MANUEL BURGENER

WHAT'S WRONG / KUNSTHAL NORD

Manon Bellet / Manuel Burgener / Luc Mattenberger / Mo Maja Moesgaard / Stine Marie Jacobsen


WHAT’S WRONG is an international exhibition with works of the three Swiss artists Manon Bellet, Manuel Burgener and Luc Mattenberger, as well as Mo Maja Moesgaard and Stine Marie Jacobsen from Denmark. The aim is to strengthen the artistic dialogue between Switzerland and Denmark, while giving the Danish audience an insight into the current Swiss art scene.

The idea to connect the five artists in Northern Jutland corresponds to one of Kunsthal NORD’s most courted realms: bringing new and experimental art to the North of Denmark. The artists will contribute site-specific works, either directly produced or newly installed in the Kunsthal NORD. The curatorial concept of the exhibition binds the five artists on the expectation to fit their works into Kunsthal NORD’s unique space, which takes its main features from the industrial past of its location inside Aalborg’s former power plant Nordkraft. Its raw appearance was preserved when Nordkraft was turned into a cultural center in the early 2000s, which ultimately makes Kunsthal NORD’s inner space a lot less conventional in comparison to other art institutions. Far from a traditional white cube, the floors, walls and ceiling display their history in plain sight. The artists’ individual practices offer an interesting challenge to each other and the space, in which the works and their site-specific quality prove to be the corresponding elements.

The exhibition “WHAT’S WRONG” is an attempt in seeking to examine the current state of affairs in the contemporary art scene. The severe influence of the art market leaves its imprint in many surroundings of the actual works, including the programs of art museums and galleries. Kunsthal NORD provides space to artists who offer an alternative to the commodity-influenced structures of the art market system. Site-specificity plays an important role in escaping the common trades market, as works especially created for one place can lose meaning and content when taken away from their original position, which thus makes them more of an experience than a commodity. Most works in WHAT’S WRONG will not exist after the exhibition at Kunsthal NORD, which ultimately places them outside the art market. 

AUGUST 6 - OCTOBER 15 2017


1. Pic on Page:  ©Niels Fabæk