Nordic delight @ SI – Paris

Oh god, the Nordics are back again? These Vikings want to keep invading us huh?

As if we didn’t have enough with all the buzz around Royksopp‘s new album or all the Swedish music  by Bounty, CEO & Avner, they’ve now decided to come and invade our little southern cities with their new young artists & music…

Starting last week in Paris the Swedish Institute is exhibiting the “Nordic Delight” exhibition until October 24th curated by Sinziana Ravini. An interesting glimpse at contemporary (mostly Norwegian) Scandinavian artists and their eternal love-hate relationship with darkness.

“Represented by artists such as August Strindberg, Edvard Munch or Carl Larsson the Nordic art has always fluctuated between the two extremes: lightness & darkness. For the past decades several artists have reinforced the idea we have about them being a dark society.

Is this passion for the black light a cultural specificity or a universal phenomenon? Bringing together 17 contemporary artists, Nordic Delight plays with  cultural representations, the myths and paradoxes. The works presented @ Parisian SI are both dark & bright, humorous and macabre, they’re mostly extreme allegories.

Drawing on the magical power and  unreal, they portray a different side of reality, according to a broad spectrum ranging from personal cosmology to the political and social challenge. Artists include… With Patrik Bengtsson, Carl Boutard Leander djonne Martin Formgren Daniel Grizelj, Fredric Gunve Maja Hammaréns Goran Hassanpour, Martin Jacobson, Klara Källström Pia Mauno, Müntzing Kristina, Katarina Nitsch, Ylva Ogland, Lovisa Ringborg, Joanna Rytel and Fredrik Söderberg.