The thing that struck me most was how complex the works are when seen up close.
'stroke' (full):
'stroke' (detail 1):
'stroke' (detail 2):
'stroke' (detail 3):
'post' (full):
'post' (detail):
'core' (full):
'core' (detail 1):
'core' (detail 2):
'core' (detail 3):
'birthcancerdeath' (full):
'birthcancerdeath' (detail):
My full set of photos from the 'Echo' exhibition at Stolper + Friends in Oslo is on Flickr.
The gallery itself is very nice, and has a great location. From what I understand, there was a steady stream of visitors throughout the weekend due to the a-ha party events. Both times I was there, there were at least 10-15 people milling around looking at the art. I had to smile when several different people mentioned to me, 'Look, it says "little black heart"! He included an a-ha lyric in his art!' (this was on the large 'E' shape that recurs a few times, which was also the Alpha Beta print I bought) It was almost like a comforting association for people, a sign that Magne hadn't turned his back on a-ha or something. Whereas I always thought that phrase was uniquely Magne's, and only 'on loan' to a-ha for one song ;-) But that's the interesting thing about art, both or neither of those things can be true, and what we take away of value is what matters.
There was a selection of books available for sale as well as catalogues from past exhibitions: Payne's Gray, Monologues, the Alpha Beta card set, Some Magazine (featuring Apparatjik) and something out of legend: a stack of copies of the stunning 1997 book "Blåtoneboulevardene" ('Blue Note Boulevards').
I had heard of it but had never seen a copy in person, had in fact assumed they were all long since sold and maintained by a few select collectors. As soon as I saw it, I was practically itching to get my hands on it, and when told the price (after a quick visual consultation with a knowledgeable collector) couldn't believe my luck. 'It's a great price' her nod told me, 'Go for it.' It wasn't until I had slowly paged through the entire book, 3000 miles away at home, that I noticed it was signed and numbered: 252/270. A very interesting and moving read, and the wood cut prints are amazingly colorful and varied. I'm really glad to have this in my collection :-)
'Echo' runs through January 15 at Stolper + Friends. Well worth a visit if you're in Oslo in the coming weeks!
