Vanessa Baird
22 Feb - 19 Mar 2008
Vanessa Baird
Me, my father – and somewhere else
Opening: 22 February, 2008
Exhibition duration: 22 February – 19 March, 2008
We are very pleased to announce a new exhibition by the Norwegian artist Vanessa Baird. This is the second time she will be showing her work at c/o - Atle Gerhardsen.
The show "Me, my father – and somewhere else" consists of a series of small watercolours. They are mostly autobiographical, portraying artist herself leading a quiet and ordinary life – emphasizing the repetitiveness of daily activities. Vanessa Baird also presents some larger works (100 x 150cm) in which she tells stories, mostly about her relationship to her father. The ongoing conversation depicted expresses thoughts about their common concerns.
The scenes extending across the paper take place in domestic spaces. And yet they do not portray cosy images of homey happiness, but develop into veritable nightmares: penetrating roots and branches transform the good-natured living room into a kind of gnomish cave, and the metamorphosis also does not leave the residents unchanged. Strange substances pour along the floor as shadows in the rooms, seeping into the upholstery and the cracks in the floor. The children languish in a way reminiscent of suffering children as depicted by Edvard Munch. Dark foreshortened dividing walls seem distorted and looming at the spectator, underlining the oppressive atmosphere.
Vanessa Baird's work is involved with herself as an artist, all the more as she often portrays herself in her work. A watercolour shows herself in a space that is used both as a bedroom (three children are sleeping in a large inviting bed) and a workspace (the artist is shown sitting on a office chair in front of an empty desk). Domestic everyday and artistic production overlap and there is a lively exchange.
The small works are contrasted with light watercolours that do not only tell isolated stories, but are composed of multiple narrative threads, also inspired from life ́s experience, for example, Vanessa Baird involves her father, who is an architect, and the related memories in these works.
Vanessa Baird, born in Oslo in 1963, studied at the Statens Kunstakademi, Oslo and at the Royal College of Art, London. In 2008, her work is included in the group exhibitions “STREK I BEVEGELSE - Tegnekunst gjennom 150 år” at the Lillehammer Kunstmuseum (February 9 - June 1, 2008) and “Hardcore” at the Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Kristiansand (June 14 – August 17, 2008).
For further information or visuals please contact Maike Fries, c/o – Atle Gerhardsen: Tel.: +49-30-69 51 83 41, Fax: +49-30-69 51 83 42, E-mail: office@atlegerhardsen.com
Me, my father – and somewhere else
Opening: 22 February, 2008
Exhibition duration: 22 February – 19 March, 2008
We are very pleased to announce a new exhibition by the Norwegian artist Vanessa Baird. This is the second time she will be showing her work at c/o - Atle Gerhardsen.
The show "Me, my father – and somewhere else" consists of a series of small watercolours. They are mostly autobiographical, portraying artist herself leading a quiet and ordinary life – emphasizing the repetitiveness of daily activities. Vanessa Baird also presents some larger works (100 x 150cm) in which she tells stories, mostly about her relationship to her father. The ongoing conversation depicted expresses thoughts about their common concerns.
The scenes extending across the paper take place in domestic spaces. And yet they do not portray cosy images of homey happiness, but develop into veritable nightmares: penetrating roots and branches transform the good-natured living room into a kind of gnomish cave, and the metamorphosis also does not leave the residents unchanged. Strange substances pour along the floor as shadows in the rooms, seeping into the upholstery and the cracks in the floor. The children languish in a way reminiscent of suffering children as depicted by Edvard Munch. Dark foreshortened dividing walls seem distorted and looming at the spectator, underlining the oppressive atmosphere.
Vanessa Baird's work is involved with herself as an artist, all the more as she often portrays herself in her work. A watercolour shows herself in a space that is used both as a bedroom (three children are sleeping in a large inviting bed) and a workspace (the artist is shown sitting on a office chair in front of an empty desk). Domestic everyday and artistic production overlap and there is a lively exchange.
The small works are contrasted with light watercolours that do not only tell isolated stories, but are composed of multiple narrative threads, also inspired from life ́s experience, for example, Vanessa Baird involves her father, who is an architect, and the related memories in these works.
Vanessa Baird, born in Oslo in 1963, studied at the Statens Kunstakademi, Oslo and at the Royal College of Art, London. In 2008, her work is included in the group exhibitions “STREK I BEVEGELSE - Tegnekunst gjennom 150 år” at the Lillehammer Kunstmuseum (February 9 - June 1, 2008) and “Hardcore” at the Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Kristiansand (June 14 – August 17, 2008).
For further information or visuals please contact Maike Fries, c/o – Atle Gerhardsen: Tel.: +49-30-69 51 83 41, Fax: +49-30-69 51 83 42, E-mail: office@atlegerhardsen.com