{"id":77416,"date":"2025-01-08T12:29:20","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T11:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artipelag.se\/?post_type=cpt_exhibitions&p=77416"},"modified":"2025-01-08T12:29:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T11:29:23","slug":"i-follow-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"cpt_exhibitions","link":"https:\/\/artipelag.se\/en\/art-museum\/previous-exhibitions\/i-follow-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"I Follow the Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

Sunflowers in Art 1889-2024<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n
\n \n

Few plants are as prolific in art history as the sunflower. Over the years, its diverse symbolism has also given this blossom a strong presence far beyond the domain of flower painting.The sunflower has taken on many guises and meanings since the 17th century. During 2024, Artipelag was showing the exhibition I Follow the Sun \u2013 Sunflowers in Art 1889\u20132024, which featured around one hundred examples from the sunflower\u2019s rich art history.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

\n About the Exhibition\n <\/h2>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n
\n
\n {\n const height = $refs.text.offsetHeight;\n const isMobile = window.innerWidth <= 768;\n active = isMobile && height > window.innerHeight;\n\n if (active) {\n folded = true;\n } else {\n folded = false;\n $refs.toggle.remove();\n $refs.overlay.remove();\n }\n })”\n >\n \n
\n
\n \n

For many of us, the sunflower is mainly associated with Vincent van Gogh\u2019s iconic still lifes from 1888\u20131889. But Van Gogh is only one of many artists who have explored the motif since the plant was introduced in Europe in 1569. The exhibition I Follow the Sun<\/em> attempts to examine the different portrayals of the sunflower in paintings, sculptures and photographs, from 1889 to today. Well-known Nordic artists, including Carl Larsson, Lena Cronqvist, Elina Brotherus and Michael Ancher are shown alongside international icons such as Emil Nolde, Ai Weiwei and Anselm Kiefer, all of whom have approached the sunflower from a wide variety of artistic and conceptual angles.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n \n

I Follow the Sun<\/em> highlights the many symbolic meanings of sunflowers over the years, and the artists for whom the motif has been especially significant. In that light, the sunflower appears to be not just a floral motif, but situated in the intersection of multiple perspectives on art, nature and human existence.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n \n

\u201cThe idea of having an exhibition about sunflowers in art has been under discussion at Artipelag for years. We\u2019ve had several previous exhibitions focusing on iconographic elements, such as The Monochrome Symphony<\/em> and Blackboard<\/em>, and we are delighted to explore the rich art history of sunflowers at last,\u201d says Bo Nilsson, director of Artipelag.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\"M\u00e5lning
Michael Ancher, Pigen med solsikkerne, 1889<\/em>. Oil on canvas, 101 x 95 cm. Statens Museum for Kunst<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n \n

The sunflower was a popular symbol and a firmly established motif in 17th-century art. Interest waned in the ensuing century, however, and it was not until the late 1880s that a larger number of artists again discovered the sunflower as a subject. Therefore, 1889 was chosen as the chronological starting point for I Follow the Sun<\/em>, with the Skagen painter Michael Ancher\u2019s Girl with Sunflowers <\/em>(1889) and the Dutch pointillist Jan Toorop\u2019s Reflections of the Sunset or Seduction <\/em>(c. 1888\u20131889). The exhibition includes several modernist pieces by, among others, Emil Nolde, Edward Steichen, Fernand L\u00e9ger, Bror Hjorth and Hilding Linnqvist.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n \n

I Follow the Sun<\/em> is not restricted to historic portrayals of sunflowers, however, but also shows how contemporary artists embrace the subject. Among the artists participating in the exhibition are Klara Kristalova, Anna Bjerger, Tal R, Erik Steffensen and Aura Rosenberg. Moreover, Clara Gesang-Gottowt and Edit Sihlberg were invited to create new works specifically for I Follow<\/em> the Sun<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\"M\u00e5lning
Edit Sihlberg, Vem d\u00e4r?<\/em> 2024. Oil on canvas, 120 x 160 cm. Photo: Mattias Lindb\u00e4ck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n \n

The exhibition features several conceptual approaches to the sunflower, such as Ai Weiwei\u2019s millions of handmade ceramic sunflower seeds, and Vik Muniz\u2019s visual comments on the mass-reproductions of Van Gogh\u2019s works. Anselm Kiefer offers themes and ideas of an entirely different nature, with dead sunflowers drooping under the weight of history. Several photographers are also included in the exhibition. Apart from the previously mentioned Edward Steichen, who began exploring this motif in the 1920s, there are photographic works by Elina Brotherus, Rinko Kawauchi, Thomas Struth and Gerry Johansson.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n \n

I Follow the Sun <\/em>was on display at Artipelag from June 29 2024 to January 5 2025. An extensive catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition, with a new poem by the poet Jonas Gren.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n \n Show more\n <\/button>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

\n Contributing Artists\n <\/h2>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n
\n
\n {\n const height = $refs.text.offsetHeight;\n const isMobile = window.innerWidth <= 768;\n active = isMobile && height > window.innerHeight;\n\n if (active) {\n folded = true;\n } else {\n folded = false;\n $refs.toggle.remove();\n $refs.overlay.remove();\n }\n })”\n >\n \n
\n
\n \n

Emil Nolde, Carl Larsson, Ai Weiwei, Michael Ancher, Elina Brotherus, Anselm Kiefer, Lena Cronqvist, Jan Toorop, Klara Kristalova, Fernand L\u00e9ger, Tal R, Aura Rosenberg, Olle B\u00e6rtling, Clara Gesang-Gottowt, Thorvald Niss, Bror Hjorth, Hilding Linnqvist, Edward Steichen, Piero Gilardi, Thomas Struth, Gerry Johansson, Steve Wood, Erik Steffensen, Cheryl Donegan, Vik Muniz, Roger Andersson, Rinko Kawauchi, Anna Bjerger, Edit Sihlberg.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n \n Show more\n <\/button>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

\n Photos\n <\/h2>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n
\n = maxIndex) {\n this.currentImageIndex = 0;\n } else {\n this.currentImageIndex = this.currentImageIndex + 1;\n }\n this.updateModalImage();\n },\n prevImage() {\n if (!this.modal) return;\n if (this.currentImageIndex <= 0) {\n this.currentImageIndex = this.items.length - 1;\n } else {\n this.currentImageIndex = this.currentImageIndex - 1;\n }\n this.updateModalImage();\n },\n initSwipe() {\n if ($refs.modalContent) {\n hammerInstance = new Hammer($refs.modalContent);\n const nextImage = this.nextImage;\n const prevImage = this.prevImage;\n hammerInstance.on('swipeleft', function() {\n nextImage();\n });\n hammerInstance.on('swiperight', function() {\n prevImage();\n });\n }\n },\n }\"\n @keydown.escape.window=\"closeModal()\"\n @keydown.right.window=\"nextImage()\"\n @keydown.left.window=\"prevImage()\"\n >\n