense. This is the way Magnusson wants us to approach her sculptures; with an open mind and without first trying to locate their evolution in the history of art, or stating what they are before engaging with them. The rationale behind her acts of collecting and assembling, the intuitive balance of incommensu- rate objects and ideas, is that it invites us to search for the work’s meaning using our sensory responses. Magnusson’s installations avoid the crafted sculpture of modernism and the masculine weight of the man- made object that has dominated our interpretation of sculpture. Her work reflects a more delicate and subtle approach. Seeking its purpose through relationships of objects designed or found, a correspondence of relics, memo- rabilia and fragments to each other, it requires different notions of space. The emotive relationship her sculptures inscribe into the gallery, challenge a number of modernist sculptural conventions. Scale, volume and truth to materials contrast with ephemeral and transient concepts. The monumental and the minuscule sit comfortably alongside each other in the gallery. She is able to augment significance from insignificant objects and materials through their associa- tions rather than their physicality. The objects she uses are partly ready made and partly recycled junk. How does one map the world?

36 37 38 39 Mandana Moghaddam

Mandana Moghaddam is a Swedish-Iranian artist living in Gothenburg, who in recent years has mainly worked with installations. Her art pursues questions relating to communication, isolation and exile, discussing alienation and existential conditions, as well as cultural and gender related restrictions. A part of Chelgis that is now on show in the exhibition, inspired by a Persian tale and comprising three independent sections in an installation on the theme of hair. In Chelgis II four plaits of hair seem either to be supported or affixed to a block of concrete, a work previously displayed in the Iranian pavilion at the Venice Biennial in 2005. Chelgis I shows a sculpture covered in hair in a glass case, and the third, Chelgis III, is a video installation in which a woman is busy cutting off her long dark hair. In their ambiguity these works speak of restrictions and oppression and at the same time of strength. The contrast between hard and soft materials adds a powerful impact to the artworks. Artist`s comment: “The origins of Chelgis lie in my own experiences as a woman. The work is freely inspired from an old Persian folktale about Chelgis, (the girl with the 40 plaits), who is taken prisoner by a demon and locked away in a beautiful garden where she plays. She does not realise that the garden belongs to the demon and neither sees nor hears him there. He has turned off the water that runs through his courtyard to the village and everyone wants to kill him, but the demon is im- mortal. The only way to destroy him is to find the bottle containing his life spirit and break it. This bottle is the secret and magic source of his life force. Chelgis consists of a series of installations. Each part is separate, but a common theme links them all. Each work presents its own questions and perspectives”.

40 41 Mandana Moghaddam

42 43 Stina Östberg

Stina Östberg is a visual artist whose areas of interests are time, engagement, work, volume, ambivalence and craft. She uses art as a method to open up the space in between. Her works show an unshakable trust in revealing otherwise obscure meaning. During the process, which is often visible in her work, the actual pieces take gradual shape both formally and conceptually. Östberg is unafraid of challenging localized and cultured aesthetics. She always chooses her materials with awareness and opposes hierarchical evaluation within her work. In the work “Changes, art is not a visual metaphor for text” Stina Östberg mixes the role of being a professional artist with the role of the amateur learning an artistic trade. In the video the tattoo artist Heidi Hay teaches Östberg how to make a tattoo. Östberg practises on a vasiline-covered banana and then starts to tattoo the alpha- bet on her arm. While instructing the team on how to document the actual performan- ce she must listen to the information given to her. By showing us what she does not yet know, she shows something about what she does know, her practise and process. On the tapestries on the surrounding walls she links something so unphysical as language and video to a practice of craft, that of weaving. This practise recalls the way in which words are used inside a language.

