The gallery is honored to present the exhibition Ultima, the first solo exhibition in France with the contemporary artist Gjertrud Hals. Born in 1948 on the Northwest coast of Norway, Gjertrud Hals is considered as an important pioneer in the field of Scandinavian fiber art. She has participated in redefining textile art by liberating it from the loom and displaying it in space as three-dimensional sculpture. Her international breakthrough came in the mid-1980s with Lava, a series of big urns made of cotton and flax pulp that marked her transition from textile- to sculptural fiber art. In 1987 she received the First Prize of the Metro Arts International Art Competition in New York, followed in 1989 by the Grand Prix of the Kyoto International Textile Competition. Her works have been acquired by important private and public collections such as the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo, The Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Lausanne and The Bellerive Museum in Zürich.
The title of the present exhibition – ULTIMA – is derived from Gjertrud Hals’ ample eponymous vessels, delicately knitted from cotton and linen threads hardened with resin. These one-meter tall, featherweight vessels are hardly touching the ground. There is a certain contradiction between their size and their lightness. They seem to be in levitation and appear almost like a vision. Their ambiguous presence is further enhanced by their incapacity to contain anything (but themselves) due to their soft, perforated structure. They are self-contained so to speak. Yet, in spite of their delicate transparency, they convey a feeling of quiet strength. The shell form of the Ultima pieces is central to Gjertrud Hals’ art. In the words of the curator Tove Lande…”For Gjertrud Hals, the shell is both an ideogram and an archetypal symbol. She prefers to use dense symbols that can encompass several meanings, and for her the shell is precisely that type of symbol. On the one hand it represents the protective membrane between life and death; on the other hand it is a symbol of the jar or vessel. In addition, the shape reminds her strongly of the shells that she used to play with as a child on the beaches of Finnøya.” (Tove Lande: Delicate Pillars. Weighty Threads.In: Gjertrud Hals. Soejlens Letthet. Traadens Tyngde. Kunstmuseet KUBE. 2008. pp 75).
The shell is indeed compared, by Gjertrud Hals, to an organic membrane – protecting, fragile, fatal and liberating at once as…”Premature fracture of many fragile protective shells or membranes means almost immediate death or destruction. On the other hand, a cleavage at the right moment can mean life liberating itself, or even an idea or thought which breaks forth and materializes itself in creativity”. With Ultima, the artist seems to approach, conceptually and technically, the fascinating ambiguity between fragility and force, art and death,
Some artists feel so rooted in their home region that it becomes an integrated part of their life and art, as organically inseparable from them as an arm, as vital as air. In the remarkable portrait movie Black Sun, Gjertrud Hals tells the hair-rising story of how the little island Finnøya on the North West coast of Norway lost half of its population in one single afternoon, when 13 people drowned during a sudden storm, while they tried to reach the church on a neighbour island. This tragic event happened more than 100 years ago, but it never lost its ambiguous power of terror and excitement to Hals, who was born on the island in 1948. “As a child I loved stories about shipwrecks and accidents at sea. People who stayed alive on reefs and islets…or who had raised lots of children for instance, and then lost them one by one. It sounds weird to say I loved it, but it was in a childlike manner. Joy mixed with terror. In those days we had no horror movies. We only had these stories.” (Black Sun, movie). Gjertrud Hals’ upbringing on the little island Finnøya is profoundly anchored in her art and heart, and her relationship to the region’s nature and culture is deep and complex. So is her inspiration from the Nordic mythology, in which she sees a parallel to everyday life and culture.
