I was delighted when I heard that the Munch Museum was planning a large retrospective presentation of Marianne Bratteli’s art. When I was young, I spent a lot of time in the collection exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art. One of the works I have never been able to forget is a beautiful blue painting in which Bratteli has painted a brightly dressed woman with flowers in her hands. I often stopped at this image and wondered what made it so eerie. I remember thinking that it might not have been so easy to be the child of a prime minister. Later I understood that there were probably other aspects of Trygve Bratteli’s life which, even more than his political career, influenced the family home. Marianne Bratteli has often told how the concealment of her father’s traumatic war experiences stuck in her as unresolved anxiety and grief. While his parents were passionate about politics, Bratteli turned to the mystical and spiritual. She is considered a representative of metaphysical postmodernism. FINALLY EXHIBITED: Marianne Bratteli is good at creating contrasts between organic layers and geometric shapes. See the soft line that forms the female body and the hard trapezoid that outlines the pubic hair. A weaker painter might have made the breasts the same, and the hair the same on both sides of the head, but Bratteli is a master at creating variation between the elements. Photo: Marianne Bratteli The sure form and the vulnerable As I wander around the exhibition “Hjertebank”, I ponder what makes Bratteli so good. What is special about this artistry? THE RIDDLE BRATTELI: It is striking how much pain and darkness lies in the energetic and often colorful style of Marianne Bratteli. How does she do it? Photo: Kilian Munch I think it lies in the extraordinary tension between the clear, secure formal language, and the acute vulnerability that the images convey. Bratteli has developed a style expression in which she paints with fast, broad, almost square brushstrokes. In a masterful way, she creates life and variety in her pictures. AGING: This is poignant and expressive. The fact that the shiny ultramarine blue background completely removes the hair from the fragile figure strengthens the experience of frail old age: the old lady with her drooping head and her frail body. The walker, which is painted with hard, precise lines, becomes the only fixed element in the picture. The woman’s hands are painted like bird claws. As so often with Bratteli, the figure has one inward-facing and one outward-facing eye. Photo: The Munch Museum / Marianne Bratteli She plays the hard against the soft, the precise against the flowing. In the same way, she matches the various color tones against each other. There is nothing groping or approximate in the way she paints: Each brushstroke is set with precision and represents a clear and conscious choice of form. SAD: One hand is slightly blurred, but the other bears the story of the precision work that is carried out. The fact that the hat’s cross is black and not red brings in the sinister. The plaster plays an important role both thematically, coloristically and compositionally. Photo: The Munch Museum / Marianne Bratteli THE MASTER OF COLOR: Here we see how she plays warm and cold values of white against each other, set against pale gray tones that suggest an underlying darkness. Masterfully, the comb becomes the element that gives life to the rest of the composition. Photo: The Munch Museum / Marianne Bratteli Walking through the exhibition is a powerful and vital experience. But how can this enormous painterly energy bear such darkness? Why do we feel the pain so clearly in all this often bright, beautiful and innocent that she paints? It is and remains an enigma. THE FINISH: Marianne Bratteli is very good at adding the small element that completes the composition. Here in this greyscale painting with pale blue and green denominations, the orange hairband gives nerve and life to the picture expression. Try holding your finger in front of the elastic and see how it all falls together. The restless background is experienced as noise or unrest around the little girl. Photo: The Munch Museum / Marianne Bratteli Some weaker elements The Munch Museum displays artistry in its full breadth from the 1980s until today. We not only get to know her as the wonderful painter she is, but also as a skilled graphic artist and an exciting video artist. The only group of works I don’t particularly like are her collages. COLLAGEN DISAPPEARS: In a material image, the elements must be transformed, either in terms of material or as signs, by placing it in a new context. For example, Picasso created a bull’s head by connecting a bicycle seat and a bicycle handlebar. Noen sl Photo: Munchmuseet / Marianne Bratteli Here I think she lacks all that she has as a painter in terms of originality, accuracy and vitality. I find it a bit unfortunate that these works have been chosen to open the exhibition. NO FAVORITE: Like any great artist, Bratteli has also created his weak works. This is among the ones I’m less excited about. Here, there is far too much going on at once, and the elements fight for attention. Photo: Munchmuseet / Marianne Bratteli Consistently high quality Fortunately, this is a department we can quickly leave, in order to immerse ourselves in her wonderful painterly universe. I have always thought that Marianne Bratteli is really good, but I was pleasantly surprised by how consistently high quality she maintains. WHEN TO VISIT: “Heart Bank” is the first major museum presentation of Marianne Bratteli’s art. Photo: Kilian Munch I really wish Bratteli the belated honor of exhibiting at the Munch Museum. So I wish the general public to get to know this great and unique artist! news reviews Photo: Tor Simen Ulstein Title: “Heart Bank” Artist: Marianne Bratteli Where: Munch Museum Minimum time you should set aside: 40 minutes Date: 29.04–30.07.2023
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“Heart bank” by Marianne Bratteli – Reviews and recommendations
