Gardar Eide Einarsson

The first exhibition in the ARoS FOCUS // NEW NORDIC series, in which ARoS presents new Nordic talent, is an installation by Norwegian artist Gardar Eide Einarsson entitled A madman, a patient, a condemned man, a worker or a schoolboy. At first glance, the exhibition may seem cool and minimalistic, but if you take the time to unravel the content, our shared history and knowledge comes into play and gives us food for thought.

The exhibition consists of two related parts: 15 large, black tarp paintings and a large amount of fabric on the floor. On top of the already black paintings, images of black tarpaulins are printed: as an extra layer that covers and thus hides the painting behind it. It is not possible to look at the painting behind, and the 'great' artwork that we could have seen and perhaps even enjoyed has been given an extra layer - a tarpaulin that shuts out the magnificent art experience.

The other part of the exhibition lies carelessly on the floor. Large amounts of fabric take up a large part of the exhibition space. It consists of surplus material from the production of flags. National flags. Flags that are obvious symbols of national identities but also icons of our national belonging and national pride.

Gardar Eide Einarsson was born in 1976 in Norway. Einarsson's universe is edgy, raw and often in black and white. He combines two visual worlds - the graffiti typography of skater culture and the simple austerity of modern art - a combination that often has an uncompromising quality. He is interested in how artists can transform the subcultural aesthetics of the street into valuable artworks when displayed in the value-creating framework of the art institution. It is by extension that Gardar Eide Einarsson is often described as an anti-aestheticist and as a political and institution-critical artist. He is not a classic painter with a capital 'M' who senses his way through colours and depths, but rather plays on specific political or subcultural references that he wants to coax out of his paintings. He is not afraid that the viewer has to work a little for the cause.

Thanks to a generous donation from Det Obelske Familie fond, the museum is opening the doors to a new exhibition series that will mark a new direction in the museum's exhibition practice. ARoS FOCUS // NEW NORDIC will run for three years from 2015 to 2017 in the museum's West Gallery. The Nordic region receives a lot of attention on the international art scene, and the trend in recent years has been for younger Nordic artists to exhibit abroad before they get the opportunity in their Nordic homeland. The aim of ARoS Focus // New Nordic is therefore to communicate the quality of contemporary Nordic art and make it visible to a wide audience.

Det Obelske Familie fond

Aalborg Flagfabrik