Trained in the art of tapestry weaving in the 1970s, Gjertrud Hals’ interest in feminism and women’s culture draws her towards the new Polish wave of women artists exploring the sculptural potential of textile, such as Claire Zeisler and Magdalena Abakanowicz. The word fiber art occurred in the United States in the 1960s, and the first fiber art exhibition (“Woven Forms”) took place in New York at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in 1963. Before, this style was referred to as “off-loom”, and it is the process of binding elements together, which comes from weaving, that is the common denominator of fiber art.Connecting and binding together characterizes indeed Gjertrud Hals’ art, both literately and symbolically. Many of her works are grid structures made of cotton and linen crochets, covered with paper pulp. Often strange little objects, objets trouvés, are added such as animal skeletons and feathers alongside with plastic capsules or embroideries from India or made by her grandmother, such as in the work Fenris. They look a bit like the kind of “treasures” children find. The poetic dimension is further enhanced by the introduction of fragmentized words or letters, delicately appearing through the grid structures before vanishing again. Like a spider’s web, these weavings seem to capture the traces of life as time goes by. Like small micro-cosmoses, inspired by mythological story-telling and childrens world, Gjertrud Hals’ works seem to possess their own laws and logics, moving somewhere between delicate neatness and unrestrained inspiration. In the words of the artist, they propose a reflection “…on the relationship between nature and culture, in which the life of modern man is moving between chaos and order. Forces of nature and war create chaos, after which a new order is elaborated, always a bit the same and always a little different than the previous. “
Gjertrud Hals works tirelessly, always seeking out new experiences. She has constantly been exploring new techniques, as she weaves, knits, casts, sprays and cuts her way through various materials, mostly natural fibers such as flax, paper, cotton, roots and plants that she elaborates during physical and time-consuming sessions. Her focus on natural fibers comes from her frequent travels to Japan, where she admires the old, holy Shinto temples and learns to make paper. The Japanese actually have the same word for paper and for God, Kami, and it’s the discovery of Japan’s old nature-worthshipping religion, Shintoism, that puts nature is in the heart of Gjertrud Hals’ work, not only as a material, but as small pieces of natural life, that she draws into her works in a direct manner, using roots, liechen, branches, such as in the works Pair and Irmin: “With the number of things happening in the world today, it feels right to focus on a small segment by conserving a small part of it. It reminds me of my collections of shells and insects in my childhood. It has always given me great pleasure to create order out of chaos. (Gjertrud Hals in: Tove Lande, Delicate Pillars. Weighty Threads/Gjertrud Hals. Soejlens Letthet. Traadens Tyngde. Kunstmuseet KUBE. 2008. pp 77).
It is also Shintoism that opens her eyes for the Norse mythology. She is struck by the feeling of something very familiar. So many things in today’s culture are rooted in these stories, and she feels an immediate and almost overwhelming connection.
In the documentary movie Black Sun, the artist explains her spiritual approach to art and techniques:“During the last 25 years, I’ve had a fling with Zen Buddhism. It focuses on technique but not for show. It’s continued technical exercise. You should exercise so much that you forget the technique. And, in the end, yourself…Zen Buddhism is very down to earth. It’s about getting in touch with your inner child, that reminds me of things I know from way back in my culture…my background…Christianity…and the essence of the New Testament. Jesus says several places, in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, that if you don’t become a child again, then you’re not allowed in heaven. In that way, there is something in common…this simple down to earth mysticism. You can’t get there by keeping a safe distance. You must get into to it, to take part in it.” (Black Sun, movie)
It’s all about finding your inner child… getting into it, forgetting to keep a safe distance, being ALL IN, like a child, shipwrecks, spider’s web, snakes, animal skeletons, and all. Chaos and order. Joy mixed with terror. Combining big and small, high and low, Gjertrud Hals mixes auto-biographical and feminist themes with legendary story telling, folk art and fine art, profane and sacred…a simple down to earth mysticism as she names it, that calls for the child.
ULTIMA / Grey Pearl
2015, 90 x 95 (d) cm
Linen and cotton threads, pigment, epoxy
Unique piece
ULTIMA / Grey Pearl
View of the installation at the BAERUM ART HALL, 2015
Gjertrud Hals is considered as one of the redefining figures of textile art, liberating fiber from the loom and displaying it in space as three-dimensional sculpture. Her works have been acquired by private and public collections, such as the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo; The Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York; The Museum of Decorative Arts, Lausanne, Mobilier National Les Gobelins and the Bellerive Museum in Zürich.
