Participating artists: Nina Beier (b. 1975, DK), Dag Erik Elgin (b. 1962, NO), Annika von Hausswolff (b. 1967, SE), Kaarina Kaikkonen (b. 1952, FI) and Ragnar Kjartansson (b. 1976, IS) On Friday 19 January, Galleri Bo Bjerggaard opens its exhibition Nordic Views in the gallery’s east and west-facing rooms. Nordic Views is the result of a collaborative project between the gallery and our Nordic colleagues. The exhibition presents five Nordic artists, all of whom have made their mark on the contemporary art scene in their various fields. At the exhibition, the visitor encounters Nina Beier’s installation Liquid Assets from 2013. As the title suggests, and typically for Beier, the concept of ‘value’ is placed in focus, and the relationship between art and market is explored – in this case via a disassembled bronze statue of a knight, presented in vitrines that mimic a national museum context. The original context and meaning has been erased in favour of the value of the material and the object’s newly-acquired categorisation as ‘Art’. The conceptual focus continues in the next room, where Dag Erik Elgin presents a selection from his new series of paintings Mirror falling from the Wall from 2017. All of the works measure 110 x 92 cm, with the image field divided into two rectangles – one without a ground, and one covered in oil paint in various colours. The dimensions and composition are a direct reference to Caravaggio's Narcissus (1597-99), while the words in the paintings are a combination of actual information about the work – such as the number of staples and amount of binder used – and concepts closely related to painting as a centuries-old practice and myth. Annika von Hausswolff’s photographic works occupy the final room in the west wing. Hausswolff is known for her staged photography, in which she makes use of the documentary power of the medium and arouses the curiosity of the viewer to know the foregoing story – what happened here? I am the Runway of Your Thoughts from 2008, in which a young woman poses with a small model aircraft, is in line with this. The series has clear phallic references, but takes its starting-point in the artist’s own fear of flying and an attempt to overcome this. There is a similarly personal starting-point in What My Mother Taught Me, which derives from the artist's memory of a hand game her mother played with her when she was a child. Investing yourself and your origins in the work is also an approach utilised by the Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson. In the gallery’s east-facing room, Kjartansson shows five paintings from the series Architecture and Morality from 2016. Kjartansson spent two weeks on the West Bank in the Israeli settlements, where he painted plein-air the houses and the view around him; everyday life in its most banal form – laundry, a house, a bicycle – in one of the most volatile political hot spots in the world and our time. In the adjacent room, Kaarina Kaikkonen exhibits her textile works. I Had The Upper Hand from 2017 and I make mistakes from 2013 are both sculptural installations with female connotations, formed from men’s shirts and suits. Similarly, I Tried To Organize My Life from 2017 is a labyrinthine, free-flowing formation of rolled-up shirts that throws a play of shadows on the wall behind it. Childhood memories of her parents – including her father’s early death – form a continuous theme for the Finnish artist, materialized through the strong symbolic value and charge of the textiles. Deltagende kunstnere: Nina Beier (f. 1975, DK), Dag Erik Elgin (f. 1962, NO), Annika von Hausswolff (f. 1967, SE), Kaarina Kaikkonen (f. 1952, FI) og Ragnar Kjartansson (f. 1976, IS) Fredag den 19. januar åbner Galleri Bo Bjerggaard udstillingen Nordic Views i galleriets øst- og vestvendte rum. Nordic Views er resultatet af et samarbejde mellem galleriet og vore nordiske kollegaer. Udstillingen præsenterer fem nordiske kunstnere, der hver især har gjort sig bemærkede indenfor eget felt på samtidskunstscenen. På udstillingen mødes den besøgende først af Nina Beiers installation Liquid Assets fra 2013. Som titlen antyder og typisk for Beier, er begrebet ’værdi’ sat i stævne og forholdet mellem kunst og marked udforskes her med en ophugget ridderstatue i bronze præsenteret i montrer, der mimer en nationalmuseal kontekst. Den oprindelige kontekst og betydning er udvisket til fordel for materialets værdi og objektets nyvundne kategorisering som ’Kunst’. Det konceptuelle spor forsætter i næste rum, hvor Dag Erik Elgin viser et udvalg fra sin nye serie af malerier Mirror falling from the Wall fra 2017. Værkerne måler alle 110 x 92 cm med billedfladen delt i to rektangler; én ugrundet og én dækket af oliemaling i forskellige farver. Dimensioner og komposition er en direkte reference til Caravaggios Narcissus (1597-99), og ordene i malerierne er en kombination af faktuel information om maleriet – såsom antal hæfteklammer og mængde bindemiddel anvendt – samt begreber nært beslægtede med maleriet som århundredegammel praksis og myte. Annika von Hausswolffs fotografiske værker indtager sidste rum i vestfløjen. Hausswolff er kendt for sit iscenesatte fotografi, hvori hun gør brug af mediets dokumentariske kraft og ægger beskuerens nysgerrighed efter den forudgående historie – hvad er hændt? I am the Runway of Your Thoughts fra 2008, hvori en ung kvinde poserer med et mindre modelfly, er i tråd hermed. Værkserien har tydelige falliske referencer, men tager afsæt i kunstnerens egen flyskræk og et forsøg på at overvinde denne. Ligeledes er udgangspunktet personligt i What My Mother Taught Me, der udspringer af kunstnerens erindring om en håndleg hendes mor lavede, da hun var barn. At investere sig selv og sit ophav i værket er også ét greb den islandske kunstner Ragnar Kjartansson benytter. I galleriets østvendte rum viser Kjartansson således fem malerier fra serien Architecture and Morality fra 2016. Kjartansson tilbragte to uger på Vestbredden i de israelske bosættelser, hvor han malede husene og udsigten omkring sig; hverdagen i sin mest banale form – vasketøj, et hus, en cykel - i et af verdens og vor tids histories mest politiske brændpunkter. I det tilstødende lokale udstiller Kaarina Kaikkonen sine tekstile værker. I Had The Upper Hand fra 2017 og I make mistakes fra 2013 er begge skulpturelle installationer med kvindelige konnotationer formet ud af herreskjorter og jakkesæt. Ligeledes med I Tried To Organize My Life fra 2017, der er en labyrintisk, fritsvævende formation af sammenrullede skjorter, der kaster skyggespil på væggen bagved. Barndomserindringen om forældrene – herunder faderens tidlige død - er et gennemgående tema for den finske kunstner, materialiseret gennem tekstilernes stærke symbolværdi og -ladning.