Silent Metamorphoses, Margrethe Aanestad
Stille forvandling II / Silent Transition II, 2020 (detalj), pastel chalk on paper, 238x158 cm
Foto: Jan Inge Haga
Margrethe Aanestad (NO)
Art exhibition in Abbot´s House, Utstein Monastery, Mosterøy, Stavanger
July 3. - 31. 2022
Stille forvandling / Silent Metamorphoses
Curated by Arnhild Sunnanå (NO)
In Johann W. von Goethe's color theory, yellow and blue are the two primary colours, while red occurs. Goethe points out that in the living nature, everything that happens is connected to the whole, and he quotes the poet Friedrich von Schiller: On the horizon, yellow and blue meet between the sky and the earth. Sometimes a culmination occurs on the sky, and creates purple. Then, if we are open, we can notice a similar phenomenon within us.
The title of this exhibition, Stille forvandling / Silent Metamorphoses, is drawn from a series of monumental drawings Aanestad has developed since 2020, with the same title. One of those drawings is centred on the wall in the Abbot's house, accompanied with a painting on canvas made in 2022.
The works resonates with the architecture of the Abbot's house and the monastery's medieval history. The Augustinian monks living at Utstein Monastery were under the Benedictine order, which encouraged the monks to settle at one place, and instead make their pilgrim travels internally. Around the year 520 Benedict of Nursia abolished the living rule - stabilitas loci - remain in one place - as one of the cornerstones of the monks fundamental pillars. Without having to leave the monastery, they could experience an inner journey leading to quiettransformation. Aanestad's art in this space, surrounded by whitewashed stone walls, is also providing an experience for the audience, and something can arise before one have to move on.
The two independent Aanestad exhibitions, Silent Metamorphoses in the Abbot's House and Blå Tone, Stedlig ro at Utstein Kloster hotel's foyer close by, both contrasts and
complement each other.
Silent Metamorphoses in the Abbot´s house.
Photo: Jan Inge Haga
Work list:
Stille forvandling II / Silent Transition II, 2020, Pastel Chalk on paper, oak frame, 238x158 cm
Uten tittel / Untitled, 2022, Copper paint, acrylic paint, oak frame, 88x73,5 cm
For more information about the artist please visit www.margretheaanestad.com / IG: @margretheaanestad
For more information about the curator please visit www.arnhildsunnanaa.com
Arnhild Sunnanå would like to thank Margrethe Aanestad, Museum Stavanger, MUST and Utstein Kloster hotell, Stavanger Kommune, Mosterøy Sanitetsforening, Utstein Pilegrimsgard and Rennesøy historielag.
Margrethe Aanestad lives in Brooklyn, NY and Stavanger, Norway. Aanestad works in drawing, prints, painting and sculpture and herworks are included in public and private collections in Norway and internationally. Recent exhibitions and projects include the current solo presentation in the foyer at Utstein Kloster hotel; solo exhibition at The Yard @Columbus Circle, NY; 526 Hudson street/Art-inBuildings, NY. Commissions at Shine Portrait Studio / Rutgers University, Newark, NJ (2021) and NYU Clive Davis Institute for Recorded Music in Brooklyn, NY. Previous solo and group exhibitions include Kunsthall Stavanger; Torrance Shipman, NY; Dimensions Variable, Miami, FL; Tiger Strikes Asteroid, NY; Interface gallery, Oakland, CA; Abingdon Studios, Blackpool, UK; Vestlandsutstillingen, Norway; Another Space, København; Open Source Gallery, NY. Aanestad co-founded the artist-run gallery Prosjektrom Normanns in Stavanger, which she co-directed until closing of the space in 2020.
Arnhild Sunnanå is and art historian and freelance curator, writer, lecturer based in Stavanger. Sunnanå was assigned by Stavanger Art Museum as an external curator for the Olaf Lange Exhibition 2018-2019. In addition to research on Olaf Lange she has been doing research on Svein Magnus Håvarstein (1942-2013) and writing for publication commissioned by the Arts Council Norway (Kulturrådet). Sunnanå writes art reviews for CAS (Contemporary Art Stavanger), texts for Stavanger Aftenblad and articles for KUNSTforum. Sunnanå has a MA degree in Art History from the University of Oslo, Norway, and wrote her thesis about the Fin-de-siécle Art (1900) of Olaf H. Lange (1875-1965). Additionally she has a bachelor degree of Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the University of Stavanger.