Archive for the ‘Art projects’ Category

Apparatjik Suite opens at The Thief

The so-called Apparatjik Suite, which has been designed by Magne and the other members of Apparatjik, opened at the new luxury hotel The Thief in Oslo on Friday, 8 February. Tini Flaat has posted an instagram photo of Magne, Jonas and Martin at the opening.

“Apparatjik’s music and art, with its creativity and positive madness, appeals to us at The Thief. We let them do whatever they wanted when designing the suite, and the result is impressive”, Marcus Majewski (The Thief executive officer) says.

The suite’s interior includes pixelated carpets, video installations, antlers on the walls and a mirror ball in the bathroom.

“We have created a small corner of the Apparatjik World”, Magne says in a press release. “We wanted to design a room that would make whoever stays here smile and shake their heads at the same time. One thing that the members of Apparatjik have in common is that we have all used a disproportionate amount of our lives staying in hotel rooms. With the Apparatjik Suite at The Thief, our starting point was that it isn’t necessarily the hallmark of a good hotel that all the rooms are identical.”

The suite also includes music by Apparatjik and a large selection of their own favorite albums.

“Everyone thinks their personal taste in music is the best in the world, and we’re no exception. We’re also hoping to eventually offer a growing selection of music that you won’t be able to hear anywhere else – maybe some material that hasn’t been released yet, and obscure projects that we feel deserve more attention. In that respect, the Apparatjik Suite is guaranteed to be the radio station with the fewest listeners anywhere in the world. Now, that’s what we call exclusive”, Magne says.

Visitors to the The Thief can also try out Magne’s Climax Cardgame from 2007, of which the hotel has bought 7 of the 20 copies in existence. There will also be a copy of Magne’s new book In Transit in every room.

“There are some hotels around the world that have made a serious effort to create an arena for experiencing art, and when it works it’s a win-win situation”, Magne says.

If you would like a stay in the Apparatjik Suite, the suite is now open for booking on The Thief’s website.

In Transit book launch

In Transit book launch at The Thief

Books on display at The Thief yesterday

The release of In Transit was celebrated with a book launch at The Thief hotel in Oslo yesterday. The publisher Forlaget Press has posted a gallery of photos from the event on Facebook, including Magne in conversation with Ute Meta Bauer and Håkon Harket (head of Forlaget Press).

There have also been a couple of interviews with Magne in the press this week. First in Aftenposten’s paper edition on Monday, which is also available online at aftenposten.no. And yesterday there was an interview in Dagsavisen, from which I’ve translated a few quotes below:

You’re known as a musician, composer and visual artist, and have now released a book about your art career. How does that feel?

– The book has been in production for a long time, and was supposed to be published in 2010. So it’s a relief that I’ve finally been able to finish it. The problem is that I’ve always had new projects in the works. Each time I came up with a new project, it was also a new addition to the book. Now In Transit is finally ready, as a summary of my career. This is the first book of its kind that has been published.

First? Are you planning more books about your art career?

– He he. Yeah, from now on I’ll put out a new book each year. No, I meant that this is a special book with an overview of most of the stuff I’ve made over the last 20 years. My previous books have been of the “artist book”-type, while this is a book that also includes interpretive essays written by art historians and others.

What are you working on these days?

– I always have various projects in the works. Right now I’m working on an exhibition that will open in London in May, plus a couple of Apparatjik projects. I’m also working on some interesting projects that will combine music and visual arts in new ways for me. I can’t say more at the moment, as we’re having some important meetings about it this week.

First look at Magne Furuholmen – In Transit

A sample from In Transit (English edition)

A sample from Magne Furuholmen – In Transit
(English edition)

Although it was not supposed to be released until next month, the English edition of Magne Furuholmen – In Transit has now started shipping from at least one Norwegian online bookstore. I received my copy today. The Norwegian edition, however, still seems to be scheduled for February 14th.

At 400 pages long, this massive coffe-table book gives a detailed look at Magne’s most important art projects from 1993 to 2013, with an overwhelming amount of photos.

Edited by Stephanie von Spreter, Thor Arvid Dyrerud, Henrik S. Haugan and Magne Furuholmen, the book also features essays written by Mark Gisbourne, Ute Meta Bauer, Sune Nordgren, Richard Dyer, Selene Wendt and Per Hovdenakk. The photos have been taken by Lars Gundersen and 14 others, including Magne himself.

