“The Alien Within”

Christoph Schlingensief
Christoph Schlingensief, Animatograph – Iceland-Edition. (House of Parliament/House of Obsession) Destroy Thingvellir, 2005. Photo: Helene Toresdotter.

“The Alien Within” concerns a complex dialogue around how Western society’s structure is influenced by fear as a normative factor. Emphasizing an unstable European political climate, it raises specific questions such as whether creatives are now expected to tackle sociopolitical issues directly or how fear and paranoia exist in growing multicultural sites, such as Malmö, in part due to fluctuating demographics. More »

“Corpus”

Jacek Malinowski
Jacek Malinowski, HalfAWoman, 2000, photo: Zachęta National Gallery of Art

Curated by Maria Brewińska and stemming from the works of French philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy’s Corpus (2002) and Corpus II: Writings on Sexuality (2013), this exhibition explores the body’s relationship to sexuality, religion, and pleasure using contrasting mediums and methods which provoke sensory and cerebral realms. More »

Michael Manning, “Wild Fusion, VOL. III: WWWHATWWWEDOISSECRET”

Michael Manning
Michael Manning, Wokked Chinese Long Beans with Chicharrones, 2014. Image: Isbrytaren.

For his solo debut, Los Angeles–based artist Michael Manning presents large-scale paintings, videos, and installations that revolve around his interest in punk counterculture movements and their rapport with “reactionary network politics,” which use the Internet as medium. More »

Martin Jacobson, “Landscapes”

Martin Jacobson
Martin Jacobson, Oak trees, evening, 2012. Image: Andréhn-Schiptjenko.

In Martin Jacobson’s third exhibition at this gallery, titled “Landscapes,” the Swedish artist has appropriated the archetypal nature panoramas of the decorative art often found in hotel rooms and flea markets. More »

“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. More »

David Maljkovic, ”New Reproductions”

David Maljković
David Maljković, view of New Reproductions, 2013. Image: Contemporary Art Centre.

Boredom and unnecessary repetition are looming threats for any contemporary artist or astute curator. Croatian artist David Maljković’s current solo exhibition, in a location that purports to be the largest exhibition space in the Baltic region (nearly 26,000 square feet), attracts attention due to the artist’s decision to reassess his previous projects with an emphasis on altering perception. More »

“The Politics of Play”

Jorge Galindo and Santiago Sierra
Jorge Galindo and Santiago Sierra, Los Encargados, 2012, image: Galeria Helga de Alvear

Curated by Katerina Gregos as part of this year’s Göteborg biennial, “The Politics of Play” offers literary segues: It invokes both the words of poet Alan Gilbert —”Politics without the imagination is bureaucracy”—as well as philosopher Herbert Marcuse’s view that poetry, art, imagination, and “the creator spirit” possess the revolutionary power to ignite real change. The notion that poetics and political theory could be equally influential is refreshing, leaving room to discuss how words (and ideas stemming from them) transform our world. More »

Leif Elggren, ”A Dormitory for Celebrities”

Leif Elggren
Leif Elggren, Bed, 2011, image: Galleri Niklas Belenius

Leif Elggren is unavoidable in Scandinavia: Not only is he known for his profound oeuvre of sound pieces and performances, his collaborative spirit (see his work with Thomas Liljenberg and their DIY initiative Firework Edition), and his insight into the absurdities of power and privilege but the artist also owns a specific style marked by his use of yellow and black, a color combination that he has claimed as his domain since 1977. More »

“Sunbathers”

Sunbathers
David Douard, S1CK 54LIVA, 2013, image: 1857

In Oslo, summer is full-on, accompanied by the hedonistic joys brought on by a tenacious sun that hardly ever sets. More »