New Visions presents recent experimental developments in photography and camera-based art

- In line with the avant-garde legacy of the Henie Onstad, a new Triennial will showcase recent experimental developments in photography and camera-based art more generally, says Susanne Østby Sæther, the Curator for Photography and New Media at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Norway.

The exhibition foregrounds practices that acknowledge the fluctuating and networked condition of contemporary photography and society more generally. It also articulates a keen sensitivity towards the history of photography and art. Abstraction, digital and manual collage, new configurations of still life and the human body are key tendencies. Produced within the scope of our digital culture, several of the works exemplifies the dissolution of the distinction between the still and moving image and the dimensional and material expansion of the image. 

The first edition of the Triennale is titled New Visions, referring to the movement developed by László Moholy-Nagy in the interwar period. In line with the Bauhaus pedagogy, Moholy-Nagy and his peers aimed to employ the qualities intrinsic to the medium in order to transform photography from a reproductive medium into a productive one. And just as photography a century ago was a tool for new perceptions and conceptions of an increasingly mechanized world, today artists frequently use the medium to explore our increasingly computational, information-saturated, and automated surrounds.

The exhibition is curated by Susanne Østby Sæther at Henie Onstad Kunstenter in collaboration with Behzad Farazollahi and Christian Tunge from artist run gallery Melk in Oslo.

Artists:
Morten Andenæs, Viktoria Binschtok, Lucas Blalock, Lucile Boiron, Asger Carlsen, Louisa Clement, Sara Cwynar, Ingrid Eggen, Roe Ethridge, Victoria Fu, Espen Gleditsch, Andrea Grützner, Annette Kelm, Nico Krijno, Owen Kydd, B. Ingrid Olson, Linn Pedersen, Matt Rich, Erin M. Riley, Maya Rochat, Johan Rosenmunthe, Torbjørn Rødland, Viviane Sassen, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Timur Si-Qin, Wolfgang Tillmans, Sara VanDerBeek, Hannah Whitaker, Carmen Winant, Letha Wilson and Daisuke Yokota.

Why Photography?
In conjunction with the exhibition, a volume titled Why Photography? is being published by Skira Editore. The publication includes pointed interviews with all artists, asking how they relate to photography as a technical apparatus and process, and why they have chosen photography. Following the interviews are presentations of recent work by all artists. Why Photography? is edited by Behzad Farazollahi, Bjarne Bare and Christian Tunge, and co-edited by Susanne Østby Sæther. The introductory essays are written by Susanne Østby Sæther and Brian Sholis.

Event programme with concerts by Fakethias and TCF in addition to a series of artist talks. More information at www.hok.no 

NOTES TO EDITORS

Founded in 1968, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter is a private foundation established by Sonja Henie and Niels Onstad at Høvikodden in Norway. A leading arena for national and international art, it features a broad programme of exhibitions and events that showcase both modern and contemporary art.

MELK is an artist run space in Oslo since 2009, and the leading initiative for new Scandinavian photography. The aim is to raise awarness of the scene of contemporary photographers in the region and the position of the medium today. The Gallery does this through exhibition projects in-house, external curatorial projects, art and book fairs, publishing and the like.

Press preview Thursday 20. February at 10am

Titel: New Visions

Exhibition period: 21. February-16.May 2020

Official exhibition opening: 20. February 2020

Press preview: 20. February at 10am

Curators: Susanne Østby Sæther, Behzad Farazollahi and Christian Tunge

Editors for Why Photography?: Bjarne Bare, Behzad Farazollahi and Christian Tunge

Adress: Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Sonja Henies vei 31, 1311 Høvikodden, Norway

Opening Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11am-5pm, Thursday 11am-10pm, Monday closed