Jenny Say Qua is over

Jenny Say Qua featured works by Anna-Sophie Berger (AT), Christophe Hamaide-Pierson (FR), Martyn Reynolds (NZ) and Halvor Rønning (N).

On display at Rogaland Kunstsenter from 1st September to 23rd October 2016. Curated by Geir Haraldseth, director of Rogaland Kunstsenter. 

The title is a play on the French je ne sais quoi, something undefinable, yet special. Three of the artists are recent graduates and are now facing important questions and decisions as artists; who are they, what do they want to work with, and who do they want to work with? Hamaide-Pierson has been active for over a decade collaborating with practitioners across disciplines and has been part of the collective assume vivid astro focus since 2004. His work transforms the setting for the exhibition itself and provides you with a new perspective on the art. Literally.

Berger exhibits a series of drawings that function as a form of therapeutic diary, colored in mandalas with fragments from one day in each of the six Mandalas. In addition, an edit of the video Innocent Bodies is on display, and the work grows larger and larger as the artist adds footage from her phone. Berger studied fashion and will also show a textile work. Reynolds and Rønning have worked together since they met as students at the art academy in Vienna and exhibit a series of digital collages based on works by Rønning. The collages are printed on different textiles, mixing fragile lines with images from advertising and gossip magazines, testing out a look. Together they have also constructed moving plinths that zoom around the space, navigating the privileged gallery space with robotic ease. 

Jenny Say Qua is, as the title suggests, an open and indefinable exhibition, and forms part of the kunstsenter’s quest to explore collective artistic processes. Over a period of 1 ½ years the artists and curator, Geir Haraldseth, have been talking about challenges and issues pertaining to the work and life of an artist. They have been joined in conversation by the German philosopher Philipp Kleinmichel, who recently published his first book Im Namen der Kunst with Passagen. The ongoing conversation has resulted in a publication to be launched at the opening and can be ordered by getting in touch with the kunstsenter. The publication is designed by the British collective Sunday School with kind support by Stavanger kommune.