HILMAR FREDRIKSEN. OUT OF THE BLUE

About

Hilmar Fredriksen's art, which is both captivating and liberatingly humerous, appeals to both young and old.

This exhibition will show the breadth of Fredriksen's artistry. Here you will find enigmatic objects, mysterious installations, theatrical gadgets, drawings, paintings and video.

Multi-artist

Hilmar Fredriksen (b. 1953) is a pioneer in performance and conceptual art in Northern Europe. 

He was also among the first in the Nordics to work with equal weight within completely different forms of expression: painting, object, installation, conceptual art and performance. As such, he has been unique in the development of Nordic contemporary art for over 40 years.

Religion, myth and mystery

Fredriksen has not only moved between many different forms of expression, he has also drawn inspiration from several different sources. Many of which derive from religion, myth and mysticism.

His works move effortlessly between elements of everyday life, modernism in art and an interest in mystical sources. 

Hilmar Fredriksen's use of religion, myth and mysticism is something he has in common with many pioneers in modernism, such as Kadinsky, Mondrian and Malevitch. This aspect of 20th century visual art was long supressed or underemphasised.

The Card Catalogue – an artistic phenomenon

One artistic phenomenon that has been a constant in Fredriksen's artistry for close to 40 years is Kartoteket, or The Card Catalogue. This is a collection of small paintings, or cards, on cardboard. Since the 1980's Fredriksen has made over 1000 of these small paintings.

Each card is an important part of his artistic memory and reservoir of ideas. This is the first time such a magnitude of these will be shown together.