Jury statement:
“An extraordinary technical achievement, the work is equally complex conceptually, sonically, and aesthetically. At once moving and disquieting, it transforms neglected stories of the Korean war into an uncanny mechanical and musical symphony, reflecting at the same time on the cacophony of contemporary acceleration online media culture. While dealing with the unresolved history of Korea, AV Buddha also points to the mediated character of modern conflicts more widely. It is a deeply affecting anti-monument to those lives which continue to be marginalized in collective memory.”
Read more about Kim Hankyul’s work here.
The grant exhibition is being held at Oslo Kunstforening for the fifteenth time, an event that has become an important institution in Norway’s art scene over the years. To date,18 artists have received grants and 69 artists have participated in the exhibition. A jury of art professionals is responsible for both the nominations and the final judging, and the grant recipient is announced at the opening.
Oslo Kunstforening is proud of the collaboration with Sparebankstiftelsen DNB on this annual exhibition, which is much more than a competition for a grant. The grant exhibition has developed into an important platform for introducing exciting artistic practices, both established and emerging, to a wider public.
The nominated artists
The nominees in this year’s exhibition are Kim Hankyul (b. 1990, South Korea), Jacky Jaan-Yuan Kuo (b. 1994, Taiwan), and Lesia Vasylchenko (b. 1990, Ukraine). Despite different approaches, they have in common that they present powerful analyses of the contemporary world. Their work addresses a wide range of themes – from familial relationships and religious rituals in Jacky Jaan-Yuan Kuo’s installation All the Time, via media handling and grief processes in light of the Korean War in Kim Hankyul’s kinetic sculpture AV Buddha, to connections between nuclear technology and climate in Lesia Vasylchencko’s No One Will Stop the Wind – through sculpture, photography, and video.
The jury
The jury for the period 2018-2022 consists of jury leader Behzad Farazollahi, visual artist and founder of MELK; Randi Grov Berger, curator and head of Entrée; Marianne Hultman, director of Nordnorsk kunstnersenter and former leader of Oslo Kunstforening; Mike Sperlinger, writer, curator, and professor in writing practice at Oslo National Academy of the Arts and Elise Storsveen, visual artist. Elisabeth Byre is the new leader of Oslo Kunstforening and replaced Hultman as a jury member in August 2022.
The grant
The annual grant exhibition has been organized by Oslo Kunstforening since 2008 with support from Sparebankstiftelsen DNB. Previous grant recipients are Anne Haugsgjerd (2021), Berivan Erdogan, Hanni Kamaly and Kjetil Skøien (2020), Germain Ngoma (2019), Eirik Sæther (2018), Emilija Škarnulytė (2017), Tor Børresen (2016), Andrea Bakketun and Christian Tony Norum (2015), Ingrid Lønningdal (2014), Sandra Mujinga (2013), Marie Buskov (2012), Kaia Hugin (2011), Ann Cathrin November Høibo (2010), Ignas Krunglevičius (2009) and Ellisif Hals and Susanne Skeide (2008).
Oslo Kunstforening is supported by the City of Oslo and Arts Council Norway.
