A dancing shadow over the snow. A bird mountain shrouded in fog. A naked, bald woman in a vast, Arctic landscape. These are among the motifs we meet in the exhibition “Amazone” at the National Museum, where the four decades of AK Dolven have been active as an artist unfolded. Form: “I am South” (2003). All items in the image fall into place just right. There is nothing that she has not planned or reflected on. It is completely through controlled. The bald naked woman on the beach, which through the pose has been transformed into a torso sitting in a spectacular, northern Norwegian landscape. Here is a wonderful timeless atmosphere and a white silence. Photo: Vegar Moen / National Museum This is actually the first separate exhibition with a vibrant Norwegian artist in the new museum. Ak Dolven, who is really called Anne Katrine, is among our most recognized artists. For me personally, she has been of great importance: The meeting with her artistry was one of the main reasons why I as a young art history student, shortly after the turn of the millennium, chose the medieval studies in favor of contemporary art. Timeless: Here a cross and a kind of flame in the work “What will the world pray for my sister – what would the world have been for my sisters, upwards” (2023). Often she works with symbols and archetypes; the cross as a symbol of the elements. The vertical as a picture of the man and the horizontal as a picture of the woman. Other times, the vertical becomes a symbol of human presence, while the horizontal creates the experience of a landscape. This is how Ak Dolven works with basic imaging elements. Photo: Annar Bjørgli / National Museum Abstract: “Vertical on My Own” (2011). An abstract motif with an underlying figurative starting point. This “painting” is created as a video cover of a shade on the snow. An elongated horizontal blue drawing in all the white. Photo: Jakob Ingimundarsson / Dolven, AK / Bono A strange duality I love the weird duality of Dolven’s work. It is monumental and minimalist at the same time. Great, but at the same time withholded. This combination of something sober, well -directed, but also enigmatic and natural -fledged, is very special. When she plays with romantic conventions, it is based on a deep formal and conceptual curiosity. Large and heavy bell: “Untuned Bell” (2004). This work was originally made for Tullinløkka. For many years it was such an unclear place, so Ak Dolven thinks it was a matter of hanging a large bell thrown out of the town hall because it was unstable. The artist found the rejected 1.4 -ton heavy clock on the street. Now it hangs in two steel wires over the Honnørbrygga at Aker Brygge. By stepping on a “cry baby” pedal, passersby can make the unstable bell call. Photo: Alette Schei Rørvik / KORO This is also how she approaches art history. We find references to both Peder Balke, Caspar David Friedrich, Helene Schjerfbeck – and not least Edvard Munch. I am glad that the exhibition includes her famous paraphrases of famous Munch works, such as “Kiss”, “Self-Portrait With Cigarette” and “Puberty”. Here she translates the mood and the form language of Munch into powerful video images. She is approaching Munch’s expressionism without herself unfolding anything expressive. Totally: “Between the Morning and the Handbag” (2002). When I became acquainted with Dolven’s artistry around the year 2000, it was precisely the ambiguity that fascinated me. The work rarely conveys a simple and readable narrative, but only gives enigmatic glimpses into something I have to ponder myself on. Here is the handbag the little everyday dispute that breaks the mysterious enchantment in the picture. Photo: AK Dolven Studio / Dolven, AK / Bono fascinating: “Puberty” (2000). Even the dangerous shade of the wall behind the girl has managed to recreate in her fascinating paraphrase of Munch’s puberty. Photo: AK DOLVEN STUDIO / DOLVEN, AK / BONO Old picture in a new suit: “Portrait with a cigarette” (2000). Here she has recreated the composition and pose from Munch’s own image with the same title. But here the ruining artist and man are replaced with a weaver, but confident woman. It is a bit nice that this self -portrait with cigarette is at all no self -portrait. Photo: AK Dolven Studio / Dolven, AK / Bono Paraphrases: “The Kiss”, (2000) Video and audio installation. Here, Dolven recreats the experience of the fusion of the faces of the two kisses. Munch would portray the demanding balance between individuality and symbiosis in his kiss. I like Dolven’s version in almost black and white, where the blood -red bracelet becomes a symbol of passion. Such a thing is not found in Munch’s own kiss, but here she paraphrases Munch’s method. This is how he often uses color elements to express emotions, for example in “detachment”. Photo: Alexandra Henao / Arts Council of Great Britain “Painter” with video She has her very own way of “painting” with the video medium: Here she merge pale color tones and different shape qualities. Her video paintings and collages express a