Idun Baltzersen og Anna Ihle:
Mathias

How do we use language to present artists? What are the criteria for being a successful artist? Baltzersen and Ihle works with woodcuts, wood carving, installation art and video in their practices to explore these questions.

«It is hard to find images of Oda Krohg’s paintings on the internet. Though we do find several portraits of her painted by her bohemian colleagues. According to the internet Krohg was the bohemian princess that had an intimate relationship to them all. Several renowned artists are named Mathias. In the exhibition «Mathias» we want to use the language that is used to portray him. Picturing him, objectifying him, owning his image. Our homage will be transmitted to us. Our attitude. Our stress management and success. We grit our teeth. We look away. Lift our gaze».

Idun Baltzersen (b. 1987, Trondheim) is working with large scale woodcut and drawing. Her motives come from an interest in motifs of heroines and martyrs, and other visual representations of gender and sexuality, images beloved by male masters through the history of art. Baltzersen have studied at the Bergen Academy of Art and Design and received her MFA from Konstfack, Stockholm in 2014.

Anna Ihle (b. 1984, Stavanger) works with themes related to work ethics, unemployment, motivation and laziness. For several years she has been striving for set working hours between eight to four. By devoting herself to the work, she is submitting to values connected to a norwegian protestant working ethics whilst insisting on the value of control, submission and pleasure within the work. Ihle received an MFA from Kunstfack, Stockholm in 2014 and has studied at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. She is also enrolled at the Jan Van Eyck Academy in Maastricht (2018-19).

Anna Ihle and Idun Baltzersen have been collaborating since 2015 and have exhibited at Vestfold Art Centre, Nils Aas Art Centre and Buskerud Art Centre.

The exhibition opens Thursday 31th of January at 19:00