Ingrid Becker:
Å samle -
å bære -
å fortelle

What is a basket?

This question seems simple and obvious, at least initially, but over the last 20 years, Ingrid Becker has shown how there are infinite variations of the basket form. Some baskets are tall and straight with uneven openings at the top, others have narrow entrances and porous bodies that can store what is placed within them without enclosing it. Others still are more open in form, expanding the horizon of storage radically: for example, they hang in space like a surface waiting to collect, preserve, a world that has not found its form.

Excerpt from the text "Art that Contains the Human" by Kjetil Røed.

With a background in textiles, craft artist Ingrid Becker has worked for decades with raw natural materials. A thorough technical and material-based knowledge, developed over time, forms the basis for her design of sculptural containers. The exhibition "Å samle – å bære – å fortelle” (Collect - Carry – Tell) presents several new variations of the basket form, while also tracing lines to a long and extensive artistic career. Her use of textile techniques on wood materials makes her a unique artist in the Nordic context.

Becker's solo exhibition at Trøndelag Center for Contemporary Art is the most comprehensive presentation of Ingrid Becker's work to date.

Since the beginning of the 2000s, Ingrid Becker has explored the possibilities inherent in the container, the basket, as a phenomenon and expression. The three-dimensional braided and woven form is both simple and complex at the same time. Here, the basket is presented as more than just a utility object. It carries stories, contains metaphors, and in its earliest form, represents a significant innovation that may have ensured our species' survival. The exhibition invites us to gather around a form that preserves and protects, to reflect on the values passed down, developed, and perpetuated in our narratives.

In the exhibition Becker has utilized textile techniques such as weaving, knotting, binding, and braiding, in materials including willow, bark, rush, roots, and reeds - which also form the basis for her distinctly unique expression as a craft artist. Through time-consuming processes and meticulous craftsmanship, Becker expresses a closeness and honesty towards the materials, allowing their resilience and distinctiveness to define the works' expressions. The artworks' musical and poetic fundamentals are underscored in encounters with other art forms; the exhibition includes a sound work by composer Ellen Lindquist, a text by writer and art critic Kjetil Røed, and three poems by poet Margrethe Aas.

During the opening on Thursday, June 20 at 6:00 PM, there will be a poetry reading by actor and director Espen Klouman Høiner and a musical performance by the vocal ensemble Trondheim Voices with sound design by Tor Breivik. On the following Sunday, June 22, a workshop in willow weaving with Ingrid Becker requiring advance registration will be held, along with a poetry reading by Margrethe Aas and an artist talk with Ingrid Becker.

Ingrid Becker (b. 1952) lives and works in Stadsbygd, Indre Fosen in Trøndelag. Becker holds a degree in textiles from Fashion School, Stuttgart, Germany (1972-73) and a craftsman's apprenticeship in tailoring with practical years in Heilbronn, Germany (1968-1972), in addition to teacher training in design, art, and art history in Gengenbach, Germany (1973-75). Becker has presented artworks in numerous exhibitions, group exhibitions, and solo exhibitions at venues including the Northern Norwegian Art Museum, Sámi Dáiddaguovddáš, The Norwegian National Museum, Kode, Nils Aas Kunstgalleri, The National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, and Kunstbanken Hedmark Kunstsenter, and collections at several art museums.

Ingrid Becker has received support for the exhibition from the Arts and Culture Norway, Regional project funding for visual arts, Trøndelag fylkeskommune, and the Kunsthåndverkernes fond.

Trondheim Voices' musical performance in the exhibition is supported by the Norwegian Society of Composers and nyMusikk Trondheim.

Visit the exhibition at Kunstrom Jakob in Steinkjer Kulturhus from August 24 to October 26.

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Photos from the exhibition opening:

Photos from the workshop with Ingrid Becker on June 24, 2024:

Photos from the artist talk and poetry reading by Margrethe Aas on Sunday, June 24: