More about the exhibitions behind the illustrations
A total of nine exciting artworks from Malmö Konsthall’s exhibition archive were turned into rub-on transfers for the 50th anniversary celebration. The pieces were created by various artists during different time periods, and you can read more about the exhibitions here and click through to our archive to learn more there.
1. Malmö Konsthall opens – Edvard Munch (1975)
A couple of hours before Malmö Konsthall opened on March 22, 1975, about a hundred eager visitors were queuing to enter and see the exhibition featuring Edvard Munch. Through a video camera set up at the entrance of the art hall, the audience became unknowingly involved in a video artwork in the exhibition Ögonblickar/New Media. The director of the art hall, Eje Högestätt, opened the doors and welcomed the audience. The Norwegian-born artist Kjartan Slettemark, dressed as a magnificent poodle, attracted attention in the exhibition room.
2. Claes Oldenburg – “A Bottle of Notes and Some Voyages” (1989)
Claes Oldenburg (b. 1929) was one of the prominent figures of Pop Art. He showcased sculpture projects from the 1960s through to 1989, some of which were in collaboration with his wife, Coosje van Bruggen. For years, Oldenburg has worked with objects from his immediate surroundings, such as screws, saws, plugs, and matchsticks. The objects lose their function by being enlarged, made from a different material, and placed in a new context. Regarding his art, Oldenburg is said to have expressed, “I am for art that is political – erotic – mystical, that does something other than sit on its ass in a museum.”
Read more about the exhibition “A Bottle of Notes and Some Voyages”
3. Antony Gormley – “sculpture and installation” (1993)
The practical work for Antony Gormley’s (b. 1950) exhibition at Malmö Konsthall began in the spring of 1993. 40,000 hand-sized clay figures were created in collaboration with Folkhögskolan in Östra Grevie and the three brickworks in the area. Spread across the floor of the art hall, this astonishing number of figures, all individuals, became a dominant feature of the exhibition—a field of human-like but enigmatic figures, called “The European Field”.
4. Louise Bourgeois – “Newer works” (1998)
Louise Bourgeois (b. 1911) was a French-born American sculptor, painter, and draughtswoman who achieved international recognition in the 1980s. Her exhibition at Malmö Konsthall in 1998 showcased works from 1993 to 1998 and included some of her famous giant spiders.
5. “SONIC YOUTH etc.: SENSATIONAL FIX” (2009)
The exhibition “SONIC YOUTH etc.: SENSATIONAL FIX” focused on the groundbreaking experimental guitar band Sonic Youth and their multifaceted activities since the band was formed in 1981. From day one, Sonic Youth has explored and mapped unknown cultural territories, both collectively as a band and as four individual musicians, visual artists, and cultural entrepreneurs, each with their own connections to and within the international cultural scene. The exhibition presented the band’s collaborations with visual artists, filmmakers, designers, and musicians, as well as a number of other works selected by the band.
Read more about the exhibition “Sonic Youth etc.: Sensational fix“
6. Misaki Kawai – “Big Bubble” (2011)
The Japanese artist Misaki Kawai (b. 1978) works with painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, and artists’ books. Her works are filled with vibrant characters that seem to be taken from the dream worlds of film, music, and comics. Strongly influenced by today’s consumer society – of which she is a part of – Kawai merges East with West, humor with seriousness, and dreams with reality. The result is both chaotic and overwhelming. The large, neon-pink dog “Doggy Dog” became a favorite among visitors, and its pink fur lingered in the art hall’s nooks and crannies long after the exhibition had closed.
7. Damián Ortega – “Casino” (2016)
“Casino” was Damián Ortega’s (b. 1967) first solo exhibition in Sweden. In his works, he explores what sculpture is by using everyday objects and undermining their original meaning. The exhibition provided a comprehensive overview of Ortega’s artistic career. His sculptures, installations, performance works, and films take on a unique character through their interaction with the exhibition spaces at Malmö Konsthall. The Volkswagen is a recurring object in Ortega’s art, appearing both intact, dismantled, and in a film, traveling through Mexico, as part of the exhibition.
8. “Pressure | Imprint” (2017)
“Pressure | Imprint” showcased works by three artists from different generations who have worked with graphic and technological printing processes in an experimental and expanded field. Using various materials and both analog and digital processes, Charlotte Johannesson, Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt, and Ester Fleckner have created distinctive and highly personal visual worlds.
9. “Leonilson – Drawn: 1975–1993” (2021)
“Leonilson – Drawn: 1975–1993” was the first major retrospective exhibition in Europe of the Brazilian artist José Leonilson (b. 1957). The exhibition at Malmö Konsthall provided an overview of Leonilson’s entire artistic career – a wide range of forms and styles, from his early, vibrant paintings and drawings to the more introspective embroideries he created during the final years of his life.
Read more about the exhibition “Leonilson – Drawn: 1975–1993”