THE ESCAPE FROM REASON – NORDIC ART AND THE OCCULT explores how spiritual currents have shaped the works of Nordic artists from the beginning of the 20th century until today. The exhibition is curated by Zaena Sheehan, winner of the AKO Curatorial Award 2020 .
Artwork has a unique ability to make the familiar world around us appear mysterious. It can offer an escape from reason; a window to another way of looking and being.
The word occult is derived from the Latin word “hidden”, and refers to faiths that seek to uncover the invisible or magical forces that shape the world around us. Today, many assume that modernization leads to secular societies, where all aspects of human existence can be explained rationally. The visual arts, on the other hand, show us that this is not always the case. Throughout the 20th century, we can see that many artists have been inspired by alternative sources such as mystery, spirituality and the occult to build a bridge between the physical world and the spiritual.
For many of us, a longing to be united with something greater than ourselves can be aroused by nature. Per Kirkeby and Anna-Eva Bergman used nature as a source to ask questions about bodily experience, perception and inner realities. They captured the feel or atmosphere of a landscape through simple shapes and materials. This shift in priorities stems from a desire for community; whether it is between individuals on the planet, or between the spiritual and the material. In the works of Sonja Ferlov Mancoba and Arne Bruland, we meet figures who are on the threshold of another world, and protect the integrity of spiritual values. In others, abstraction or techniques taken from surrealism are used to open our eyes to new ways of looking. Through color, line, and shape, artists like Edvin Lydén,
The exhibition takes a broad view of the occult as an ever-changing social and philosophical process. After a turbulent year in which we face an uncertain future, many of us have probably reflected on what actually makes our existence meaningful. Common to the artists in the exhibition is a desire not to take the world for granted. They encourage questions about our surroundings and suggest an enchanted vision of modern life.
ARTISTS
Else Alfelt / Anna-Eva Bergman / Ejler Bille / Vilhelm Bjerke-Petersen / Paul Brand / Arne Bruland / Ib Geertsen / Arne Vinje Gunnerud / Jorma Hautala / CO Hultén / Asger Jorn / Rita Kernn-Larsen / Per Kirkeby / Halvdan Ljøsne / Edvin Lydén / Sonja Ferlov Mancoba / Otto Mäkilä / Carl-Henning Pedersen / Siri Rathsman / Aase Texmon Rygh / Max Walter Svanberg / Elsa Thoresen / Nell Walden / Jakob Weidemann
The AKO CURATORIAL AWARD
Award is established to support and stimulate the development of the curatorial skills of graduating students in the master’s program Curating the Art Museum at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. The prize is awarded on the basis of exhibition proposals based on Nicolai Tangen’s large art collection of Nordic modernism in all media. The contributions to the AKO Curatorial Award 2020, were judged by a jury consisting of Martin Caiger -Smith, Head of Curatorial Studies at Courtald Gallery, Dr. Barnaby Wright, Vice Director at Courtauld Gallery, Trude Gomnæs Ugelstad, Artistic Director at Sørlandets Kunstmuseum and Beate Mjaaland, general manager of AKO Kunststiftelse.
