Akseli Gallen-Kallela - In the Wilderness 31 Januar 2009 – 03 May 2009
Compelling interpretations of nature by Finland’s great national artist Akseli Gallen-
Kallela
In the spring of 2009 GL STRAND has been granted the unique opportunity to show an
exhibition with Finland’s maybe greatest artist through the times, Akseli Gallen-Kallela
(1865-1931). There has been an increasing interest in Gallen-Kallela’s art internationally
and at the moment his grand piece Ad Astra is exhibited at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
The exhibition in GL STRAND will be the first large Nordic exhibition of his work outside
Finland.
AKSELI GALLEN-KALLELA – IN THE WILDERNESS presents over 100 paintings and
water colors, all reflecting a major theme in Gallen-Kallela’s work, namely his
picturesque interpretations of the unspoiled and impressive qualities of Finnish nature.
Alongside unsentimental portraits of the poor rural population he also painted symbolic
interpretations of the Finnish nature and mythology. There is a distinct relationship in
Gallen-Kallela’s work with his Nordic fellow painters from the period around The Modern
Breakthrough. Gallen-Kallela met his colleagues at Académie Julien in Paris, among
these the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch and the Danish artist J.F. Willumsen.
Tomer Ganihar 31 Januar 2009 – 03 May 2009
Life beyond war, tanks, death and corruption
The exhibition with the Israeli photographer Tomer Ganihar will reflect his great
involvement in the contemporary human and aesthetic relations in our world. Ganihar,
who was born in 1970 in Tel Aviv, Israel and now lives and works in New York, is a
rising star on the contemporary international art scene. Preoccupied with conjuring up a
historic connectedness between people his photo series Raves, depicturing dancing and
contemplative young people at the so called rave parties in Israel, bring a human sense
of community into focus that escapes notions of nationality, religion and social status.
In his poetic portrayal of for instance the community of rave parties and especially the
universally human qualities of light all over the world, Ganihar shows a vital alternative to
the dominant stories of conflict in contemporary media where young Israelis are primarily
mentioned in connection to attacks on Palestinians or as victims of bomb explosions in
night clubs.
The exhibition in GL STRAND also includes the bizarre series Mannequins which was
shown in the international exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2007. The photographs
were taken when Ganihar returned to Israel a few days after the initiation of The second
Lebanese War. Synthetic mannequin dolls from a training department in a military
hospital constitute real bomb victims, but they are staged with clown hair and
exaggerated expressions of suffering. Ganihar hereby conjures up the absurdity and
cynicism of the reality and meaninglessness of war.
