Artists: Silje Linge Haaland, Ingerid Kuiters, Kaare Ruud, Inga Sund Hofset, Clémence de La Tour du Pin, Marthe Ramm Fortun, Andrea Galiazzo, Eline McGeorge, Jennie Bringaker
Exhibition title: fluene får øye på oss i det høye gresset
Venue: Femtensesse, Oslo, Norway
Date: April 13 – June 1, 2024
Photography: ©Istvan Virag / all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Femtensesse, Oslo
Note: Exhibition floor plan is available here
For the spring of 2024, Femtensesse has relocated to Salgshallen, where we proudly present the group exhibition fluene får øye på oss i det høye gresset (the flies catch sight of us in the tall grass). This exhibition offers a nuanced perspective on the symbiotic relationship between humans and animals. Some works highlight subtle similarities, blurring the lines between species, while others boldly reverse roles to challenge preconceived notions of dominance. Spanning various mediums such as painting, tapestry, sculpture, video, and poetry, the exhibited works emphasize the pivotal role of animal life, urging us to recognize our inherent connection to them.
The exhibition’s title is borrowed from Silje Linge Haaland’s newly published poetry collection, Den løseste delen av verden (The loosest part of the world ), which is featured in the exhibition. In Haaland’s poems, various beings, such as flies and larva, are imbued with significance, addressing themes of the ecological crisis and uncertain future. Silje Linge Haaland will be giving a poetry reading at 13:00 on Saturday, April 13th during the opening of the exhibition.
Ingerid Kuiters’ symmetrical composition explores meditation, spirituality, and surrealism. Her fantastic and dreamlike figures, made with her signature technique of lacquer painting on wood, reject reality as it stands, with animals and humans overlapping and merging to symbolize a harmonious oneness.
Kaare Ruud’s sculptures hold a unique material sensitivity, crafted from elements sourced from lived experiences. Everyday objects are intricately woven together with straw and steel wire, forming small nests. The entwined objects, recognizable yet mundane, create miniature living environments imbued with an enigmatic cyclical energy.
Inga Sund Hofset’s painting, composed of watercolors, oil, and wood stain, transitions between the arbitrary movements of the wet paint and intentional gestures of the hand. Whether evoked by imagination or prompted by the painting’s title (On Being Faces*^), a visage reminiscent of an animal emerges, inviting viewers to explore the paint’s movements as if they were the lines of a face.
Clémence de La Tour du Pin’s bronze sculpture, Hoof, features a keratin cattle hoof burnt during the casting process. Her wall piece delves into the protective and weight-bearing function of hooves, exploring the dynamics of circulation by symbolically inverting weights while serving as support for the animal.
Marthe Ramm Fortun and Andrea Galiazzo’s video offers a reinterpretation of Carol Rama’s drawing, Dorina (1940). In 2015, the artists had a premature child they named Leda after Rama’s drawing. Remembering the title as Leda and the Swan, they interpreted the motif as Leda strangling Zevs. Searching for the drawing to request a loan, they discovered they were wrong about the myth and that the actual title was Dorina. The loan was refused by the Carol Rama estate during The Drawing Triennial 2019. The video, Dorina (2019), inserts the absent drawing.
Eline McGeorge’s shimmering weave intertwines strips from emergency blankets with images of sea creatures, plants, and geological formations from deep-sea ecosystems. This choice of materials and imagery is poignant given the recent decision by the Norwegian government to open up the seabed for mining. As viewers move around the weave, glimpses of this unique ecosystem emerge between the warp of the emergency blanket.
Jennie Bringaker’s luscious sculptures depict confident feminine cats. One reclines, seemingly flattered by vanity, while the other cradles a diminutive human figure, prompting a reconsideration of humanity’s role in nature. Departing from traditional hierarchies, Bringaker presents a scenario where roles are reversed, with humans at the mercy of the cats’ grasp.
Silje Linge Haaland (b. 1984, Bergen) lives and works in Nesodden, Norway. She received her education from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Städelschule in Frankfurt, and Bergen Academy for Creative Writing. Haaland’s work encompasses images and text, expressed through video, sculpture, poetry, sound, and choreography. Active in the art community, she also holds various positions on boards. Recent exhibitions include Maskinen er oss, Munch Museum, Oslo (2022); Make circle move with finger, In Extenso Art Space, Clermont-Ferrand (2020); among / BLANT, Galleri K, Oslo (2019); Lawn / Plen, Blokk, Bergen (2018); and We are living on a star, Henie Onstad Art Center, Høvikodden (2014). In 2021, Haaland debuted with the poetry collection Desperasjonsanimasjon followed by Den løseste delen av verden in 2023. Upcoming exhibitions include a solo exhibition at Galleri K in Oslo.
