Please join us on August 25 between 6-8 pm. for the opening of Magnus Wallin's first solo presentation in Norway.

«Seven Monochromes and a Smiley» is a series of object based works in which the human body is not only represented but included in a fragmented, anatomical manner. Blood powder constitutes the main material in the monochromatic series: ”Are you in pain... Not anymore”, while ”Whiteboard” and ”Smiley” are comprised of bone and skeleton.

”Are you in pain... Not anymore” (1-7) is based on the format 79,5 x 79,5 cm in reference to Kazimir Malevich’s ”Black Suprematic Square” from 1915. From a distance the works appear as modernistic dark monochromes, but Wallin’s monochromes invoke a different kind of darkness. The contrast between a symbolically loaded material such as blood and a seemingly clinical format results in both a figurative and literal connection to the human body.

Since the mid 90s Magnus Wallin has worked with film. His animations, wherein skinless bodies undertake challenges in timeless rooms, are considered to be pioneering. Popular culture and art historical references are woven together and reveal how ideological values often dictate our relationship to the body.

In Norway, Magnus Wallin has shown at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design (2005, 2011), Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium (2005, 2008) and Kistefos-Museet (2007). Internationally, he has exhibited at the Venice and Istanbul biennales (2001), the first International Contemporary Art Bienalle in Sevilla (2004), and at a number of museums around Europe, in Japan and USA. He is represented in the collections of among others Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Uppsala Museum of Art, Norrköping Museum of Art, Dunkers Kulturhus, Helsingborg, Kistefos-Museum, Norway, the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo and Contemporary Art Museum Construction, Kanazawa, Japan. He is represented by Galerie Nordenhake. Magnus Wallin lives and works in Malmö, Sweden.

The exhibition is supported by Iaspis, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee's international programme for Visual and Applied Artists. Oslo Kunstforening is supported by Arts Council Norway and the City of Oslo.