For anyone interested in Magne’s art, this book is a definite must-have.

The English edition can be pre-ordered from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and amazon.de. If you are in Norway, the English edition can be ordered from haugenbok.no and bokkilden.no. The Norwegian edition (scheduled for February 14th) can also be ordered from haugenbok.no and bokkilden.no.

Update: there’s also a pre-sale on a-ha.com from 28 January – 6 February.

Here are a few previews of the book (click to enlarge):

In Transit book coming soon

Magne Furuholmen - In Transit book cover

The new cover of the book

The long-awaited book In Transit, which provides an overview of Magne’s 20+ year career in visual arts, finally seems to have a confirmed publishing date; February 7th 2013 update: February 13th 2013.

First announced in December 2010, the book project has been delayed a number of times, but the Norwegian publisher Press now says it will be out next month.

A previous announcement described the book as follows:

“In Transit is the first complete presentation of his activities as a visual artist and brings us close to the creative process. This lavish book also includes all the most important artworks, like a Furuholmen “Greatest Hits”. In Transit shows why Magne F has become one of our most prominent international artists.”

In Transit will apparently be available in both an English and a Norwegian edition. The English edition can be pre-ordered from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and amazon.de, while you can get the Norwegian edition from haugenbok.no and bokkilden.no.

Magne seals time capsule

Magne welds the final lid on the time capsule sculpture

Magne was at the National Archives in Oslo yesterday, to seal the final box in the time capsule project Til Ungdommen (see earlier news stories here and here).

Magne’s sculpture consists of 30 layers of aluminum on top of each other, made to resemble archival boxes. They contain letters from students all over Norway, who have shared their thoughts about the events of 22 July and about Norway today and in the future.

The sculpture also features a lot of words that students have punched into the aluminum plates.

“One thing I really liked about this project, was that it wasn’t my own project. It was a project that I could help facilitate, but was basically driven forward and completed by the students themselves”, Magne told Aftenposten.

The time capsule will remain sealed until 2031.

More pictures can be seen on Facebook and Instagram.

Magne: “I want to do something different”

"I get restless and disillusioned when I feel I'm repeating myself in my art", Magne tells Budstikka

Budstikka has an interview with Magne today, in connection with his anniversary exhibition Bouquet which opens at Galleri Trafo in Asker tomorrow.

“I hope this exhibition will challenge me to leave everything behind and start on something different. It may even be something other than art. I like to challenge myself and step out of situations that are starting to become successfull”, Magne tells the newspaper.

“I have a basic scepticism to being seduced by success. That’s probably a pop-injury. Ask people what they connect with a-ha, and 90 percent will answer “Take On Me”, which I wrote as a 15-year-old. That song has become so defining, and I don’t like to be defined”.

“I’m bored silly by artists who end up being slaves of their own success, and who don’t want to visit their darker sides, where everything is chaos”, he says.

The Bouquet exhibition, which has the same title as Magne’s outdoor installation nearby, will be open from October 25th to November 25th at Galleri Trafo (slightly different dates than what was first announced).

A Bouquet from Magne

Bouquet 
(Picture from Budstikka)

Magne’s massive outdoor installation Bouquet was officially unveiled in Asker yesterday, in connection with the opening of group exhibition “Kunst Rett Vest”.

“Although this is more of a cover-up than an unveiling”, Magne joked.

By using a gigantic nylon sheet, Magne has completely covered a building called Torvgården and decorated it with tulip-coloured anagrams using the letters in “Kunst Rett Vest”.

This particular building is often referred to as the Aalto Vase because of its characteristic shape – a vase which is often used for tulips.

“I used the connections to the tulip vase as a basis, which in turn inspired the title and colour pallette. And then I’ve just used the letters in “Kunst Rett Vest” and made different anagrams. I’m not the one to judge the result, but I hope it freshens up the place a bit”, Magne told Budstikka.

Update: Magne’s upcoming anniversary exhibition at Galleri Trafo will apparently also be called Bouquet, according to an update from the Magne F mailing list. The exhibition is open from October 25th – November 25th.

