THE CONCRETE FLOOR: NORWEGIAN ARTIST DUO WON THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Against strong competition, the artist duo Beret Aksnes/Vegar Moen won the commission for an artwork to be installed in the concrete floor. "With this piece, Kilden will gain a beautiful work of art that offers stimulating experiences. The winning project refers to the facility's location and has both local and international dimensions, says Per Hess, Head of Jury.

The artists, whose individual practices differ significantly both in terms of subject matter and style, have collaborated for a few years. As an artist duo, they compliment one another, and strive to explore new approaches to art in public spaces. This makes for a certain tension that helps accentuate the distinctive character of each artist’s work while also opening up for a multitude of associations and experiences in the viewer. Where Vegar Moen’s work depicts the world around us the way it is perceived and interpreted through the camera, Beret Aksnes’s pieces presents an echo of reality by recoding numerical descriptions of the physical world.  Realism versus abstraction is their point of departure when creating artworks that relate to buildings’ purpose, function and situation.  Working in stringent visual styles, both artists strive to create artworks that enter into precise dialogues with the light conditions and architectural character of the relevant sites. They also want their art to invite audience involvement.

Visual Artist Beret Aksnes has a degree in fibre art from the Bergen College of Arts and Crafts (now part of Bergen National Academy of the Arts), which she attended from 1975-1979. Photographer Vegar Moen graduated from the Trondheim Academy of Fine art at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (1993-1998).

Excerpt from Juror’s Evaluation:
This represents a beautiful, exciting and refined work of art. The floor is given new distinct character with a well balanced composition in relation to the whole. Rich in references to history and cultural exchange, the cast-in shapes have qualities which stimulate curiosity and have a potential of engaging the publics’ interaction. The origin and significance of the individual shapes can be interpreted in a variety of ways, thus offering a lasting experience. The content refers to a floor, an urban grid, and has links to shipping and thus communication, which reflects the building’s function as an international cultural arena.

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Se images of the winning proposal>>>