Say goodbye, it's soon election day!

I have to be realistic here... there's no time for art in my life right now. Actually there's no time for anything but work before the Swedish parliamentary elections, taking place the 17th of september. And after that I'll have to sleep for a few days.

Well, this sucks...

Why, oh why, would we need a Roerich for the Bam Margera generation?

At the risk of generalizing myself silly over the lack of interesting art coming out of Denmark right now, it seems like the last decent Danish artist was Asker Jorn, and there’s been nobody and nothing since then.

You think I’m grumpy? Prove me wrong, then!

Pixel me this!

Some young artists confuse me to the degree where I can’t make up my mind about how I feel about their art. This is certainly the case with Kristoffer Zetterstrand. He is one of many younger artists obsessed with digital media and computer games, but he is also obsessed with painting as a craft. In the press release published on his website an art critic describes his work: "he explores the relations between painting and the pictorial landscape made possible by new technology."

I think I have a problem with this approach, but I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is. Maybe it’s the paradox created by Zetterstrand’s refusal to use modern computer technology to print his pictures when they are rendered? He insists on painting them in oil, but by doing that he also reduces the craft of painting - aswell as the concepts of the pictures - to a technical exercise. An exercise of skill.

But, then again, how could you not like a guy that made this?

Coming up in Stockholm this fall

Moderna museet has some interesting photography shows this fall, including Jens Assur in September. But I guess we are all just waiting for the big Rauschenberg exhibition in January 2007.

Nationalmuseum opens a large exhibition with Scandinavian landscape paintings in September, featuring Carl Larsson, Kröyer, Munch and my personal favourite Vilhelm Hammershöi.

Also in September is the large inauguration show for the new Bonniers konsthall, with some of best contemporary artists in Scandinavia as participants. A must see.

Galleri Magnus Karlsson shows work by iconic and ironic artist Jens Fänge in September, and the internationally renowned Lars Ahrenius in October.

Andrén-Schiptjenko’s programme is not final yet, but it looks like we’ll get a chance to see both Mari Rantanen (feauture work above this article!), and her decorative – almost schematic – art, in late September, and Annika von Hausswolff in November.

It’s probably still a few years left until sculpture makes its definitive come back, but Gallery 17’s Maud Lewenhaupt du Jeu show is just ahead of schedule. She also paints… just to be safe, I guess.

Old school Finnish constructivist Ilkka Pärni shows some really beautiful stuff at Galleri Anders Lundmark in September.

Magasin 3 has put together the first ever single artist exhibition in Scandinavia with Korean artist Kimsooja – opens in October. Also in October is the new Gunnel Wåhlstrand show.

And new work from always overexposed Ernst Billgren in September at Galleri Lars Bohman.

Last Chance To See

The summer is coming to an end, and so are a lot of interesting exhibitions and shows. Just another month to see the retrospective Olle Skagerfors show at Bror Hjorts hus in Uppsala. He passed away in 1997, but his way of combining drawing and painting never goes out of style. Just look at how he uses the singel diagonal line drawn across the feautured Torso from 1983.

Also soon to close is the Peter Dahl exhibition in Tomarp, and Animal World in Borås with photos by William Wegman.

I'll be back soon with a preview of what's coming to the galleries and museums around Stockholm (and a more random selection for the rest of Scandinavia...).

Updates and stuff

I have updated some stuff in the side bar:

Gustav Doré is obviously most famous for his illustrations to Dante and Milton, but I really like this realist etching of traffic congestion in London in 1872.

Erich Fischl's Bed Room Scene #7 (after the tantrum) is social claustrophobia in a nut shell (pun intended!).

She can paint. That's all I have to say abour Dana Schutz. Dammit, she can paint!

One Track Mind .5

Alright, this is a bit old, but it needs to be translated from Swedish for a larger audience. It's from tjuvlyssnat.se

Rocker #1: Did you see the Angola vs Portugal game?
Rocker #2: Noo?!
Rocker #1: Dammit! It was rough!
Rocker #2: Like sick rough, or what?!
Rocker #1: Yeah... I'll fucking never colonlize an African country and then play soccer against them. It's fucking lethal!

Some artblogs about the war

Jason Laning aka Art Soldier is furious about the current situation.

NewsGrist collects "excerpts and links to calls for peace".

Tyler Green at Modern Art Notes makes a post on Henry Moore and the bombing of innocents.

Southeast Asian artist R. Streitmatter-Tran at Diacritic discusses the conflict and tries to relate to it through art in a project called Surface to Air.

Even Edward Winkleman writes about Art During Wartime.

Diamonds and Dust

Apparantly british überartist Damian Hirst is on his way to producing a platinum cased human skull covered in diamonds. Edna at Militant Art Bitch is not impressed at all. I kind of like the idea myself though. I don't find it any more offensive than all the other crap sold for millions and millions of dollars.

Accusations that Hirst is just ripping off other people's work has already arisen - and I can add my own conspiracy theory that the diamond skull is in fact a concept stolen from Swedish artist Dan Wolgers who exhibited several human bones rested on diamonds at an art fair in Stockholm this february - but the death-and-luxury-thingy isn't really the core of the piece, now is it? Hirst could just aswell have made a gold plated Campell's soup can, and it still wouldn't be a rip off from Warhol.

It's not "death and luxury" at all, it's just over-the-top art in every possible sense of the word. And I find nothing wrong with that.

As the lights go out

Beirut based artist Mazen Kerbaj writes this post on a laptop by a candle light. He writes as fast as he can as the batteries are running out. Scattered thoughts in the night.

"what to say? i am somehow limiting myself more and more to only drawings. i am freaking out from emails to answer. and still those comments coming on the drawings. again and again. trying to tell me that the THIRTY SEVEN kids of qana were killed with their mothers by the hezbollah. again and again i have to point out that:

THIS IS BY NO MEAN A POLITICAL BLOG. can't you fucking see there is almost just fucking drawings on it?would you think of going to picasso and saying that yeah, guernica was awful, but it was because of the republicans and not franco and the nazis air force?"