The goal is to expand the visit to Wanås Konst, what it is and what can be gained from it, for visitors of all ages. We hope that more of our visitors will have the opportunity to participate in some form of creative project and broadening their understanding of art and exhibitions during their visits.
“The question I posed to them, “What would your last dance be?” is very personal. We set up a safe space for the dancers to explore that question. And found a frame in which their interpretations of the tasks I proposed could encompass their individuality and criticality”,
I want the artwork to contain some sort of movement, either in the material or in people physically moving around the work.
A Paper Drawing is fleeting and cannot be moved in its entirety. It can be constructed anew, but will never be able to be exhibited identically in two places. After each exhibition, the work is recycled and the paper gains a new life after its time as art.
These plants, which are grown and cultivated in a period of several months, will be transformed into paintings that could last for centuries. As well as a physical source of materials for painting, the field becomes a fluid tableau, covering the ground, in a pattern akin to a weaving in the earth
Kimsooja’s approach to stillness has made her an artist we have long wanted to work with as a part of our interest in the qualities of the site and highlighting nature. She first came to visit in July of 2018, and the plans slowly began to take shape. Now, almost two years later, during an ongoing global pandemic, it is a strange time to complete an exhibition, but fortunately, we could continue. I am so thankful we could keep in touch and continue working from a distance. Her orientation as an artist naturally establishes a dialogue with everything that is going on; the artworks give space for introspection and spirituality beyond religion. She creates a focus on the present that we need right now
In 2020, we are presenting artists with whom Wanås Konst has wanted to work for a long time; they enhance the meditative experience of nature and combine it with making; working beyond the object of art, they invite visitors to come close, to touch.
I’d like to make works that are like water and air, that cannot be owned but can be shared by everyone.
I want the work to have some kind of movement whether it’s in the material or in people physically moving around the work.
Our artistic practice is anchored in the idea of co-creation and collaboration, with projects that involve and engage as well as create relationships through sharing experiences.
In Benoît Lachambre’s performances bodies appear recognizable at first in form and articulation, then through a slight shift in presence, a release in muscle tension, the deepening of the gaze, or the reorganization of modality they begin to transform.
I’m a storyteller. And I would like to tell you a few personal stories about what I like to call “the danger of the single story
I need to do it because there are stories that need to be told, there are stories that aren’t being told, there are gaps in history that are not being filled and there are gaps in education that aren’t being served by the system we live in...”
Wanås Konst shares our focus on the interplay in a historical location, between contemporary art and the natural surroundings – with the aim of offering a multiplicity of potential experiences to an interested general public.
It is with pleasure that Wanås Konst takes on the role of being the partner museum for the twelfth Blickachsen”, says Elisabeth Millqvist, also on behalf of Mattias Givell, and adds: “We look forward, with Blickachsen 12 and together with Christian Scheffel, to opening new perspectives on sculpture and its vital contribution to society, by inviting artists from different continents and at the same time sharing our special knowledge of the Nordic art scene and specifically our program at Wanås Kons
I need to do it because there are stories that need to be told, there are stories that aren’t being told, there are gaps in history that are not being filled and there are gaps in education that aren’t being served by the system we live in. I only know how to paint. So rather than being a politician or a historian that’s what I do.
How they are told, who tells them, when they’re told, how many stories are told, are really dependent on power.
I am interested in this moment when you get the sense that you have made time rather then spent it or made it productive. It is not given. It is something else than consuming time or being consumed by it
You explore sculpture through talking, thinking, and testing, or you might, as a visitor in the park, encounter someone who wants to share by asking the question, ‘Can I show you my sculpture?
I am drawn to experimenting with different ways to present these paintings because it gives me an opportunity to fill a room with people with whom an audience can easily converse.
The red line is invisible to the naked eye, but is strongly connected to human life, and once we are able to glimpse this piece of red thread, we can observe all relationships as a whole.
Through Still Untitled we continue to challenge the notion of live art in the visual arts context with the consistent and persistent presence of the Still Untitled Team. Rather than programming a series of one-off performances we invite the work of Le Roy and Yu to unfold, shift, and be shifted by the participation of visitors in and around the park. We extend the lifespan of the work indefinitely, as each visitor walks away from the sculpture park with his or her own embodied sculpture, potentially present anywhere, anytime, for anyone.
The overall effect of this wide-screen moving image is a redoubling of the surrounding greenery, but when we try to mirror ourselves in its parts the image splits into countless rivulets of movement.
When we realize that there is never a single story about any place we regain a kind of paradise.
Coming into contact with art at Wanås Konst is not superficial. It is live, physical and could be characterized as unavoidable: you feel the dirt under your feet, understand the weight of your body relative to a river of concrete, sense its width in a maze of trees, or its height distorted through bent glass. You seek out the specific work you would like to see and your sense of time is altered. The journey becomes just as important as the object you are looking for. Art is all around. Nature is all around. You activate it, it activates you.
Wanås is a place where dance both forms and is formed by its context. By lifting dance out of its usual contexts, choreographers and dancers gain the opportunity to work with what it means to encounter a partially new audience within an art context.
The teenager’s conviction, with that fantastic self-assurance, that she knows absolutely everything and has a firm grasp on reality has been displaced; it is like waking up with one foot in this world and the other in an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ world.
Gómezbarros’ ants have invaded buildings associated with power and history. Together, they are on the march, as a symbol of man's constant voluntary or involuntary migrations.
The artist behind the sculpture is also a painter, demonstrating a multifaceted practice that I am looking forward to presenting to our visitors. Per Kirkeby’s work made an important contribution towards making the sculpture park into what it is today. It is high time that we rediscover and return to his generation of artists.
As in a dream, both Djurberg & Berg and Gomezbarros blend the familiar with the unfamiliar, oscillating between phantasmagoria and horror.
Gomezbarros’ ants have invaded buildings associated with power and history. Together, they are on the march, as a symbol of man's constant voluntary or involuntary migrations.
An artist recreates history, not like a historian, but as a poet.
But what is it, exactly, that constitutes a “barrier”? Are barriers evolving phenomena, do they have sell-by dates, and, once abolished, can they metamorphose or mutate into something benign or even more sinister?
The body as a site of conflict.
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.
The artist is always right.
“I bring together the natural world that inspires me and the inherent qualities of glass; changeable, contrast-filled, reflective, luminous.”
” The Easter Art Tour gives a taste of our upcoming shows, playful and intimate, accessible and challenging.”
This year movement and the body takes the center stage at Wanås. Jump, encounter dance in the park, get up into the trees and experience with your entire body. It’s a season that is both playful and intimate, accessible and challenging.