living interest in the technology and the medium itself. In several film expressions, some timeless and mythologically sewn along with a glimpse of a brutal everyday reality. Hear Dolven talk about the work on the exhibition in “Driving Power”: The best example of this is the short 16 mm movie “Amazon”, which shows a female archery with one breast. The film is based on the Greek myth of the women’s shooter who cut off one breast to make better room to tighten the arch. The hard film glimpses show a strong and actionable body, but which through the lack of breast carries on associations to illness and vulnerability. Arrow and bow: “Amason” (2005). This is a 16 mm film consisting of fragmented Glimt, as a kind of hasty film collage. The movie lasts for 1 minute and 34 seconds and shows a woman with one breast shooting with arrow and bow. Photo: Annar Bjørgli / National Museum Pil and Bue: “Amason” (2005). This is a 16 mm film consisting of fragmented Glimt, as a kind of hasty film collage. The movie lasts for 1 minute and 34 seconds and shows a woman with one breast shooting with arrow and bow. Photo: Vegar Moen / National Museum Refined and intellectually Dolven has lived abroad for much of his life, both in London and Berlin. To the extent that she has been to Norway, she has mostly lived in Lofoten. Something that strikes me where I walk through the exhibition is what unoriginal character this artist has. Ak Dolven’s design language is refined and intellectual. She is a strict formalist and an aesthetic perfectionist. Whether she creates video installations, photographs, sculptures or paintings, she has full control over the visual hierarchy. Curiosity: “Virgin” (1990). AK Dolven’s project is characterized by intense curiosity. What happens to this V-shape when small adjustments in the background tone are entered? There are many such formal questions in Dolven. Photo: Annar Bjørgli / National Museum Investigator: “Horizon Out of Balance” (2019). Dolven’s project is characterized by a kind of science. Everything she does is investigative and exploratory. For example, she is very concerned with light and light refractions. Photo: AK Dolven / Bono Small shades: “Can Women Think” (2004). Pale, almost invisible symbols against a white background. If we just throw a quick look at these pictures there is little to pick up. But if we stay standing and see, then the molds rise in the surface. It is simply quite fascinating. Photo: AK Dolven Studio / Sammlung Hoffmann, Berlin Here there is no of the sentimental, rural origin, wild and eruptive that otherwise goes as a wide stream through Norwegian art history. However, that does not mean that Ak Dolven’s art lacks passion: we find much of it in her intense investigative attitude. She explores artistic grips, picturesque means, as well as great thoughts and ideas. Her art is characterized by a starting ambiguity. Exciting games: “16 Sunsets” (2022). Arctic marble and wooden wedges. The works rarely convey a simple and readable story: She only gives us a glimpse into something that we can ponder ourselves. Here she creates an exciting game between the mechanically scratched lines of the marble and the more organic shapes in the wooden wires. There are also exciting color sounds and material meetings in this work. Photo: Annar Bjørgli / National Museum Time is an important factor At first glance, the form language can seem silent and dismissive. These are not expressions that come to you and overwhelm you with clear readable stories, strong colors and eye -catching shapes. It is a language that requires you to stop, senses and reads. Thus, time is an important factor in the experience. When you start scratching the surface, new layers are constantly emerging. Fog Sea: “Moving Mountain” (2004). Video installation. Here, too, Ak Dolven refers to the romantic landscape painting. We see two back -facing female figures standing and looking up at the bird mountain in the fog. The reference to Caspar David Friedrich’s famous “Wanderer in the Fog Sea” is obvious. Although she refers to the romance, her own project is not distinctly romantic. It is more marked by an exploratory, intellectual curiosity than the sentimental and emotional. Photo: Andreas Harvik / Dolven, AK / Bono and although the project undoubtedly has an intellectual, yes, almost theoretical feel, there is no reason to fear that one should not understand. The extensive thought work is whatever Dolven himself stands for. For visitors, it’s just about being in the experience and seeing what thoughts and feelings come to you while watching. And if you do, I’m sure you will experience it as well spent time. About the exhibition title: “AK DOLVEN: Amazone” Curator: Ann Gallagher Exhibition architecture: Element Architects Institution: National Museum City: Oslo Period: From 25.4. to 31.8.2025 Estimated time: 60 to 90 minutes Mona Pahle Bjerke reviews the exhibition in “News Morning”: Published 29.04.2025, at. 09.10 Updated 29.04.2025, at. 10.31
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