Ingerid Kuiters (b. 1939, Sandefjord) lives and works in Åsgårdstrand, Norway. She attended the National College of Art and Design in Oslo (1957-1961) and Tegneskolen for Kvinder in Copenhagen (1962) for her education. With a career spanning decades, Kuiters has exhibited extensively, including solo exhibitions at UKS, Oslo (1972); La galerie de l’oeil de Beuf, Paris (1994); Galeria de Arte, Loulé (2001). Her work has also been featured in group exhibitions at renowned institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1989- 91); and Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen (1998). In 2011, Kuiters was honored with a major retrospective titled Lost in Decoration at Haugar Vestfold Art Museum in Tønsberg. Recent exhibitions include Then & Now, at Femtensesse, Oslo (2022); Østlandsutstillingen 2022 at Nitja Center for Contemporary Art, Lillestrøm (2022); Jeg kaller det kunst at The National Museum, Oslo (2022); The 135th Autumn Exhibition at Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (2022); and LOVE4SALE at Sandefjord Kunstforening, Sandefjord, (2020). In 2024, Kuiters will participate in the group exhibition The Hollow and The Receptive at ADZ Gallery, Lisbon, curated by Bianca Chu.
Kaare Ruud (b. 1993, Gausdal) lives and works in Oslo, Norway. He graduated with an MFA from Oslo National Academy of the Arts in 2020. Recent solo exhibitions include This page is blank on purpose, Stormen kunst/dájdda, Bodø (2023); hvit kirke grav kaffe duk, Samlingen, Nesodden (2023); Retningen høner sparker, Heerz Tooya, Veliko Tarnovo (2022); Simpathy: Landlyst, Sol Nexø, Bornholm (2022); Out of love, Hulias, Oslo (2022); Album og Volum, The Association of Norwegian Sculptors, Oslo (2021); Days, weeks, years (ode till den apatiska), Galleri Toll (2021), Stockholm; and Feistmuggjen , The Association of Norwegian Sculptors, Oslo (2020). His work has been featured in group and duo exhibitions at Melk, Oslo (2023); CANTINA, Aarhus (2023); Hulias Cantina, Civito d’antino (2023); and STANDARD, Oslo (2021). In 2024, Ruud will be presented by Femtensesse at Liste Art Fair Basel, and he will have a solo exhibition at Hulias Cantina, Civita d’Antino. In 2025, Ruud will have solo exhibitions at Stain Projects, Mallorca, Hordaland Kunstsenter, Bergen, and Femtensesse, Oslo.
Inga Sund Hofset (b. 1983, Ringerike) lives and works in Oslo, Norway. She has an MFA from Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Recent solo exhibitions include Retrett, Femtensesse Oslo (2023); Empat, LNM, Oslo (2021); Adorn, not for Being observed, Elephant Kunsthall, Lillehammer (2019); On Being Faces, Akershus Kunstsenter, Lillestrøm (2017); and Shifts, KVIT, Copenhagen (2017). Her work has been featured in group shows in Oslo, Paris and Berlin and presented through platforms such as the literary magazine Vinduet and Khartoum Contemporary Art Center (KCAC) in Oslo.
Clémence de La Tour du Pin (b.1986, Roanne) lives between Paris and Amsterdam. She is a former participant of De Ateliers, Amsterdam, and has studied at the London School of Art, Architecture & Design as well as Van der Kelen Logelain school in Brussels. Recent solo and duo exhibitions include T-Rex, Derosia, New York (2024); Parallel Manipulation , with Ingrid B. Olson, Wschód, Warsaw (2023): Topological-Ease, Tonus, Paris (2023); Monticelli/La Tour du Pin, April in Paris, Aerdenhout (2022); In shade, Smart Objects, Los Angeles (2021); and Windings, Femtensesse, Oslo (2021). Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at Blaffer Art Museum, Houston (2024); Hagiwara Projects, Tokyo (2024); Capc – Musée d’art contemporain, Bordeaux (2023); Fitzpatrick Gallery, Paris (2023); ADZ Gallery, Lisbon (2023); Centre d’Art Contemporain La Synagogue Delme, Delme (2019); and Musée d’Art Moderne de La Ville de Paris, Paris (2015). In June 2024, La Tour du Pin will be presented by Femtensesse at Liste Art Fair Basel, followed by a solo exhibition at the gallery in Oslo later in the year.