In 1987, Gjertrud Hals was granted First Prize in the Metro Arts International Art Competition in New York, followed by the Grand Prix in the Kyoto International Textile Competition in 1989.
Gjertrud Hals’ upbringing on the little island of Finnøya is profoundly anchored in her art, and her relationship to the region’s nature and culture is deep and complex. Hals focuses on natural fibers that she transforms through various techniques including weaving, knitting, casting, spraying and cutting. Trained in the art of tapestry-weaving in the 1970’s, Gjertrud Hals’ interest in feminism and women’s culture associates her with the new wave of women artists exploring the sculptural potential of textile.
Gjertrud Hals’ art, both literately and symbolically. Many of her works are formed of structures made of cotton and linen crochets covered with paper pulp or resin. Often strange little objects, objets trouvés, such as animal skeletons, plants and branches are combined with metal wires or bound with papier mâché. They look a bit like the kind of “treasures” children might find. Like a spider’s web, these weavings seem to capture the traces of life as time goes by, or as Gjertrud Hals puts it “With the number of things happening in the world today, it feels right to focus on a small segment by conserving a part of it.”
Like small micro-cosmoses, inspired by mythological story-telling and children’s worlds, Gjertrud Hals’ works seem to possess their own laws and logics, moving somewhere between delicate neatness and unrestrained inspiration. In the words of the artist, they propose a reflection “…on the relationship between nature and culture, in which the lives of modern humans are moving between chaos and order. Forces of nature and war create chaos, after which a new order is elaborated, always both the same and a little bit different than the previous.“
EDUCATION :
1971-72 SLFN, degree in Art Education
1975-77 SLFO, degree in Art Education
1986-87 Art Academy, Trondheim
SOLO EXHIBITIONS :
2020 « Sanctum », Galerie Maria Wettergren, Paris
2018 Gjennom Maskene. Krona, Romsdalsmuseet
2017 DET GULE HUSET,Asker
2015 Galerie Maria Wettergren, Paris / Bærum Art Hall, Bærum
2014 Himmerland Art Museum, Aars, Denmark / Kube Art Museum, Ålesund
2012 Gallery RAM, Oslo
2011 Rauland Art Association / Molde International Jazz Festival, Festival Artist
2010 Ode to the roots, KMR, Molde
2008 Kube Art Museum, Ålesund / Norwegian Forest Museum, Elverum
2007 Vadsø Art Association, Vadsø
2006 Gallery Heer, Oslo
2005 Gallery Svalbard, Longyearbyen / Gallery HAV, Hustad
2004 Gallery Heer, Oslo
2003 Gallery III, Oslo
2002 Trondheim Art Museum, Trondheim
2000 Gallery Elvetun, Sykkylven / Nils Aas Art Studio, Inderøy
1999 Gallery Barbara, Sunndalsøra / The Bjørnson Festival, Festival of International Literature, Molde
1998 Aukra Art Association, Aukra
1994 Gallery Åkern, Kongsberg
1991 Levanger Art Association, Levanger
1990 North Norwegian Art Center, Svolvær
1989 Gallery Wang, Oslo
1988 Molde International Jazz Festival, Festival Artist / Shæffergården, Copenhagen / Gallery F15, Moss
1985 Møre og Romsdal Art Center, Molde
GROUP EXHIBITION (SELECTED):
2022 Homo Faber, Next of Europe, Venice
2022 Résaux-Mondes. Mutations / Créations 5 au Centre Pompidou, Paris
2021 The National Annual Exhibition( Høstutstillingen)
2021 In search of Japandi-Exploring East/West Design. browngrotta arts, Wilon CT
2021 Årstider-der jeg er. Hovedøya Kunstsal, Oslo
2020 TEFAF Maastricht
2019/18/17/16/15 PAD Paris, Galerie Maria Wettergren
