"Tan Lines"Fredrik Værslev
presented by the gallery :
Andrew Kreps Gallery
537 W. 22ND ST. NEW YORK, NY 10011
TEL 212 741 8849 FAX 212 741 8163 e-mail:
KUNSTMUSEUM ST.GALLEN
Museumstrasse 32 CH-9000 St.GallenT +41 71 242 06 71 e-mail:
November 11, 2017 > January 14, 2018
 Fredrik Værslev, #Untitled, 2017 Courtesy: the artist; Photo: Vegard Kleven |
 Fredrik Værslev, #Untitled, 2017 Courtesy: the artist; Photo: Vegard Kleven |
 Fredrik Værslev, #Untitled, 2017 Courtesy: the artist; Photo: Vegard Kleven |
The Norwegian artist Fredrik Værslev (*1979, lives and works in Drammen/NO and Vestfossen/NO) has made an impression through his extensive painterly practice, which despite precise planning and execution always leaves space for coincidence. For example, he exposes his works to the weather, hangs his canvases on display on trees for months, or offers artist colleagues his own works for interventions. He thus celebrates a defined painterly gesture and carries the idea of appropriation to extremes. At Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen Værslev surprises the visitors with an overall painterly installation which manifests itself between abstraction and the haptic reality of the materials used.
Two new work groups are being presented for the first time at Værslev’s exhibition «Tan Lines». The first includes canvases hanging in space, which face the second series of works on the wall as an installative whole. The monumental ‘Sail Paintings’ are assembled from variously worked pieces of canvas that have been brought together to produce a composition that is reminiscent of a boat’s sail. The series works as a complex hybrid: Værslev cuts up, combines, integrates and then minutely sews together earlier and newly created paintings. The procedure of deconstruction and reconstruction creates a connection to the fragmentary work process both visually and in terms of content. In doing so Værslev constantly eludes classification of the works, which might range from abstraction to decoration or representation. The ‘Sail Paintings’ create a landscape in Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, which moves between seemingly realistic scenery and artistic fiction.
The symbolism depicted on the sails includes, among other things, certain codes which on the one hand point to a maritime environment and on the other to the artist’s immediate surroundings. The symbols act as much as signatures as gestures, and serve for contextualisation in that they leave traces of their environment on the surface. One will find the year of the artist’s birth as well as his initials, but also the international code for Norway and a modified version of the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen logo.
The second work group presented at the exhibition is composed of ‘Garden Paintings’, on which Værslev has been working intensely in recent years. The wooden boards, mounted on metal frameworks and presented on the wall, oscillate between being minimalist painting and playful sculptural installation, and instinctively bring to mind a garden fence or benches protruding from the wall at eye level. The wooden slats have been repeatedly coated with both varnish and polish, and thus treated with the same restoration methods that are used for the maintenance of old wooden boats and of benches in classical museums. This almost performative, repetitive gesture culminates in a transparent layer that is saturated with liquid. Robbed of their original function and newly arranged on the wall, the slats transform from useful objects to surfaces glistening and reflecting with varnish. The exhibition space, viewers and ‘Sail Paintings’ are reflected and thus enter an intriguing dialogue.
«Tan Lines» will subsequently travel to Bonner Kunstverein (February 2018) and to Fondazione Giuliani in Rome (September 2018). An artist’s book will be published in spring by Sternberg Press and will accompany the exhibition tour.
Fredrik Værslev (*1979 in Moss/NO) lives and works in Drammen/NO and Vestfossen/NO. His works have lately been shown at the following exhibitions: Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York (2017); Gió Marconi, Milano; Kunsthal Aarhus, Aarhus/DK; Le Consortium, Dijon/FR; Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen/NO (2016); STANDARD (OSLO), Oslo; Museo Marino Marini, Florence; Centre d´art contemporain - Passerelle, Brest/FR (2015); The Power Station, Dallas; Lumiar Cité, Lissabon (2014); Indipendenza, Rome; Front Desk Apparatus, New York (2012). Group exhibitions (selection): The National Museum, Oslo; INDEX Foundation, Stockholm; National Art School Gallery, Sydney; Ramiken Crucible, New York (2017); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2016); Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Gavin Browns Enterprise, New York (2015); Overduin & Co, Los Angeles; Lunds Konsthall, Lund/SE (2014); The Modern Institute, Glasgow/UK (2013).
The exhibition «Tan Lines» is supported by the E. Fritz und Yvonne Hoffmann-Stiftung and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Berne.