Magne prepares anniversary exhibition

Magne doing tests in connection with his outdoor installation 
(Picture from LiveIn Asker)

Magne is currently preparing a new solo exhibition, to be held at Galleri Trafo in Asker from 27. October – 18. November.

Local magazine LiveIn Asker has an interview with him in its fall 2012 edition, where he talks about the plans:

“- This will be a kind of anniversary exhibition. In connection with my 50th birthday in November, Galleri Trafo and the house owner asked me if I would be interested in doing something to mark the occasion. I said I would. I have kept artworks from many different periods of my career as a visual artist, and I want to show a mix of old and new. These works haven’t been exhibited together before, so it will also give me a chance to see the works side by side for the first time and thereby get a look at any artistic development. Retrospectiveness is not something I have done too often.”

In addition to the exhibition, Magne is also planning an outdoor installation called Bouquet, the magazine can reveal:

“During the opening of [art festival] Kunst Rett Vest [on October 9th], Magne Furuholmen will do something no one else has done before. By using a gigantic nylon sheet, he is going to create an artwork on one of Asker’s most spectacular buildings. Torvgården will light up in artistic letters. The building will literally be wrapped up in Magne’s art. He’s not yet sure how it will look, but the renowned artist can promise a sight that people will remember.”

“- This is a temporary artwork that will put its mark on the whole area during a limited period of time – in the way graffiti and street art can do, albeit in a more legal and controlled form”, Magne says.

The whole interview is available as a PDF file at livein.no.

Exhibition opening at Vinstra

Magne and Håvard Vikhagen at Vinstra on Wednesday, August 1st 
(Picture from Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen)

Magne and Håvard Vikhagen’s joint exhibition, held as part of the annual Peer Gynt culture festival, opened at Vinstra yesterday.

“Magne is a bit like Peer Gynt. They have both had many spectacular experiences and been through a lot”, Vikhagen tells newspaper Gudbrandsdølen Dagningen.

Magne agrees that there are similarities between himself and Ibsen’s iconic character:

“There are several parallels. When I’m juggling many balls in the air, I have a tendency to add even more balls. Both Peer and myself have a lot of life experience. We are also both easily fascinated, while at the same time maintaining a critical attitude. And we want to experience something all the time. But we’re always longing for a place to belong”, he says.

The exhibition at Vinstra includes a selection of works from “Futura Plus”.

“I create art from a musical point of view, where emotions play a large part. I’m not afraid to get involved and be present. Hopefully I’m able to make my art sing. Either way, it’s exciting to be exhibiting together with Håvard”, Magne says.

The Furuholmen/Vikhagen exhibition at Vinstra is entitled “For jeg er født til kunstner, ser du” (a quote by Ibsen) and is open until August 11th.

Related links:
Sunnmørsposten   Budstikka.no   Photos at galleripikene.com

Magne decorates Røkke’s luxury yacht

Aglaia 
(Picture from lars-g.dk)

Over the years, Magne has created artworks for several cruise ships. Now his art can also be seen on a different kind of ship; he has recently decorated the enormous sail of luxury yacht Aglaia, boatinternational.com reports:

“(…) Suitably for a boat named after the Greek goddess of beauty and splendour, Aglaia is also a gorgeous-looking yacht. Chief among her charms is the painting by Norwegian artist Magne Furuholmen on her Code 1 sail, which at about 3,600m2 (both sides of the 1,787m2 Cuben Fiber sail) is one of the largest fabric paintings in the world.

The owners had a series of Furuholmen pieces on board and after the christening chose to make his art a more integral part of Aglaia’s DNA – by putting his work on her sail. Furuholmen was given no specific brief and he told the owner he would make no sketches (‘you’re going to have to trust me’).

‘When I got asked to do this particular commission, I decided to take a modern approach to portrait paintings of 100 years ago,’ Furuholmen says from the deck of Aglaia. ‘It’s my interpretation of a history. I try to find an angle that both has a connection to the context in which the work is going to be placed and a connection to that person whom I’m portraying.’ (…)”

Aglaia is owned by Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Røkke. The controversial business man is supposed to have paid around $100 million for the luxury yacht, which was launched in March 2011. Aglaia also includes art by Magne’s good friend and fellow artist Nico Widerberg.

More pictures of Aglaia, with Magne making a visit onboard, can be seen at photographer Lars Gundersen’s website at lars-g.dk.

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