44 45 Stina Östberg

46 47 Björn Perborg

Björn Perborg was born 1974 in Västerås, Swe- den. He lives and works in Gothenburg, Sweden. A lot of the work he does is about looking at the world from a distance and contemplating it as if he were an “anthropologist from outer space”. It seems that irony often appears although he is “unable to understand irony” myself. Most of his works are narrative and use a playful language to approach serious issues. They express personal experiences that at the same time may portray universal concerns. Some themes he often return to are religious imagery and the representation of the male role in society. He produce animation, video, sculpture and installation. His aim is to achieve high production value in terms of crafts- manship, yet he considers the objects he makes as nothing but props for a mise en scène. Björn Perborg said: “Maybe I have seen an angel. Once, very long ago, I thought I saw one entering through the window. It was about 30 centimetres tall and seemed to consist mostly of white light. The angel hovered through the room without ever touching the floor. It disappeared through door. It must have been heading for something more important. It neither said hello nor goodbye. It might as well have been a ghost of course.” In his paintings you can see that it is probably not that easy to be an angel today. One can im- agine how difficult it must be to try to keep the world in balance. His angels are injured and dirty from air pollution. They still have some beauty though.

48 49 Björn Perborg

50 51 Nils Ramhöj

The Swedish artist Nils Ramhöj mostly uses paintings, drawings, photos and objects in different combinations and materials. Ramhöj often focuses on one theme for a con- siderable amount of time. After 1985, when his son was born, Ramhöj has worked with family, partner and friendship relations and specially the relation between a father and his son. Ramhöj uses the saying “We can die a second time – the first time we die is when our body dies and the second time is after our death – when we are forgotten” to explore the immortality of his father. The drawings of the deceased father of Ramhöj echoes frustration and openly discusses the ambivalent relation to his father and the contrasting adora- tion of his son. According to Ramhöj he lived under his father’s strict rules and missing affection, therefore his interest focuses on relations between fathers and sons.

52 53 Nils Ramhöj

54 55 Mikael Richter

56 57 Pecka Söderberg

58 59 Pecka Söderberg

60 61 62 63 Director/Curator Director/Curator Director/Curator Anima (e) Exposizione a cura di Oscar Aschan Anima Anima (e) Exposizione a cura di Oscar Aschan Anima Anima (e) Exposizione a cura di Oscar Aschan Anima Oscar Aschan Oscar Aschan Oscar Aschan Administrative Staff Administrative Staff Administrative Staff Enrica Borghi Enrica Borghi Enrica Borghi Francesco Brugnetta Francesco Brugnetta Francesco Brugnetta Giorgio Caione Giorgio Caione Giorgio Caione Paola Ceriotti Paola Ceriotti Paola Ceriotti Giada Guidetti Giada Guidetti Giada Guidetti Angelo Molinari Angelo Molinari Angelo Molinari Francesca Polistina Francesca Polistina Francesca Polistina Esposizione a cura di Oscar Aschan Esposizione a cura Maria Silvia di Pegorin Oscar Aschan Esposizione Maria Silvia a Pegorin cura di Oscar Aschan Maria Silvia Pegorin Davide Vanotti Davide Vanotti Davide Vanotti 29 marzo – 6 luglio 29 marzo – 6 luglio 29 marzo – 6 luglio Municipal Staff Municipal Staff Municipal Staff 2008 Noemi 2008 Noemi 2008 Noemi Marco Robozzi Marco Robozzi Marco Robozzi Fortini Fortini Fortini Municipal technician of Miasino Municipal technician of Miasino Municipal technician of Miasino Press Office Press Office Press Office Gec. Torino Gec. Torino Gec. Torino Gaia Enria Gaia Enria Gaia Enria Alessandra Valsecchi Alessandra Valsecchi Alessandra Valsecchi Sponsors and groups Sponsors and groups Sponsors and groups Bigert & Bergström Bigert & Bergström The Sweden Embassy in Rom Bigert The Sweden Embassy in Rom& Bergström The Sweden Embassy in Rom The Italian Embassy in Stockholm The Italian Embassy in Stockholm The Italian Embassy in Stockholm Roland Borén Roland Borén The Italian Chamber of Commerce In Sweden Roland The Italian Chamber of Commerce In Sweden Borén The Italian Chamber of Commerce In Sweden Jan Cardell Jan Cardell The Italian consulate in Gothenburg Jan Cardell The Italian consulate in Gothenburg The Italian consulate in Gothenburg The city of Turin The city of Turin The city of Turin