2019/18/17/16/15 PAD London Art+Design, Galerie Maria Wettergren
2019/18/17/16/15 Design Miami/Basel, Galerie Maria Wettergren
2018 70 – 100, Baerum Art Hall
2018/17/16/15 The Salon: Art+Design NY, Galerie Maria Wettergren
2018 Threads & Fibers, Contemporary Scandinavian Design, Galerie Maria Wettergren
2017 Fiberfeber, Museum of Decorative Art, Trondheim
2016 Apent Rom, Nils Aas Art Studio, Straumen
2016/15 Art Genéve, Galerie Maria Wettergren
2015 Pãivitetty pitsi(modern lace art).Hankasalmi, Finland/ Herfra. Kube Art Museum, Ålesund / Interwoven. Merzbau Gallery, Miami / Art in Nature. Landart in Vengedalen, Romsdal / Fattig kunst-rik arv. National Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo / Art Genéve, Galerie MW
2014 The Vevring Exhibition, Vevring / Design Miami/Basel Galerie Maria Wettergren / Stavanger Art Museum, Stavanger
2012 Lost Garden, Høvikodden / Moving, Ålesund
2011 Art in Nature, Landart in Vengedalen, Romsdal / Paper Art Exhibition, Seitenstetten, Austria
2010 Goddesses II, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo / Knitting and Stitching Shows, London / The Holland Paper Art Biennial 2010, Apeldoorn and Rijswijk
2009 Art in Nature, Landart in Vengedalen, Romsdal
2005 Identity, Kube Art Museum, Ålesund
2003 Modern Masters, Munich
2002 Masterpieces –Capolavori, Turin / Norwegian Textile Artists 25 years, Notodden
2001 S0FA-Sculpture Object and Functional Art, New York
2000 International Art Festival – Art 21, Palm Spring
1998 Cellulose, International Touring Exhibition in The Nordic Countries / 9th Triennial of Tapestry, Lódz / The Annual Exhibition for Trøndelag
1997 Shelter, International Art Exhibition, Trondheim / International Triennial of Tapestry and Textile Art, Tournai / Norwegian Textile Artists 20 years, Oslo / Blue, Haugar Art Museum, Tønsberg
1996 Flax and Linnen Biennial, Rouen and Paris / The Annual Exhibition for Northern Norway
1995 Art -Material, Brandts Klædefabrik, Odense / International Touring Exhibition in Scandinavia and Spain
1994 Paper Art, Gemeente Amstelveen Museum, Amsterdam / Norwegian Art, Gallery Brandstrup, Oslo / Heimdal Art Exhibition, Trondheim
1992 Gallery “Kunst und Handwerk”, Munich / Ode de la coupe, Museum of Decorative Art, Lausanne / 3. Basketry Invitational, Michigan / Kryss-Crossing Borders, Regional Art Center, Hordaland
1991 European Craft, Stuttgart / Crossing Borders, Gallery F15, Moss
1991 Configura, Art in Europe, Erfurt
1990 Nordform, art , craft, design and architecture, Malmö / Gallery Ram, Oslo / International Biennial of Paper Art, Düren
1989 Splendid Forms, Bellas Artes Gallery, Santa Fe and New York / Nordic Textile Triennial / New Norwegian Textile Art, Museum of Decorative Art, Trondheim / ITF International Textile Competition`89, Kyoto / Perspective on Paper, Maihaugen, Lillehammer
1988 Neo Tradition, Museum of Decorative Art, Trondheim / The Tactile Vessel, Touring Exhibition in USA / Textile Art 88, Maihaugen, Lillehammer / The National Annual Exhibition (Høstutstillingen) / Metro Art´s International Art Competition, New York
1987 The National Annual Exhibition
1986 The Annual Exhibition for Western Norway (Vestlandsutstillingen)
1984 The National Annual Exhibition / The Annual Exhibition for Western Norway / The 3.Michoacan Int. Exhibition of Miniature Textiles, Mexico / 5th Int. Biennial of Miniature Textiles, Ungarn / The Annual Exhibition for Trøndelag
1983 The National Annual Exhibition / The Annual Exhibition for Western Norway
1982 The National Annual Exhibition / Nordic Textile Triennia
