Retroactive glance at Rolf Hanson’s artistic work

In the summer and autumn of 2021, it is the Swedish painter Rolf Hanson (born 1953) and his painting that is the artistic focal point at Artipelag. The exhibition Rolf Hanson – Retroactive opens June 5^th and will be the most comprehensive exhibition ever made with Rolf Hanson’s art including works from four decades. The exhibition has been called a retroactive, which gives a hint on how Rolf Hanson often revisits his own art in new constellations.

Rolf Hanson is one of the most significant artists in Swedish art scene of his generation. He is associated with a Nordic romantic tradition of painting with a starting point in a relationship to the landscape. However, over the years, Hanson’s painting has turned to more and more abstract expressions.

Rolf Hanson was born in 1953. He received his artistic education at the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm from 1974–1979 and his debut took place in 1981 at Gallery Blanche in Stockholm. Over the years, Hanson has been an arduous exhibitor across the Nordic countries and in Europe, where he is also represented on the most significant museums, to mention KIASMA in Helsinki and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Oslo. In Sweden, he is represented in the collections at Moderna Museet Stockholm, Gothenburg Art Museum, Norrköping Museum as well as numerous others.

During 1982–1983, Hanson spent time in New York as a scholar at PS1 (Public School 1) which today is a part of MoMa (Museum of Modern Art). His museum career started in the autumn of 1985 with an exhibition at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm. A separate exhibition at the most prestigious art institution in Sweden and so close to the end of his education was provocative for the established art life, but it also says something about Hanson’s artistic talent and maturity.

In 1988, Hanson was chosen to represent Sweden at the Venice Biennale, then as now, one of the most important exhibitions in international art life. Same year Hanson participated in the big ROSC exhibition in Dublin, Ireland.

In 1985 it was time for the next museum exhibition, this time at Rooseum in Malmö, where Lars Nittve was head and curator. It was followed up by an exhibition at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, which at the time was one of the most vivacious institutions in the German art scene. Following year, Hanson was awarded first price at the Carnegie Art Award. In 2006, another museum exhibition, this time at Dunker’s Kulturhus in Helsingborg.

The exhibition Rolf Hanson – Retroactive at Artipelag, is the largest exhibition ever with works by Rolf Hanson. It comprises his entire career, currently ongoing for 40 years. Often exhibitions like these are called retrospective exhibitions and are usually dedicated to artists with a long and important career, which undoubtedly is the case with Hanson. However, we have  avoided the description retrospective and instead opted to call the exhibition a retroactive, and this to give a hint that Hanson most definitely is not at the endpoint – au contraire his artistry is still in a development phase that constantly result in new constellations and reinterpretations of earlier works.

The music to the exhibition is composed by the violinist and musician Jonas Lindgren, a former member of Fläskkvartetten. Lindgren has been inspired by Hanson’s paintings and created the soundtrack Music for a Painter I Know, which will be made available for purchase in Artipelag’s design shop.

Artipelag publishes a comprehensive catalogue with pictures of all works in the exhibition as well as exhibition essays by Artipelag’s head of museum, Bo Nilsson and Lars Nittve. The catalogue has been designed by Patrick Waters (Waters Löwenhielm)

Rolf Hanson – Retroactive is planned to open Saturday June 5^th, provided corona restrictions at the time requires otherwise. The final day of the exhibition will be Sunday November 28.

A press viewing is planned for Thursday June 3^rd. The exact form is yet to be set due to the pandemic and the restrictions it entails, but those who are interested to participate can submit a registration of interest to press@artipelag.se.

Gustav Idhammar, gustav.idhammar@artipelag.se, tel +46 (0)70–710 53 55

Above: Rolf Hanson, Eadem Sed Aliter, 2006. Detail. © Rolf Hanson.

About Artipelag
Artipelag is a world-class meeting place where art shows, cultural activities, architecture, music, events, Swedish design, and good food are presented alongside the beautiful Stockholm Archipelago. Artipelag is located at Hålludden, on Värmdö – about 20 minutes by car from Stockholm city centre. The building is 10,220 m² and is carefully placed among pine trees and cliffs with magnificent views over Baggensfjärden. Artipelag was designed by the late architect Johan Nyrén.

What do our bees occupy themselves with now when it is dark, cold and there are no flowers? Mira Nilsson from Skärgårdskupan knows.

– During the winter, all honeybees cluster in something called a winter ball. The queen bee sits in the middle while the colony’s outer bees sit around her. By vibrating their wings, they generate heat and the beehive becomes warm. The outer bees rotate inside the ball and take turn in sitting in the outer layer of the ball. Inside the ball the temperature is 20–25°C while the rest of the ball is colder. The summer honey is their winter supply and the ball keep rotating as the honey is eaten, says Mira.

