Bente Stokke has allowed himself to be fascinated by the house Villa Furulund as just a house, with the house’s family and building history. Before the Norwegian Sculptors’ Association moved in in 1967, the house was a private residence, built by the Hiorth family in 1878. The exhibition’s site-specific installations explore the relationship between time, place and people, and offer a new perspective on what it means to “go again”.
For over four decades, ash has been a central material in Stokke’s artistry. Ash is a light material, but at the same time difficult to tame. The installation in Villa Furulund’s largest hall is made with the house’s own ash. From the pellet stove in the basement, the ash has apparently found its way up into the gallery room. The installation alludes to a story about time, movement, stasis and change.
Bente Stokke (b.1952) is a professor at the Academy of Arts in Berlin, where she also lives and works. She has a background from the Royal College of Art in London and the Jan van Eyck Academie in the Netherlands. In 1993, she was Norway’s representative at the Venice Biennale. Stokke’s recent exhibitions include Skiens Kunstforening (2019), Art Triennale, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (2019), Kunstverein Neukölln, Berlin (2018), Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (2018), Kunsthalle zu Kiel (2016), the National Museum , Oslo (2016)(2015) and Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo (2014). Her works have been purchased by, among others, the National Museum, the Culture Council, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, The New Museum and Contemporary Art, Sydney and the Nordic Arts Centre, Helsinki.
