To Make the Stone Stony: Allison Katz, Anders Holen, Vivian Greven, Tyra Tingleff, Johanne Hestvold

“And art exists that one may recover the sensation of life; it exists to make one feel things, to make the stone stony. The purpose of art is to impart the sensation of things as they are perceived and not as they are known. The technique of art is to make objects "unfamiliar," to make forms difficult, to increase the difficulty and length of perception because the process of perception is an aesthetic end in itself and must be prolonged. Art is a way of experiencing the artfulness of an object: the object is not important...“

- Victor Shklovsky, from his text "Art as Technique", 1917

Galleri Golsa is proud to present the group exhibition To Make The Stone Stony with artists Tyra Tingleff, Johanne Hestvold, Anders Holen, Vivan Greven and Allison Katz. According to Shklovsky, the purpose of art is ‘defamiliarization’– to make (something) unfamiliar or strange. The exhibition comprise drawing, painting, ceramics and sculpture. The different works all express an interest in exploring traditional materials and practices. The result however, is complex and distinct expressions that challenge the viewer and share a common aim; to make the known appear unknown.

In their work, these artists invite us to liberate our perception from automatization, to make visible what is strange in our familiar surroundings. Rather than our understanding coming together with the meaning of objects, the effect of these works is a special observation in the beholder; a seeing, rather than recognition. They invite us to wake up, look and try to piece together. See something we already know, like for the first time. Deform the usual, and generate a new vision in us. They tear down the veil of familiarity, to make us question and restructure our normal perception of ‘reality’. They make the stone stony.

Text by Nora Fremmerlid