Marthe Ramm Fortun (b. 1978, Oslo) lives and works in Oslo, Norway. She received her education from New York University, New York and HISK – Higher Institute of Fine Art, Ghent. Recent solo exhibitions include Skriver for ikke å skade at Femtensesse, Oslo (2022); TA VARE! at Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo (2019); Stones to the Burden at The Munch Museum, Oslo (2016), and Skrive byen, skrive den om at UKS, Oslo (2014). Her work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions and biennials in Norway and abroad including Kistefos Museum, Jevnaker; Musée d’Art Contemporain, Montreal; Monnaie de Paris, Paris; Gladstone Gallery, Brussels; The Vigeland Museum, Oslo; Komplot, Brussels; BOZAR, Brussels and Performa, New York. Current projects include Friendship: That Shiver That Aspen, at Centre rhénan d’art contemporain, Altkirch and Centre d’art contemporain d’Ivry—le Crédac, Ivry-sur-Seine; ALL SHE LEFT BEHIND!, Henie Onstad Art Center, Høvikodden (2021- 2024) and We Shall Not Make Textbooks (2019-2029), a ten-year performance cycle for the project Minerva’s Voice at the Museum of Natural History in Bergen, curated by Marit Paasche and commissioned by KORO – Public Art Norway.
Andrea Galiazzo (b. 1983, Padova) lives and works in Oslo, Norway, where he holds a master’s degree in Art and Public Space from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. His work was presented in the solo exhibition In Broad Daylight We Posed, Trondhjem Kunstforening (2020), and Pink Glass Swan, duo exhibition in collaboration with Marthe Ramm Fortun, Huset for Kunst & Design, Holstebro (2022). Group exhibitions include PointCounterpoint , Interkulturelt museum, Oslo (2024); The 135th Autumn Exhibition, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (2022); The Drawing Triennial 2019, Tegnerforbundet, Oslo (2019); Avskygninger, Kristiansand Kunsthall (2018); and Drawing – The Bottom Line, S.M.A.K., Ghent (2015). In 2020, Galiazzo was honored with The Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts’ Student Prize. He has upcoming solo exhibitions at BO – Billedkunstnerne i Oslo in 2024, and KRAFT in Bergen in 2025.
Eline McGeorge (b. 1970, Asker) lives and works in Oslo, Norway. She has a Master of Fine Art from Goldsmiths University of London. Recent solo exhibitions include Here Between Worlds (2020), and On Joint Flight Lines (2018), Hollybush Gardens, London; As Spaces Fold, Companions Meet, Oslo Kunstforening (2016), Oslo; and Among Familiar Strangers and Surveilled Places, Fotogalleriet, Oslo (2007). Recent group exhibitions include Our Silver City, 2094, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham (2021); Future Knowledge, Modern Art Oxford, Oxford (2018); Rivers of Emotion, Bodies of Ore, Trondheim Kunsthall, Trondheim (2018); Ode to a washcloth, hymn to a tiger, at Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo (2017) and Stavanger Kunsthall, Stavanger(2018); and We Are Living on a Star, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden (2014). 2024 will see a solo exhibition by McGeorge at Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo.
Jennie Bringaker (b. 1978, Oslo) lives and works in Strømmen, Norway. She has a BFA from the Norwegian Theatre Academy at Østfold University College and an MFA in Studio Art at New York University. Notable works and exhibitions include Overwhelmed, a performance featured in the exhibition Louise Bourgeois: Imaginary Conversations at The National Museum, Oslo, 2023, Outsiders, Femtensesse, Oslo (2023); The Hannah Ryggen Triennale 2022, National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Trondheim (2022); Pint sized riot at the silent Retreat , Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo (2022); Lay Me Low, Nitja Center for Contemporary Art, Lillestrøm (2021); and Pillow talk Bestiary, The Association of Norwegian Sculptors, Oslo (2019). In 2024 Bringaker will be participating in the group exhibition Eternal Feminine curated by Leonie Mir at KunstQuartier Gmunden in Austria.
