BARRIERS – ARTISTS BASED IN SOUTH AFRICA

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Igshaan Adams, Kudzanai Chiurai, Hannelie Coetzee, Nandipha Mntambo, Mary Sibande, James Webb.

 Exhibition period May 17 – November 1, 2015. Opening Sunday May 17, 2015.

Barriers is the major exhibition at Wanås Konst this year. The exhibition brings together six artists working in South Africa, an active scene attracting young artists from many different countries. The title of the exhibition emphasizes border thinking. Barriers function to block, hinder and restrict—they are to be overcome, but they can also protect and safeguard.


                

Left: Mary Sibande, The Reign, 2010, mixed media installation, 330 x 200 cm. Photo: Courtesy Gallery Momo. Right: Igshaan Adams, I am You, 2013, from a performance at the Sanlam Art Gallery. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Barriers presents a number of individual reflections in the form of newly produced artworks commissioned especially for Wanås Konst as well as a suite of films. Through their choices of material, collaboration, and historical references, the artists make connections to Wanås as a site. The works in the exhibition encompass voices that reflect different communities of faith in Malmö, a female army commander, a large-scale portrait made of tree trunks, and a mysterious veiled sculpture. Several of the participants explore figurative sculpture using their own bodies as a point of departure, and use performance as part of their artistic practice.

Konstrundan 2015: John-E Franzén
Get a sneak preview of the Wanås Konst exhibition season. The John-E Franzén exhibition in the Art Gallery opens at Easter in connection with Konstrundan, the yearly regional art tour. Exhibition period April 3 – 12 and subsequent weekends in April. More information on the exhibition will be available shortly.

Children's Book 2015
Wanås Konst continues its picture and story experiments for children and young people. Our series of children's books by artists and authors celebrates its 5th anniversary in 2015. This year, the children's book is created by author, columnist, and program host Johanna Koljonen and artist Jenny Granlund. Koljonen is known for her work on the programs Jättestora frågor (Big questions) and Koljonen i P1, both on Swedish National Radio, and is the author (together with Andreas Ekström) of the book Främling (Stranger), about Swedish pop singer Carola Häggkvist. This summer, the book release will be accompanied by art installations and events. More information on the children's book will be available in spring 2015.

Revisit – Past Performance
The Revisit series explores artworks in the collection and past exhibitions at Wanås. With live performance and conversation, we will be immersing ourselves in performances from years past by artists such as Ulay and Jason Rhoades. A detailed program will be available in spring 2015.



For questions and further information, please contact: 
Sofia Bertilsson, 46 (0)733 86 68 20, 
press@wanaskonst.se 
Web: 
www.wanaskonst.se 
Newsroom: 
http://news.cision.com/wanas-konst (download high resolution images)

Wanås is a place in the world where art, nature and history meet. Since 1987 exhibitions of Swedish and international contemporary art have taken place, with a focus on site-specific installations. Today the sculpture park holds more than 50 permanent works, created specifically for Wanås Art by artists such as Ann Hamilton, Jenny Holzer, Yoko Ono and Ann-Sofi Sidén et al. Wanås consist of a medieval castle, an organic farm, a scenic sculpture park and an art gallery. Art is also installed in stable and barn buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Wanås Konst is run by The Wanås Foundation. A non-profit foundation in Östra Göinge municipality, in the South of Sweden, only 1.5 h from Copenhagen, Denmark. Founding Director Marika Wachtmeister initiated the art projects at Wanås in 1987. Since  2011 the foundation is lead by Elisabeth Millqvist and Mattias Givell. Read more at www.wanaskonst.se

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BARRIERS – ARTISTS BASED IN SOUTH AFRICA at Wanås Konst 2015. With Igshaan Adams, Kudzanai Chiurai, Hannelie Coetzee, Nandipha Mntambo, Mary Sibande and James Webb.

 Barriers is the major exhibition at Wanås Konst this year. The exhibition brings together six artists working in South Africa, an active scene attracting young artists from many different countries. The title of the exhibition emphasizes border thinking. Barriers function to block, hinder and restrict—they are to be overcome, but they can also protect and safeguard. Exhibition period May 17 – November 1, 2015. Opening Sunday May 17, 2015.
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In order to understand ourselves, we need look up and out. It's not just about the art scene being global, but also about the way Sweden looks today with inhabitants from different continents. What are established and emerging artists in the South African art scene working on, and how do they relate to Wanås as a site? In the last few years, we have explored sculpture as something changeable and non-static. This year, we encounter several artworks in which a person or a body has a strong presence: we hear distinct voices, see this depicted in stone, or encounter it in portraits—a classical tradition presented in diverse ways.
Elisabeth Millqvist, artistic director, Wanås Konst