Cries and Whispers is a group exhibition presenting Swedish contemporary painting and sculpture. Here, eight artists, born in the 60s, 70s and 80s, are invited to represent a figurative art movement that has received great attention in Sweden and internationally. The title, borrowed from Ingmar Bergman’s film Cries and Whispers from 1972, echoes in the exhibition. There is a strong relationship between these artists, but also crucial differences in their approach. Both the intimate, vulnerable whispers and the distant, powerful cries can be traced.

The cinematic reference is fundamental for many of the works in the exhibition. Some have specific connections, others more the sense of frozen moments in a longer sequence. The expectation of something that is about to happen or the quiet emptiness following a dramatic event. Carl Hammoud and Mamma Andersson depict the silence of an object or a landscape that is imbued by human absence, Andersson in an expressive and emotional manner, whereas Hammoud more restrained and methodical. Desolation and biding time is a recurrent theme in Niklas Eneblom’s paintings, which approaches the human being and the private sphere. There is a relation to photography, arranged or found, used as a model or inspiration. Susanne Johansson’s works exist in the fine line where our inner landscape meets the outer. She often bases her works on her own photographs of antique sculptures, which are given a new life through the painting. Similarly, Anna Bjerger uses anonymous photographs and claim them through the working process. In this artistic cycle there is a strong belief in the possibilities and distinctiveness of painting. For Sara-Vide Ericson, photography itself is a fundamental part in creating the image. Her dramatic scenes are staged and documented before they are finally painted. Richard Johansson’s bizarre portraits and theatrical scenes are inspired by American film and culture, whilst at the same time portraying a contemporary Swedish mirror world. Johanna Karlsson is the only artists in the exhibition showing three-dimensional objects. In her meticulously detailed reconstructions of nature, the memory becomes physically present. In a way, these sculptures meet the details of Mamma Andersson’s landscapes and close the circle.

Although Ingmar Bergman has not explicitly inspired the individual artists in their work, he recurs as a reference when Swedish art is presented internationally. His ghost hovers over Swedish arts and culture, whether we want it or not. It is present in depictions of psychological moods, the fascination of light, the obsession with darkness and the existential in everyday trivialities. Perhaps it is not just Bergmanesque – but Swedish?

Opening Reception Saturday March 3, 1–4 pm!

Opening ceremony with the Minister Counsellor Susann Nilsson from the Swedish Embassy at 1.30 pm.

More information: www.trafokunsthall.no

Image: Carl Hammoud, ”Stairway”, 2016. Oil on canvas, 125x150 cm