Two new work groups are being presented for the first time at Værslev’s exhibition «Tan Lines». The first includes canvases hanging in space, which face the second series of works on the wall as an installative whole. The monumental ‘Sail Paintings’ are assembled from variously worked pieces of canvas that have been brought together to produce a composition that is reminiscent of a boat’s sail. The series works as a complex hybrid: Værslev cuts up, combines, integrates and then minutely sews together earlier and newly created paintings. The procedure of deconstruction and reconstruction creates a connection to the fragmentary work process both visually and in terms of content. In doing so Værslev constantly eludes classification of the works, which might range from abstraction to decoration or representation. The ‘Sail Paintings’ create a landscape in Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen, which moves between seemingly realistic scenery and artistic fiction.
The symbolism depicted on the sails includes, among other things, certain codes which on the one hand point to a maritime environment and on the other to the artist’s immediate surroundings. The symbols act as much as signatures as gestures, and serve for contextualisation in that they leave traces of their environment on the surface. One will find the year of the artist’s birth as well as his initials, but also the international code for Norway and a modified version of the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen logo.
The second work group presented at the exhibition is composed of ‘Garden Paintings’, on which Værslev has been working intensely in recent years. The wooden boards, mounted on metal frameworks and presented on the wall, oscillate between being minimalist painting and playful sculptural installation, and instinctively bring to mind a garden fence or benches protruding from the wall at eye level. The wooden slats have been repeatedly coated with both varnish and polish, and thus treated with the same restoration methods that are used for the maintenance of old wooden boats and of benches in classical museums. This almost performative, repetitive gesture culminates in a transparent layer that is saturated with liquid. Robbed of their original function and newly arranged on the wall, the slats transform from useful objects to surfaces glistening and reflecting with varnish. The exhibition space, viewers and ‘Sail Paintings’ are reflected and thus enter an intriguing dialogue.
«Tan Lines» will subsequently travel to Bonner Kunstverein (February 2018) and to Fondazione Giuliani in Rome (September 2018). An artist’s book will be published in spring by Sternberg Press and will accompany the exhibition tour.
Fredrik Værslev (*1979 in Moss/NO) lives and works in Drammen/NO and Vestfossen/NO. His works have lately been shown at the following exhibitions: Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York (2017); Gió Marconi, Milano; Kunsthal Aarhus, Aarhus/DK; Le Consortium, Dijon/FR; Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen/NO (2016); STANDARD (OSLO), Oslo; Museo Marino Marini, Florence; Centre d´art contemporain - Passerelle, Brest/FR (2015); The Power Station, Dallas; Lumiar Cité, Lissabon (2014); Indipendenza, Rome; Front Desk Apparatus, New York (2012). Group exhibitions (selection): The National Museum, Oslo; INDEX Foundation, Stockholm; National Art School Gallery, Sydney; Ramiken Crucible, New York (2017); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2016); Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Gavin Browns Enterprise, New York (2015); Overduin & Co, Los Angeles; Lunds Konsthall, Lund/SE (2014); The Modern Institute, Glasgow/UK (2013).
The exhibition «Tan Lines» is supported by the E. Fritz und Yvonne Hoffmann-Stiftung and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Berne.
Opening:
Friday, 10 November, 6 p.m
mpefm
SWITZERLAND art press release
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Students with ID: CHF 2.00
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Members of the Kunstverein St.Gallen and the Gesellschaft der Freunde bildender Kunst
Children and youth under sixteen accompanied by an adult
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People accompanying guests in wheelchairs, etc.
Newcomers with a special coupon
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City guides for the City of St. Gallen
Public schools in the City and Canton of St. Gallen
PHSG and University of St. Gallen with docents
City-funded daycare centers
School groups with teachers from the public schools in Canton AR
Active municipal teaching staff at public schools, with ID
Further information about free admissions can be requested at our information desk during opening hours.
Tuesday to Friday from 12 noon to 6 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed every Monday, New Year’s Day, Good Friday, August 1st, New Year’s Eve.
Easter Monday, Whitmonday and Ascension Day open.
ADMISSION :
Regular: CHF 7.00
Students with ID: CHF 2.00
FREE ADMISSION :
Members of the Kunstverein St.Gallen and the Gesellschaft der Freunde bildender Kunst
Children and youth under sixteen accompanied by an adult
Active agents and personnel of the Lokremise Foundation and Kunstmuseum
People accompanying guests in wheelchairs, etc.
Newcomers with a special coupon
Journalists with press pass
City guides for the City of St. Gallen
Public schools in the City and Canton of St. Gallen
PHSG and University of St. Gallen with docents
City-funded daycare centers
School groups with teachers from the public schools in Canton AR
Active municipal teaching staff at public schools, with ID
Further information about free admissions can be requested at our information desk during opening hours.
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