Goodbye white walls: Norwegian artist Sverre Bjertnæs has brought colour to Beers London with walls painted in colours which he has chosen to complement his art.
‘Silent Conditions’ is the first UK exhibition of the work of one of Norway’s most prominent artists, Sverre Bjertnæs, including collaborations with artists Bjarne Melgaard, Christer Glein and writer Arne Lygre to create an encapsulating multi-media experience as the gallery is transformed into a Wunderkammer-like collection of works with video, sculpture, furniture, and paintings, including a carpet made by Bjertnæs and ceramics made in collaboration with his mother. In both his collaborations with Glein and Melgaard, the artists worked together on the same painting, so you don’t know where one artist started and another stopped.
There is a mystical, and occasionally melancholy, feel to many of the works, reflected in their titles as they each contain a narrative, like a 21st century version of an ancient Norse saga.
These collaborations are a unique and interesting approach, which creates a surprising variety of work in a relatively small gallery space, the colours of which have become part of the experience. Goodbye white walls.