On February 18, Moderna Museet Malmö opens the exhibition "Lars Englund – Under Construction" and the installation and performance work "Statolit" by Adèle Essle Zeiss.

On February 18, #modernamuseetmalmo opens the exhibition "Lars Englund – Under Construction" and the installation and performance work "Statolit" by #adeleesslezeiss. A dialogue across generations is established in the museum between different artists with an interest in movement and balance.
 
Lars Englund
Under Construction
18.2 – 3.9 2023
Curator: Elisabeth Millqvist
Left Gallery (Floor 2)

Adèle Essle Zeiss
Statolit
Installation and performance (performance dates to be communicated separately)
18.2 – 3.9 2023
Curator: Elisabeth Millqvist
Loading Dock

Lars Englund's art is characterized by exploration of materials and shapes and could be described as "work in progress." Englund both returns to and constantly changes his expressions. He has collaborated with cement and rubber factories, bases his work on machine parts and industrial materials, changes scale from model to monumental, and finds inspiration in subways and Baroque architecture alike. This exhibition spans from paintings Englund made in the early 1950s that have rarely been shown to sculptures from the 2000s.

– Visitors will recognize the materials Englund uses from building facades and workshops. His choices draw our attention to our everyday surroundings, elevating the commonplace to the extraordinary, says Elisabeth Millqvist, Museum Director and curator of the exhibition.

This presentation combines sculptures from the #modernamuseet collection with works on loan, mainly from the artist. The focus of Englund's work is revealed in titles that convey his interest in form, such as "Volume", "Sphere", and "Pars Pro Toto" - part of a whole. The sculptures, which often hang from the ceiling, interact with one another and challenge the surrounding space. There is no clear reference point for these works; instead, we are invited to move around and in relation to their abstract and geometric forms. The artworks establish a dialogue with the building's industrial history as an electrical power plant, designed by John Smedberg and constructed in 1901, but also with its present form as a work of architecture adapted by Tham & Videgård to be a museum, with its distinctive perforated orange metal facade—a material to which Englund makes reference.

Lars Englund was born in 1933 in Stockholm, and now lives in Jonstorp, Scania County. Englund was celebrated with a large solo #show at #modernamuseet in Stockholm in 2005. Solo shows in Scania County include Dunkers kulturhus in Helsingborg (2003), Lunds konsthall (2002) and Krapperups konsthall in Höganäs (1998). Over the years, he has also shown at acclaimed international exhibitions in Venice, Warsaw, New York, and most recently in Paris at the Centre Pompidou's 2021 exhibition [Aerodream].

The exhibition is presented in close collaboration with Yvonne Möller.

"Statolit" is an installation and performance for three dancers that will be performed several times throughout the exhibition period. "Statolit" is on view here as a counterpart to the exhibition on #larsenglund.

"Statolit" was first presented in 2018 at Galleri Mejan in Stockholm and is included in the collection of #modernamuseet. #adeleesslezeiss makes use of simple materials—three long wooden planks placed horizontally in the space, a sack of cement strapped to one end of each. At the other sits a dancer, whose body is balanced by the counterweight of the sack. Any little movement changes the elevation of the plank, setting it in motion. A documentation will complement the installation when the dancers are not present. Information on performance dates will be added.

– "There are parallels between Essle Zeiss's way of working with just a few everyday materials, which puts the focus on shifting movement, and Englund's work," says Elisabeth Millqvist. "In one conversation with her, it came out that she had reached out to him regarding his sculptures. I'm looking forward to the meeting between these artists' different expressions in the museum."

Adèle Essle Zeiss studied to be a dancer at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and has a master's degree in fine art from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. "Statolit" was included in the 2022 exhibition "Swedish Acquisitions: Matches" at #modernamuseet in Stockholm. In 2021, Accelerator, a Stockholm University exhibition space, showed the most comprehensive presentation to date of her performance art, and her work has also been featured by MDT, Haninge Konsthall, the Ulvhälls Hällar art park, and in Denmark at Den Frie/Dansehallerne. In April and May, #adeleesslezeiss will also be presented, with a different artwork, at Lilith Performance Studio in Malmö.