“Yasmine and the Seven Faces of the Heptahedron” is the cryptic title of this year’s version of Bergen Assembly. Bergen Assembly is a triennial, i.e. a contemporary art exhibition held every three years. In this fourth edition, the triennial consists of seven different exhibitions around Bergen, which are named after seven mysterious characters taken from a play written by a Thomas Clerk in 2016. There is extremely little information about this text online, so there is a lot which suggests that it is not exactly part of the literary canon. It is not the only time the Bergen Triennale makes an obscure literary reference a starting point. The very first version, “Monday starts on Saturday” in 2013, was based on an unknown sci-fi novel. It goes without saying that references to books no one has heard of are not exactly the best way to draw the public into an art exhibition. A blue infinity But if the setting is hopeless, the triennial still offers a great deal of beauty and wonder. I really like the exhibition “The Tourist” in the KODE museum Permanenten. Here we wander into French artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s shiny red room with a huge pouffe upholstered in silk. Through a small circular window I look out into a wonderful blue world. DELICIOUS AND ENDLESS: The exhibition “The Tourist” gives you the feeling of looking out through the window of a submarine, or perhaps through a diving watch. COZY ON CODE: The French artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster makes one of the best exhibitions in this year’s “Bergen Assembly” .WORLDENSVANT: Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster works from both Paris and Rio de Janeiro. I stand for a long time and rest my eyes in the blue infinity. Something like air bubbles rise to the surface and burst, and I think of how in the summers when the children were small, I stood and watched them swim underwater in the large pool at Frognerbadet. Expressive, but unclear When we move to Kunsthall 3,14 at Vågsallmenningen, we are making both a thematic and expressive leap. The headline here is “An acrobat”, whatever that means. No one can explain this linguistic quirk to me, but the exhibition itself is at least expressively strong. Technology is obviously an important topic here. Although I read the exhibition material closely, I struggle to become aware of which artists are behind the different parts of the exhibition. I quote verbatim from the exhibition brochure: Later I was explained that all these works can be attributed to one Johannes Paul Raether who has constructed, among other things, these “altar identities or forms of life”, as they call it. BEAUTIFUL AND CONFUSING: Although it is difficult to grasp the surrounding philosophy, Johannes Paul Raether’s art is expressively strong. Photo: Thor Brødreskift Even if I don’t understand exactly this, there is still much in this exhibition that grips me. Several powerful installations are shown here that make us think about how we have grown together with our screens. The strongest installation shows a Mac and an iPad rising out of what looks like a bubbling river of tin. In another installation, the wires look like wild plants. SCREEN TIME: Successful art about the human addiction to our screens. Photo: Thor Brødreskift Am I being deceived? Despite the plain presentation, the drop is enormous from these sensuous and expressive exhibitions to what is shown in Bergen Kunsthall under the heading “Lurendreieren”. I wonder for a while whether this character should give me a clue that it’s all a big joke, because the paintings in here are so weak and kitschy that it’s hard to take them seriously. It is almost surreal to see these shimmering glossy images on the walls of the venerable art gallery, which every spring houses the festival exhibitor himself. JOKE OR FACT: Bernhard Martin’s paintings do not impress in the “Lurendreieren” in Bergen Kunsthall. Photo: Thor Brødreskift The German artist Bernhard Martin is the artist behind these paintings which appear to have been created with a spray can or some kind of airbrush technique. The paintings are in a pastel tonal scale and revolve around dreamlike, surrealistic motifs. The images depict, among other things, both jewelery and banknotes and seem to thematise how the material is decisive for which place we occupy in the social hierarchy. Explain or seduce? It is Bergen Assembly’s stated ambition to break with the classic predictable biennale template (read: Venice Biennale). The wish is for a more dynamic art festival that can be organized quite differently from time to time. Taking this ambition into account, it is interesting that all four times I find the text material completely inaccessible and incomprehensible, and all four times I am filled with a strong feeling of powerlessness – simply an experience of not understanding. When I, who am a fairly experienced art historian specializing in contemporary art, know it like that, you can imagine how inaccessible this is to a wider audience. UNDERSTAND IT WHO CAN: “Bergen Assembly” is in danger of failure if its content continues to appear incomprehensible to ordinary visitors. Photo: Thor Brødreskift Each and every issue has been characterized by the same energy and will to create something big and new. Unfortunately, this crashes into an inability (and willingness?) to communicate. When we communicate art, we have to ask ourselves what is important to us. Do we want to explain or seduce? Do we want to initiate and enlighten our audience, or is it more important for ourselves to appear initiated and enlightened? This is perhaps something “Bergen Assembly” should think about a little when they now enter their tenth year. news reviews What: “Bergen Assembly 2022 – Yasmine and the seven sides of the Heptaederet” Where: The professor: Faculty of art, music and design The trickster: Bergen Kunsthall The moped driver: Bryggens Museum The truth teller: Østre Skostredet 8, Østre og Northing An acrobat: Kunsthall 3,14 Kullmannen: Golden Prize Kunsthall The Tourist: Permanenten (KODE 1) and Café Mat & Prat Who: Daniel Buren, Sol Calero, Claude Debussy, Denicolai & Provoost, Neue Gestaltung, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, GRAU, George Grosz, Gruppo Petrolio, Katia Kameli, Jessika Khazrik, Lars Korff Lofthus, Bernhard Martin, Augustin Maurs, Protektorama, Schwarmwesen, Transformella, Shirin Stoney, Alvaro Urbano Curator: Yasmine d’O. Convener: Saâdane Afif Date: 8 September–6 November 2022
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“Bergen Assembly 2022 – Yasmine and the seven sides of the Heptaeder” – Reviews and recommendations
