It would be wrong to claim that the weaving artist Synnøve Anker Aurdal is a forgotten artist. She has been shown and purchased by large institutions and actually represented Norway at the Venice Biennale as early as 1982. But there is still no doubt that she deserved much more attention. It is therefore an important event when the Astrup Fearnley Museum this summer shows the largest solo exhibition with her weaves ever. It is an exciting experience to walk among Aurdal’s lush, humorous and strong image weaves. But I often miss chronology. It would make it easier to spot the very interesting development in the artistry; from arch-traditional weaver to a modernist of purest water. CRAZY: Synnøve Anker Aurdal’s portrayal of the faceless bureaucracy is both funny and creepy. Figures consisting of squares, as headings in a form. Photo: Victor Boullet She started as a consumer textile artist in the 1930s. In this phase, she created everything from porters to decorative rugs and pillows. This phase is not so well represented in the exhibition. For many years, weaving, knitting or sewing was seen as something solid and untrendy. But textile art gradually gained more attention and a larger place on the art scene from 2012 when the weaving queen Hannah Ryggen was promoted internationally. I have always thought that it may be about a longing in our fast-paced, screen-based reality, for something slow, artistic and physical. EASY TO UNDERSTAND: “The Sun” was one of the monumental images exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 1982. Although it is easy to spot the figurative motif with the sun reflected in the water, one can also experience this as a pure non-figurative composition, reminiscent of Marc Rothko’s meditative abstractions. Photo: Christian Øen / Astrup Fearnley Museum Muntert harselas Synnøve Anker Aurdal unfortunately never got to experience this sensuous turn. It’s not sure it would mean that much to her either. She was an artist who for six decades held on to the thread and the loom as her means of expression without thinking much about whether it was “out” or “in”. She is also considered the one who brought textile art into the field of visual arts. PICASSO-INSPIRED: In the tapestry «Musicians», Synnøve Anker Aurdal draws inspiration from Norwegian folk art, but also from Cubism and Picasso. Here we see that the musicians’ faces, hands and instruments are recognizable, while the bodies disappear in the abstract composition. Photo: Vegard Kleven In the forties, Aurdal developed his unique abstract and geometric design language. There is no doubt that she drew crucial inspiration from her second husband Ludvig Eikaas, whom she married in 1946. But Anker Aurdal was not an artistic copyist: she developed her completely individualized expression. And she never stopped experimenting, with shapes, with materials and with color. She broke with the convention related to plant colors, and instead used synthetic denominations. She weaved with everything from wool and linen thread to nylon rope, metal thread and hemp. Sometimes she woven in small pearl necklaces that created a play and life in the surface. We see this in the beautiful weave “Rain” where the pearls sparkle like raindrops in the loose threads of the weave. In the exhibition we also see how she gradually freed herself from the idea that a tissue must be a picture on the wall. Many of the works are more like three-dimensional sculptures or installations; like her light waterfall of braided vinyl rope and metal wire falling against a round mirror on the floor. High up under the roof, there is also an eerie textile expression that resembles a black bird with outstretched wings. I do not understand why the work is called “The Seven Samurai”, but it is fascinating in any case. RAIN PEARLS: “Rain” (bottom right) is a beautiful work where pearls create movement and the illusion of raindrops. Not everything that is presented is tapestry on the wall. There are also textile sculptures and installations. “The seven samurai” on the left in the bottom picture. Photo: CHRISTIAN ØEN / ASTRUP FEARNLEY MUSEUM Synnøve Anker Aurdal worked abstractly, but her tissues are full of small figurative elements and references to reality. Titles such as “magic moon” or “Light in water” create a delicate natural poetic connection between the abstract composition and a Norwegian heroic landscape tradition. There is also a lot of humor and profit in Aurdal’s project, for example in her cheerful harselas with the faceless bureaucracy. Several of her funny bureaucratic fabrics are included in the exhibition. NATURAL POETRY: The titles add a nature poetry to the abstract motifs. Here is the work «Silver Globe». Photo: Astrup Fearnley Museum Integrated letters Aurdal’s deep interest in poetry is also reflected in several of her works. From the 1960s, she weaved text quotes into the loom. It was not always as successful. But in the work “Chinese Wisdom” from 1967, she shows which master she is. Here we see, among other things, the word “happiness” in shiny yellow against a shimmering pink and orange background. It’s weird it does not appear clichéd and kitschy. But it is quite simply because she so masterfully manages to integrate the letters into the composition, making us see them as shapes in the whole, more than as meaningful quantities. COLOR GAME: “Chinese wisdom” is characterized by an interesting variation in form. Rectangles against pointed ellipses with clear size differences. There is also a rich and varied play of colors in the surface that gives the work excitement to the expression. Photo: Christian Øen Although the Astrup Fearnley Museum in no way brings any surprising or exciting perspectives on Synnøve Anker Aurdal in this exhibition, it is a professionally solid presentation, which highlights an artistry that in light of the sensuous turn is perceived as more relevant than ever. news reviewer Photo: Thomas Widerberg Title: «Synnøve Anker Aurdal» Venue: Astrup Fearnley Museum Date: 21 May – 4. September
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«Synnøve Anker Aurdal» at the Astrup Fearnley Museum – Reviews and recommendations
