Term: August – October 2019
Nordic-Leipzig stipendiary of the Goethe-Institut
Martin Stråhle from Sweden, currently living in Bergen, Norway, is mainly concerned with painting and the relationship between paintings and other media, such as textiles, sculptures and performance.
Stråhle holds a master’s degree from Bergen Art and Design College.
Lately, he has worked with painting in a performative and physical way. He has moved with his studio into the mountains and forests that surround the mountains. There he has the feeling that he is getting closer to his materials in his painting process.
Martin Stråhle brings his works from the forest to Leipzig to combine his open-air painting with the possibilities in his new studio.
In his work, Stråhles main focus is primarily to approach painting in new ways, and to find a new angle in the work with an image is often the starting point of this process. Either by using different materials or by changing the performative process around working with a two-dimensional image in order to explore the relationship painting has to other mediums such as textile, sculpture and performance. Strågle wants to challenge his own thoughts about what painting can be and how far away from painting it is possible to go, but at the same time still stick to the principle of creating a two-dimensional image.
The last couple years Stråhles work has mainly been about reducing his material use in order to simplify his visual expression. This material investigation has taken him out in the forests and up on the mountains of the Norwegian landscape. The paintings are made directly on site with material from the site itself. A landscape painting, a image or a transferred print from a place where a indescribable mystery lies between the densely growing pine trees. A place in nature that thru the horizontal and vertical lines created by massive tree trunks and small forest brooks is being experienced as a room with surrounding walls where the light from the sky shines clear over the ground where he rolls out his cotton textiles. This painting process is a way for Stråhle to try to channel this energy he experiences on the site and to let it go through his body and then out on to the canvas. He wants the distance between him and the materials to should be as short as possible and by putting pressure on the body thru long walks in nature he wants to detract his thoughts from the creation of the visual image and instead let his body work undisturbed and in direct contact with the energy on the site along with the materials he finds there.
Education
2016 – 2018 / Bergen Academy of Art and Design / KMD, Master
2008 – 2011 / Trondheim academy of fine arts, Bachelor
2009 – 2010 / The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of visual arts
Exhibitions
2019 ”Mineral Deposits” /Group show, Studio 17. Stavanger Norway
2019 “Stänk och flikar” /Solo exhibition. Galleri Christinegaard. Bergen Norway
2019 “Unge inviterte” /Group show. National Association of Norwegian Painters. Oslo Norway
2018 “Bare mennesket lager rette linjer” /Group show. The Association of Norwegian Sculptors. Oslo Norway
2018 “The National Art Exhibition – The Autumn Exhibition” /Group show. Kunstnernes Hus. Oslo Norway
2018 “Prunkande plast” /With Erik Hed. Brashnar artist in residence. Skopje Macedoina
2018 “After School Special” – Sommerjevndøgn /Group show. Landmark. Bergen Norway
2018 “Paintings by a free spirit” /Solo exhibition. Galleri Kronborg. Bergen Norway
2018 “Friday the 13th” /Master degree show. Bergen kunsthall. Bergen Norway
2017 “Cooking by the book” /Solo exhibition. Hordaland art center. Bergen Norway
2017 “En Palme med to skudd” /With David Breida. Galleri Blunk. Trondheim Norway
2017 “We Only Have Happy Accidents” /With David Breida. Rom 8. Bergen Norway
2017 “Finding Collaboration” /MA1 Group exhibition. Blokk & KRAFT. Bergen Norway
2017 “Utvandraren” /Solo exhibition. Atelier 205. Bergen Norway
2016 “A Cavemans Simplification” /Solo exhibition. Project space Strømgaten. Bergen Norway 2016 “ENTANGELING” /Group exhibition. FELT. Bergen Norway
2015 “Not Sure” /With Erik Hällman. SØ. Copenhagen Denmark
2014 “(S)elswhere” /Group exhibition and residency. Sel Norway
2012 “Trønderlagsutstillingen 2012” /TSSK,Trondheim. Steinkjer kunstforening, Steinkjer Norway 2012 “Vamos a la playa” /With Alexandra Jegerstedt. Sound of MU. Oslo Norway
2011 “Trøndelagsutstillingen 2011” /Kulturbunker Dora, Trondheim Norge
2011 “Blast from the past” /With David Kumlin. trondheimkunsthall.com
2011 “Haters Gonna Hate” /With David Kumlin. Babel visningsrom for kunst. Trondheim Norway 2010 “OOO” /With David Kumlin. Galleri Q. Copenhagen Denmark
2009 “Äppelmannen” /With David Kumlin. Galleri Blunk. Trondheim Norway
2009 “No Friends forever” /With David Kumlin. Galleri KiT. Trondheim Norway
2008 “Torget” /Group exhibition. Trondheim Kunstmuseum Gråmølna. Trondheim Norway
Grants
2019 One year working grant, Visual artists remuneration fund
2018 Norwegian Graphics Fund Graphics Prize
2018 Norwegian Arts and Crafts Associations student grant
2018 Norwegian Visual Artists Remuneration Foundation
2018 Arts council of Norway´s stipend for Emerging Artists
Residency
2018 Brashnar artist in residence program. Skopje Macedonia
2015 R.E.D. Eina Norway
2014 (S)elsewhere. Sel Norway
Publications
2016 “Att komma vidare” / Röj Forlag 2016 “Kaffeved” / Röj Forlag
2015 “Not Sure” / With Erik Hällman. Röj Forlag
2014 “Catching up with today” / Röj Forlag
2014 “Motar Data” / Contribution to book. Röj Forlag
2014 “Don’t Haffi Brain” / With David Kumlin. Röj Forlag
Other
Member of LNM, Landsforeningen Norske Malere / National Association of Norwegian Painters Member of NBK, Norske billedkunstnere / Norwegian Visual Artists
Purchased by Trondheim kunstmuseum 2012
Purchased by Nordland Fylkeskommune 2019
