“We don’t understand the bird’s song, but we can enjoy it anyway,” Picasso replied to people’s nagging about how they should understand his art. In the exhibition “Triangel” at the Haugar Art Museum in Vestfold, it is precisely this question that forms the starting point: Is art something that we have to understand, or just something that we can experience? In their search for answers, they weave together works by three Norwegian artists: Tron Meyer, Goutam Ghosh, and Jorunn Hancke Øgstad. Brave theme There is nothing new in and of itself about the issue itself. On the contrary, the transition from thinking of art as something to be interpreted and understood, to something to be sensed and experienced, forms the basis of modernist abstraction. Obviously, we cannot give a general answer to how all art should be perceived: some works of art have a direct emotional or sensory appeal, while others require a certain intellectual commitment. I think it is exciting and brave that Haugar brings up this great art-theoretical discussion. In general, far too few ambitious thematic exhibitions are created. The reason is of course that this is an exceptionally demanding discipline, which few really master. Here, one must be able to give the theme its own life through the “conversation” that occurs between the selected artworks. In the exhibition in question, this is precisely what they did not succeed in doing. MEYER WANTS A LOT: Tron Meyer’s paintings display a strength of form and a clear sense of color, but he could probably successfully impose some limitations on himself. Here, the elements compete a little too much for attention. Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen Enigmatic drawings The exhibition “Triangle” fills the entire second floor of the museum. The first thing that meets us are Tron Meyer’s enigmatic charcoal drawings. Here he plays the dark against the light, the spatial against the flat, the organic against the geometric. Some of the drawings lead into what looks like a dark corridor, or through a door. This is form-wise resilient and incomprehensible in the right way. That is why I am so surprised that it is the same artist who has created the hideous sculpture that sits enthroned in the middle of the room. Resembling a stunted cross between a parasol and a tree, it disrupts the meditative and magical mood that drawings create. RUINS THE IMPRESSION: The shapeless sculpture disrupts the experience of the enigmatic charcoal drawings that open the exhibition. Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen Ribbed expression While Tron Meyer exaggerates the use of tools, Goutam Ghosh’s expression is ribbed and restrained. It can be some simple, painted lines on a piece of paper – some detached circles or squares, like sketches or unfinished schematics of something we don’t know about. He works with form-wise contrasts. In one place he has lined up the sheet so that it resembles a spreadsheet and then created expressive doodles on top, as if to play out a conflict between something rational and something emotional. From time to time he scribbles in something that resembles writing. I see he has an eye for form. Sometimes he creates a tension between the elements, but on the whole I don’t think this is terribly interesting. They are hardly images I will feel any urge to seek out again. NOT MERSMAK: Artist Goutam Ghosh has obvious qualities but fails to captivate with these works. Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen Contrasts There is no doubt that the exhibition has its contrasts. In the last department we find Jorunn Hancke Øgstad with his colorful paintings. This too is an uneven project to say the least. Here there is much that does not work either compositionally or in terms of colour. UNEVEN: These are abstract idioms of varying quality. The beige, plant-like form against a turquoise blue base has a strong form and relates well to the format. Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen MESSED UP: Here it is completely collapsing. Despite the nice restrained colouring, it becomes complete chaos in terms of form. Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen Nevertheless, she delivers the undoubted highlight of the exhibition. Here she has created a number of small canvases in which she repeats and varies the same motif; two circles that are tangent and occasionally interfere with each other. The motif gives associations to either plants or cells. Here she creates a comprehensive work with clear, musical qualities. SUCCESSFUL: This composition is the highlight of the exhibition, and the only place where you can really sense that the theme is alive in the works. Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen Isolated from each other Unfortunately, not much happens between the three different, artistic universes. It is probably partly about the fact that they are separated from each other in their own separate department. As for the works’ relationship to the theme, unfortunately I think I can only glimpse it in the exhibition itself. It is also a shame that they have dropped wall texts. I understand the idea that text will interfere with the immediate experience. But it is, after all, much better for the visitor to have a few introductory sentences on the wall than to have to go through a printed matter. In this case, one actually has to read quite thoroughly and in-depth to get hold of the topic. Having said that: I sincerely hope that Haugar continues to set the list high. They have a tradition of that, and I hope they will continue with that. It still strikes me as paradoxical that an exhibition that is about the immediate, artistic sensory experience offers such a comprehensive theoretical framework. But they should be commended for the attempt. news reviews Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen Title: “Triangel” Where: Haugar art museum, Vestfold Artists: Goutam Ghosh, Jorunn Hancke Øgstad and Tron Meyer Curator: Ida Bringedal Date: 28 January–14. May 2023
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“Triangle” at Haugar Art Museum – Reviews and recommendations