Artipelag’s beehives are produced by Skärgårdskupan here on Värmdö designed to replicate the natural habitat of the honeybee, the tree trunk, but in a traditional box shape. One beehive is placed on the meadow close to the parking Lillemor and one close to the path leading out to the sculpture by Jaume Plensa.

Read more about our beehives >>

The exhibition, which originally should have closed on Sunday September 27^th, 2020, has been prolonged to Sunday November 29^th.

Signature Women – 100 Years on the Swedish Art Scene opened on March 8th, but had to close after only a few weeks due to the situation with covid-19. It took almost three months until the exhibition could be reopened.

Read more about the exhibition here >>

We have three exhibitions running concurrently, so it makes good sense to buy a combo ticket.

The combo ticket includes admission to the main exhibition, Signature Women – 100 Years on the Swedish Art Scene (regular price SEK 185), the Artbox installation Jan Håfström – The White Bus (regular price SEK 100) and the sculpture walk Sculpture in Nature (regular price SEK 50). The combo ticket costs just SEK 235 – you save SEK 100 compared to purchasing all the tickets separately.

See all our current prices here >>

Now there are two beehives from Skärgårdskupan (the archipelago beehive) on site at Artipelag. One on the meadow close to the parking Lillemor and one close to the path leading out to Jaume Plensa’s sculpture.

The hives are manufactured on Värmdö and should resemble the natural habitat of the honeybee, the tree trunk, but in a traditional box shape. They are made of natural materials such as wood, chipboard and flaxen and treated with cold pressed linseed oil. The legs have been singed to prevent rot against the ground. In each hive, approximately five to ten thousand bees reside.

The natural processes that takes place in a bee colony is recreated in Skärgårdskupan – among others, production of vital propolis and the natural antibiotic honey water. A massive, built-in wooden drum insulate and helps the bees with the important task of maintaining an even interior temperature, something that require an enormous amount of energy from the bees in traditional hives. By creating a better and more natural environment, less stress and the bees get a better resistance against diseases and harmful mite infections.

Skärgårdskupan is designed based on research that clearly shows the bees’ own ability to survive should the right conditions be given. With its unique design, Skärgårdskupan take the natural behaviour of the honeybee into account and only extract the honey the bee society can spare, in the attempt to create the ultimate beehive.

Skärgårdskupan allows extraction of honey, while protecting the continued survival of the honeybee and pollination of the plants.

Skärgårdskupan on Instagram >>

Our guest marina is now open and is free of charge. We can accommodate small as well as larger boats and kayaks.

Welcome to anchor this summer!

Read more >>

The exhibition Signature Women – 100 years on the Swedish art scene is currently closed but you can still buy the exhibition catalogue. Either via regular mail or in our outdoor café which is open weekends.

The catalogue cost SEK 300 and is available both in Swedish and English. Postage included (for registered letter an additional cost of SEK 80). Payment via bank transfer or Swish. Delivery time approximately one week. Place your order at butik@artipelag.se.

The catalogue is also available in our outdoor café which is open during weekends. Here you can pay with your credit card.

Read more about the exhibition here >>

On International Women’s Day, Sunday March 8^th, the new exhibition Signature Women – 100 Years on the Swedish Art Scene opens at Artipelag. Some 350 works by about fifty Swedish female artists will be presented, well-known as well as previously marginalized names, active from the previous century up to current day.

The selection comprises painting, sculpture, textile, crafts, drawings and graphic prints, photography and film. The artists will be presented based on the century they primarily were productive in, and selection is based on how their art reflects the prevailing social climate at the time.

– A little while ago, I was commissioned by a Norwegian art museum to propose names of Swedish artists to a Nordic art collection. To refresh my knowledge, I turned to art history. I got reminded of how flagrant the male predominance was in most descriptions, the ratio of male and female artists respectively was 95% male and 5% female, regardless of whether the book in question was by a male or female author. It was against this background the idea to an exhibition highlighting this disproportion came about, says Bo Nilsson, Director at Artipelag.

The term Signature Women is an onset to reflect the shifting over a hundred years, when female artists have gone from being dispatched to artistic obscurity to today’s loftiness.

– Our ambition is not to conjure up an ultimate picture of art history, but we chose to present a humble historical writing, rather a topic for discussion than a definitive statement, says Nilsson.

Signature Women – 100 Years on the Swedish Art Scene runs until Sunday September 27^th. The curator team consist of Bo Nilsson, head of the Art Dep, Frida Andersson, Jessica Höglund and Iselin Page, curators, Kristina Lindemann, curator of pedagogy, chief technician Johan von Geijer and graphic designer Micaela Wernberg.

Visitors are encouraged to give their view on the selection by donating books and art catalogues with female artists they think should have been represented in the exhibition. This library will hopefully grow during the exhibition and constitute as study material for our visitors. The collected books will then be included in Stockholm Museum of Women’s History and building up a library on women history.