1981 The Annual Exhibition for Western Norway
1980 The National Annual Exhibition / The Annual Exhibition for Western Norway / The UKS Spring Exhibition / Art and Church, Trondheim
1979 The Annual Exhibition for Western Norway / The UKS Spring Exhibition Oslo / The Annual Exhibition for Eastern Norway
1975 Norwegian Contemporary Textile, Oslo Art Association, Oslo
COMMISSIONS :
2014 Kristiansund College
2013 NGLMS, Otta
2012 Teatret Vårt, Møre og Romsdal
2009 Molde District Psychiatric Centre Knausen
2006 Shell Administration Building, Aukra
2004 Stabekk School, Bærum
2002 Bjørnson Consert House, Molde / Rica Seilet Hotel, Molde
1998 Aker Stadion, Molde / Julsundet School, Aukra
1997 Statoil Administration Building, Tjeldbergodden
1994 Molde University College, Molde / Frostating Court of Appeal, Molde
1993 Brage Oil Platform
1992 Draugen Oil Platform
1987 Molde Church, Molde / Nord-Heggdal Chapel, Misund
1986 Fræna School, Elnesvågen
1986 Kleive Nursing Home, Molde
1985 Kirkelandet Chapel, Kristiansund
1984 Sunndal Nursing Home, Sunndal
1983 Ulsteinvik Day Nursery Home, Ulsteinvik
1981 Ørsta Nursing Home, Ørsta
COLLECTIONS (SELECTED) :
Mobilier National, Les Gobelins, Paris / Kube Art Museum, Ålesund / Museum Bellerive, Zurich / Museum of Decorative Art, Lausanne / American Craft Museum, New York / Erie Art Museum, Pennsylvania / Leopold-Hoesch Museum, Düren / The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo / The National Museum of Decorative Arts, Trondheim / Arts Council Norway / Bob Kelly Gallery, Gothenborg / Sør-Trøndelag County Art Collection / Nord-Trøndelag County Art Collection / Møre og Romsdal County Art Collection
Finnmark County Art Collection / Bærum Municipal Art Collection / Oslo Municipal Art Collection / Aukra Municipal Art Collection / Daiichishiko Co. Ltd. Kyoto / Aker Stadion Art Collection, Molde / Fjord 1, MRF / KS, The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities / The County Hospital, Molde / Molde University College / Ergan Coastal Defences ( World War 2 Museum), Bud
GRANTS AND AWARDS :
2014 BKH Exhibition Grant
2011 BKH Exhibition Grant
2010 Arts Councils Exhibition Grant
2007 Arts Councils Exhibition Grant
2004 Arts Councils Exhibition Grant
2002 Bærum Municipal Art Prize
2000 Arts Councils Exhibition Grant
1989 Grand Prix, International Textile Competition`89, Kyoto
1987 1.Prize, Metro Arts Intern. Art Competition, New York
1998 Ingrid Linbäk Langaard Foundation / The Inadomi Foundation
1997 The National Guarantee Income for Artists
1992 The National Work Grant for Artists (3 years)
1991 Rune Brynestad Memorial Legacy
1990 Vederlagsfondet Grant
1989 Sasakawa Foundation / Vederlagsfondet Grant
1988 Ingrid Linbäk Langaard Foundation
1986 Norwegian Artists Legacy
1984 National Grant
1981 UKS( Young Artists Association) Grant
PUBLICATIONS (SELECTED) :
2015 contemporarybasketry.blogspot.com/ July 2015
2014 Textile around the World (book) / Textiel Plus, nr 228
2010 www.ofpaperandthings.com (6.11.2010) / www.paperphine.com(june 10, 2010)
2010 Biography in Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon/World Biographical Dictionary.
2007 Kunst for alle, nr 6( magazine).
1997 Black Sun, Mona Bentzen, Norwegian Film Institute. (A film about the artist Gjertrud Hals).
1997 Art textiles des pays nordiques, No tele( film/video)
1996 Linnaissable lin, Fiber Art Synergy( film/video)
1991 Europäisches Kunsthandwerk, LGA (book) / Configura 1, Art in Europe (book)
1989 The tactile vessel, Erie Art Museum (book) / Kunst + handwerk, nr 4 ( magazine)
