“A Way of Life: Swedish Photography from Christer Strömholm Until Today”

Anna Clarén
Anna Clarén, Untitled, 2006.

Curated by Anna Tellgren, this exhibition presents an impressive ensemble—twenty-nine photographers in total with three hundred photographs spanning from the 1940s to the twenty-first century—of documentary photography from Sweden. Works by select artists with a peripheral rapport with the Nordic country, from countries including Finland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Latvia, and Russia, are also on view. Described as “images [that] are nothing but self-portraits” by exhibited artist Christer Strömholm, the chosen images emphasize intimacy, contact, and the possibility of locating a shared truth that prevails among the documented masses.

Swedish artist Anna Clarén here presents the series “Holding,” 2006, which was created during a four-month stint of complete isolation. Punctuated by close-ups of scarred flesh, candid nudity, and vacancy, most depict scenes between the camaraderie and the loneliness between humans or animals within nature. In one, the artist herself is seen resting alone underneath a thin blanket on a twin mattress lying on the floor of a bare room. Many rooms in the documented series are devoid of people, with few to no signs of life—like a stage without actors or a game without players.

JH Engström presents a work in progress titled Tout va bien (All Goes Well), 2014, which was inspired by his familial relations to a moody circle of friends. For instance, images depict local graffiti artists in action, or the reflection of a smitten couple seen through dirty glass. His images also possess a stained or washed-out affectation. A selection from Nan Goldin’s “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency,” 1979–86, provides an American perspective on love, sexual aggression, and drug usage—work that clearly has influenced Engström and the other artists in the exhibition. The shows gives way to a universally driven creative voice no longer associated with an assumed Swedish way of life, but one of human beings in transition—anywhere.

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Edgar Cleijne & Ellen Gallagher, “Better Dimension”

Edgar Cleijne & Ellen Gallagher
Installation view. Image: Jacquelyn Davis.

Presenting collaborations between Dutch artist Edgar Cleijne and US artist and filmmaker Ellen Gallagher, ‘Better Dimension’ at Stockholm’s Bonniers Konsthall includes experimental works that provide socio-political commentary on US history and race relations from a cosmic, obscure distance. More »

Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art (RIBOCA1)

Aslan Gaisumov
Aslan Gaisumov, People of No Consequence, 2016.

For the first Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art, curator Katarina Gregos has chosen to view Latvia as ‘the center of the world,’ where other regions and nationalities become satellites. This is refreshing, for the Baltics have previously been considered to have a peripheral status. More »

Johannes Heldén, “The Exploding Book”

Johannes Heldén
Johannes Heldén, Clouds, 2017.

As one enters the space temporarily designated for Swedish artist and poet Johannes Heldén’s The Exploding Book at Konstakademin’s in Stockholm, one detects that Heldén is receptive to nuance; each creative gesture confirms his dedication to both text and image, expressed with equitable consideration. More »

Malin Gabriella Nordin, “Floating from Within”

Malin Gabriella Nordin, Veil of Dreams, 2017. Image: Gallery Steinsland Berliner.

Stockholm-based artist Malin Gabriella Nordin is one of many Swedish women artists who resort to the basics – or perhaps the old ways, meaning they’re not particularly interested in the digital. More »

“Survival Kit 9”

Andris Eglītis, Laboratory of Poetic Research, 2017. Image: Jacquelyn Davis.

The 9th edition of Survival Kit is orchestrated by a small team of Baltic and Scandinavian curators: Jonatan Habib Engqvist, Solvita Krese and Inga Lāce. All possess a background in organizing independently and within the confines of institutions, which may be their strong point—their fluidity. More »

The 9th Momentum Biennial

Jenna Sutela, Sporulating Paragraph, 2017. Image: Momentum 9.

Momentum 9, taking place in the industrial town of Moss, Norway, is being curated by Ulrika Flink, Ilari Laamanen, Jacob Lillemose, Gunhild Moe, and Jón B.K. Ransu, who together represent the Scandinavian region. With this biennial’s focus on ‘alienation’, the curators joined forces to determine how alien processes and entities are infused in our lives through technological, ecological and social transformations. More »

Klas Eriksson, “Vet din mamma var du e?”

Klas Eriksson
Klas Eriksson, Evidence of Patchwork, 2017. Image: Göteborgs Konsthall.

Swedish artist Klas Eriksson has developed a practice rooted in examining subcultures via works in public spaces and spontaneous performances. With an interest in how power flows and how crowds function, the artist attempts to unpack sociopolitical dynamics using playful tactics. More »

Lovisa Ringborg, “Night Remains”

Lovisa Ringborg
Lovisa Ringborg, Fountain, 2017. Image: Cecilia Hillström Gallery.

In Lovisa Ringborg’s second exhibition at this gallery, the artist upholds the argument that displaying a set of harmonious works can be more potent than a plethora of free-floating entities. More »

Przemek Pyszczek, “1989”

Przemek Pyszczek
Przemek Pyszczek, Public Relief No 6, 2016. Image: Gallery Belenius.

Polish-born, Canadian-raised, Berlin-based artist Przemek Pyszczek displays new works which are primarily sculptural and mixed media, with stints into collage. More »