Seascape exhibition

The Espolin Gallery opens Oct. 14^th with an exhibition of the work Seascape by Andrea Greenwood.

SEASCAPE is a project that evolved after an artist residency in Melbu in 2019 and has been created by Artist Andrea Greenwood. It is a collaboration between the Espolin Gallery in Lofoten and Nordland Akademi with participation from school children in Hadsel and Vågan. The exhibition in the Espolin Gallery was shown at Melbu earlier this year.

Seascape is an sculptural, light installation consisting of small illuminated forms suspended in a mass to create a large three-dimensional shape, with striking shadows and light patterns created on the floor beneath it. The work is inspired by the ebb and flow of seawater.

Taking inspiration from the artist Kaare Espolin Johnson (1907–1994), a scraping technique has been applied to the forms to create abstract drawings of the sea. Achieved is a striking depth of colour and blue glow throughout the installation.

The Norwegian artist Kaare Espolin Johnson is known for his iconic depictions of life in Northern Norway. Afflicted from an early age by an illness that made him progressively blind, Espolin produced paintings, drawings, and engravings with such a technique that the figures seemed to be carved in darkness. Oscillating between realism, dream and fantasy, the artist depicted in his work both the harsh life of fishing communities and tales from Sami and Norse mythology.

VISITED THE ESPOLIN GALLERY

Andrea Greenwood is based in London and works with sculptures and performance. She visited the Espolin Gallery in 2019, as part of her artist in residence in Neptun Art/Science Lab Residency, produced by Nordland Akademi for Kunst og Vitenskap (NAKV). This was the start of a longer collaboration between the gallery, the artist and NAKV working towards exhibitions and workshops in 2022.

“SCAPES”

Andrea Greewood has further been part of Artist in Residence Vesterålen together with two other artists from Great Britain, Mia Harris and Will Renel. They developed a three-part project with a joint title “Scapes” for their artworks: Landscapes, Skyscapes and Seascapes. As an end to their project in Hadsel they had exhibitions during the festival Sommer-Melbu in July 2022.

AiR Vesteraalen (AiRV) is produced by Nordland Academy for Arts and Science with main partner Cultural cooperation in Vesterålen and Museum Nord. It’s a artist in residency program for five municiplaities in the Vesterålen islands that houses artists from Europe. The Subject in Hadsel is Art & Society. The project runs for four years and we subdivide into 2-year periods.