Missing.
Small Wolf in Bronze.
Has Disappeared

Art at the Academy of Fine Art, Oslo 2013
- In dialogue with the Art Collection of the State Academy of Fine Art Oslo 1954-1980.

On a wall painted a colour one hardly associates with modernism, nevertheless relating to Mies van der Rohe’s colour scheme, works of students from Oslo Academy of Fine Art are presented together with a selection of works from the Art Collection of the former State Academy of Fine Art in Oslo. Regardless of the precarious status of the art object for the past hundred years, the artwork still stands at the core of art education. This exhibition examines the historical and contemporary status of the artwork within the institutional framework of an Art Academy.

Between 1954-1980, the former State Academy of Fine Art regularly acquired artworks for its own collection, mainly paintings, drawings and sculptures by students based on an annual selection by the professors, but also the occasional work by a professor. The collection of the State Academy of Fine Art has lead a nomadic existence, and has never been adequately displayed in its entirety or shown publicly over a longer period of time. Singular works were, however, occasionally on display at the various premises of the State Academy of Fine Art.

When the Academy of Fine Art moved from its former premises to co-locate with Oslo National Academy of the Arts, KHiO, in 2010, its collection was placed in storage. The move actualized the question of how art is handled by an institution that educates artists, and the collection and its history has since 2010 been an object of study in numerous exhibitions* as part of the Painting program at the Academy of Fine Art in Oslo.

With the exhibition Missing. Small Wolf in Bronze. Has disappeared at the Academy Room in Kunstnernes Hus, the collection returns to its place of origin in the sense that part of the works previously were on display in the rear building of Kunstnernes Hus, built to house the Art Academy. It is highly possible that some of the historical works have been executed in the studios located on the floors above the Academy Room. However, the current exhibition demonstrates above all future possibilities, as the studios at Kunstnernes Hus will accommodate recipients of studio stipends from the FKDS (Fondet for Kunst- og Designstudenter KHiO) commencing Fall 2014, as a worthy continuation of the former Master Studios at Drammensveien that had to be abandoned in Spring 2013. This perspective is further underscored by the acquisition proposal for a new work as a bequest to the dormant Art Collection of the former State Academy of Fine Art.

* -academy, P0, Inauguration Exhibition KHiO, 2010; The Gagged Archive, in collaboration with ISH, Paris; Søylegalleriet KHiO 2011; The Educational Art Show, MFAPS Malmøgata Fine Art Project Space 2011; Figure Possible, Steenstrupsgate Galleri, KHiO 2013

Painted Wall #e5d1c0: Espen Gleditsch

The first potential acquisition of an artwork to the Art Collection of the Academy of Fine Art since 1980. The work acquired by Chandra Sen is offered as a bequest to the Art Collection. To be announced on the 29th of November 2013.

Artists (2013):
Chandra Sen, Tarald Wassvik, Espen Gleditsch, Martin Titus Boguslaw, Johan Carlsson, Carl Mannow, Endre Opheim, Carl Segelberg, Daniel Lynau, Mikael Lo Presti, Selma Sjöstedt, Stine Horgen Bø, Liv Karin Heie Ertzeid, Andreas Skjelde, Dag Erik Elgin

Artists (1954-1980): Rolf Hidle, Synnøve Persen, Ole Kristian Reinsbu, Kari Ryen, Anne Karin Sundquist, Bjørg Mathisen, Cornelius Røe Christiansen, Erik Wessel, Reidun Kleiven, G. Mørch, Helge Korvald, Solveig Lohne, J. Stubban, Gudrun Kongelf, Asbjørn Hægland, Elisabeth Steen, Ivar Sjaastad,Trygve M Baarstad,
(Artists before 1954): Thorvald Erichsen, Aage Storstein, NN.

Missing, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo 2013
La Collection Moderne/van Doesburg: Missing, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo 2013

Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo 2013
Missing, installation view: Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo 2013