SPECIAL LECTURE / Darkness and light. Notes on Nordic art
12.00 a.m.
Johan Sjöström's special lecture
How does the Nordic art scene look today and in the past, and what aspects shaped it? This lecture offers different perspectives from the late 1800s till today. The emphasis of the lecture will be on the Nordic fin-de-siècle, especially the period 1880-1914.
lecture in English / Kino MUZ (cinema hall) / free entrance / app. 50 min.
During the 1880s, a new generation of artists emerged in the Nordic countries. They were dissatisfied with the traditional training methods of the art academies, and travelled to Paris to be inspired by the greater freedom in relation to reality that they found in French plein air and Impressionist painting. In Sweden these artists were known as the Opponents and they formed the Artist’s Association to promote their cause.
By the turn of the century 1900, most of the Opponents had returned to Sweden and assumed leading positions in the art world. Pure Naturalism and Impressionism had given way to a nationally characterised landscape painting in which emotion was the most important element. This new orientation was expressed in lyrical depictions of softly glowing summer evenings. A blue Nordic light descended on fin de siècle painting, while artists directed their gazes towards an inner landscape imbued with melancholy.
Johan Sjöström is the curator of exhibitions at Gothenburg Museum of Art in Sweden, one of the most important institutions for art in Scandinavia Mr. Sjöström has curated more than 40 museum shows with artists like Bruce Nauman, Laurie Simmons, Esko Männikkö, Isaac Julien, Lara Baladi Sjöström has been invited to curate exhibitions, review and lecture at numerous international photo events including European Central Bank Annual Photography Award, FotoFest in Houston; Fotofestiwal Lodz in Poland.
Informacja w jęz. polskim (Polish translation)
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Image source: Richard Bergh, Nordic Summer Evening, 1899–1900, oil on canvas, Gothenburg Museum of Art.
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