PRESS RELEASE: NORWEGIAN ARTIST DUO WINS INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION FOR ARTWORK AT KILDEN

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.

Following an international pre-qualification round, the Kilden Arts Committee invited the following artists to participate in a closed competition: Petteri Nisunen/Tommi Grönlund (FI), Sofie Berntsen (NO), Brian Tolle (USA), Xavier Veilhan (FR), Anne Bårdsgård/Merete Christensen (NO), and Beret Aksnes/Vegar Moen (NO). The invited artists were selected on the basis of distinctive and interesting previous projects, as well as their ability to carry out a commission of such magnitude and complexity. The artwork integrated into the concrete floor measuring 2000 square meters (approximately 21 530 square feet) will raise Kilden's profile as a centre for the arts.

The art project is organized by Public Art Norway – KORO on a commission from Kilden IKS, Theatre and Concert Hall for Southern Norway. The appointed arts committee that also constituted the contest jury was comprised of the following members: Per Hess, Head of Jury and Art Consultant; Anne Aanerud, Secretary of the Jury and Art Consultant; Samuli Woolston, Architect Representative /ALA Architects; Arild Strømsvåg, User Representative, General manager of Agder Teater; Toril Runden, Kilden Representative, Deputy Regional Mayor; Dagny Anker Gevelt, Kilden Representative, former Director of Culture in the Municipality of Kristiansand.

Contacts:

Per Hess, Head of Jury and Arts Committee Chairman, cell phone +1 47 414 20 870, per@perhess.com

Vegar Moen, Photographer, cell phone +1 47 975 46 608, vegar@vegarmoen.com

Beret Aksnes, Visual Artist, cell phone +1 47 950 38 702, beret@broadpark.no

For more information and images: www.koro.no, www.kilden.com, www.vegarmoen.com

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Sincerely,

Beate Styri
Formidlings- og informasjonsleder / Head of Communications