In connection to the exhibition, a catalogue will be produced designed by Samuel Lind, text by Marika Bogren and Bo Nilsson as well as artist biographies by Bo Nilsson, Frida Andersson, Jessica Höglund, Kristina Lindemann and Iselin Page.

During the exhibition, seminars will be arranged. The seminars will be presented during the opening Sunday March 8^th.

A press preview will be arranged Thursday March 5^th at 11.00 followed by a light lunch. After lunch, interviews with several of the participating artists will be made possible. Limited seats, please contact rebecca.foss@bindefeldab.se.

Mamma Andersson, Ann-Sofie Back, Idun Baltzersen, Emma Bernhard, Helene Billgren, Monica Bratt, Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe, Barbro Bäckström, Nina Canell, Agnes Cleve, Siri Derkert, Nathalie Djurberg & Hans Berg , Cecilia Edefalk, Inger Ekdahl, Marie-Louise Ekman, Estrid Ericson, Carolina Falkholt, Eddie Figge, Randi Fisher, Maud Fredin Fredholm, Leonie Geisendorf, Petra Gipp, Denise Grünstein, Annika von Hausswolff, Susanne Henriques, Hertha Hillfon, Sigrid Hjertén, Åsa Jungnelius, Eva Klasson, Hilma af Klint, Greta Knutson, Klara Kristalova, Lotte Laserstein, Maria Lindberg, Tuija Lindström, Tyra Lundgren, Rita Lundqvist, Eva Löfdahl, Maria Miesenberger, Ann-Marie Forsberg + Marianne Richter + Barbro Nilsson (Märta Måås AB), Gunvor Nelson, Vera Nilsson, Signe Persson-Melin, Siri Rathsman, Ingegerd Råman, Astrid Sampe, Lena Svedberg, Nell Walden, Jane Wåhlstedt (Laholmskeramik), Christine Ödlund and Barbro Östlihn.

Press
Press images can be found here >>

Gustav Idhammar, gustav.idhammar@artipelag.se, tel +46 (0)70–710 53 55

Artipelag is a world-class meeting place where art shows, cultural activities, architecture, music, events, Swedish design, and good food are presented alongside the beautiful Stockholm Archipelago. Artipelag is located at Hålludden, on Värmdö – about 20 minutes by car from Stockholm city centre. The building is 10,220 m² and is carefully placed among pine trees and cliffs with magnificent views over Baggensfjärden. Artipelag was designed by the late architect Johan Nyrén.

On October 23^rd, 2020, Artipelag will host the premiere of the new dance and film installation Vanmakt by the director and dance choreographer Alexander Ekman. The project has been made possible by Micael Bindefeld’s Foundation, by awarding Alexanders its annual grant.

What is it that makes us either to act, be quiet or just watch? How can we turn powerlessness and helplessness to bravery and civil courage? In Vanmakt Alexander examines the question on our own responsibility.

In an interview in Svenska Dagbladet, Alexander talks about the installation.

”It is a new artform. We will be in the Artbox at Artipelag. The idea is to show films on all walls, in front of them or against them, creating moments of different art forms. It can be dance, pictures, people who participate in different ways. A cross-fertilization between different media. It will be a system where subparts will be added continuously creating new. I work almost up to the premiere the last week in October. This is completely new to me and I have never done anything like this before.”

Micael Bindefeld Foundation annually awards a scholarship supporting those who wish to communicate, give information or in any form convey knowledge to a broad Swedish audience stories about the Holocaust. It is becoming more and more difficult to get testimony from the survivors of the Holocaust. Within the near future, no survivors (witnesses) will be alive and therefore the need to convey their stories will be more important than ever.

The motivation from the foundation on the choice of Alexander Ekman is:

”The 2020 Scholarship is awarded choreographer and director Alexander Ekman for his film installation on the major and complex questions evoked by the Holocaust. In this art project Alexander explores our helplessness, bravery and our civil courage and invite young people as well as adults to reflect on one’s own responsibility. By keeping not only the memory of the Holocaust alive, the project also raises awareness that it is possible for anyone and everyone to prevent something like this from happening again.”

Alexander Ekman is one of the absolute foremost choreographers of our time. He works on the big stages in Stockholm, Sydney, Paris, Berlin and New York and is acclaimed everywhere for his extraordinary and innovative productions.

Vanmakt has a world premiere on October 23^rd and will run until November 22^nd. The work is under development and therefore no tickets are available. More information about the work and tickets will be found on Artipelag’s homepage.

Pictured above: Micael Bindefeld, Alexander Ekman and Artipelag’s founders Björn and Lillemor Jakobson.

Stockholm’s first yarn festival should have taken place in out Artbox between April 25^th and 26^th, 2020. It now has been postponed due to the coronavirus. New dates will be announced later on.

A weekend focused on yarn in all shapes and form. Workshops, exciting meetings with enthusiasts. All framed by beautiful archipelago nature.

Read more about the organizer and the event >>