spotlight: malmöhus

Thanks to the wonderfully cheap sommarkort which offers unlimited travel around Skåne, I'll be doing my own konstrundan, trying to visit as many galleries as possible over the summer. This is one of the most remarkable things about Sweden - every town and city will typically have at least one state-funded (and free entry) art museum, with regular exhibition changes from artists in Sweden and further afield.

First up, Malmöhus.


OOMPH

Glasswork by Mona Moralse Schildt (1958-60) - my image

textile, glasswork, and fashion (my image)

textile and glasswork (my image)

 Malmöhus' konstmuseum opened "OOMPH" at the beginning of the month. The exhibition charts the women who "satte färg på Sverige" (literally translated, 'put colour in sweden'), and includes glasswork, textiles, furniture, as well as vintage and present day video installations.

Den feministiska visionen (2016) - Image not my own

My favourite piece was "The Feminist Vision" (2016) by Helena Olsson. It was a short film installation of a collective house in Äppelviken, near Stockhom called Elfvinggården, which was built in the 1940s by two sisters for single working women. At the time, it was difficult for single women to rent accommodation, and this building, with nearly 300 apartments, a restaurant, workshop amongst other things, worked successfully. It is still in operation today, and the film focused on a reading group who discussed the merits of living at Elfvinggården, the changes between life there in the 1940s and today, and its similarities to the 1915 book´"Herland" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which depicts a utopian feminist island where only women live.

Elfvinggården (images from Elfvinggården website)

SANDRA FREIJ

Sandra Freij is a photographer from Borås, Sweden, who is now based in London. As part of an exhibition on fahsion photography at Malmöhus, a collection of some of her work was displayed.
Sandra

Sandra’s pictures have a cinematic quality both in terms of their lighting and their forms of expression, an approach that creates a visceral sense of excitement. She is known for her romantic and feminine pictures that are marked by subtle sensuality and often an underlying darkness. With her extensive knowledge of imagery she is highly skilled at balancing ambiguous and imaginative work with both openness and accessibility.

Randigt, rutigt, prickigt

 

Last, but certainly not least, is the exhibition "Randigt, rutigt, prickigt"(striped, plaid, spotted), which shows a collection of patterned clothes and homewares over history. The end of the exibition featured a room with designs from Malmö fashion students, using only recycled materials. It included this piece, designed and made by Karolina Falk and Martina Nilsson, made from 25,100 hama beads.