Photo: Installation detail from the installation Grinding. Read review and see images from Open Studios in Dutch art magazine Mister Motley here.

The public opening of Open Studios at Van Eyck, Maastricht, will be held on Friday 15 March from 17:00 – 19:00.
On Saturday 16 March the studios will be open to all from 10:00 – 17:00
Text by Lex teer Braak for Open Studios, Van Eyck:

In 2015, Anna Ihle decided to model her lifestyle as an artist on the standard Norwegian working week of 37.5 hours. This is a radical departure from the inherent desire (or compulsion) that artists conventionally experience to be continually at work, and to regard this as their wellspring of happiness regardless of income or social status.

Anna Ihle wanted to avoid being a subject of research by management experts and sociologists into the artist’s inherent drive and the pleasure to be obtained from it, or into how this knowledge could be turned to the advantage of industrial employers so that the wage slaves will happily return each day to resume their labours. By proclaiming her working week regimen, Anna Ihle issues a critical and ironic commentary on the socially undervalued status of the artist.

For her work Grinding, Ihle sculpted with an angle grinder a version of her bite guard, required to prevent damage to her teeth by involuntary tooth-grinding during sleep. This affliction is often triggered by factors like stress due to social situations, depression and neurosis.

The dimensions of the sculptured bite guard are such that she can lie down inside it, as a form of protection against the distress of nocturnal bruxism. But it can also serve as a memorial for all those who suffer from being ground down by the system, because they are unwilling or unable to conform to it.

Image: Nina Glockner, Collective Voice Detector, 2018
Photo: Werner Mantz Lab, Jan van Eyck Academie

PARTICIPANTS:
Alexandra Phillips (US) Ana Guedes (PT) Andrea Canepa (PE/IT) Andrea Éva Györi (HU) Anna Ihle (NO) Anne Huijnen (NL) Aram Lee (KR) Artun Alaska Arasli (TR) Ben Weir (UK/IE) Christopher Meerdo (US) Daniel de Paula (BR) Dasha Tsapenko (UA) De Onkruidenier (Jonmar van Vlijmen, Ronald Boer) (NL) Diego Tonus (IT) Elisa Strinna (IT) Elnaz Salehi (IR) Emma Van Roey (BE) Gabriella Marcella (GB) Georges Senga (CG) Giulio Squillacciotti (IT) Hasabie Kidanu (ET/US) Ilya Fedotov-Fedorov (RU) Jhen Chen (TW) Joonas Hyvönen (FI) Julius Heinemann (DE) Karoline Swiezynski (DE) Katja Verheul (NL) Kristina Sedlerova (FI) Lietje Bauwens (NL) Ludovica Carbotta (IT) Lyndon Barrois Jr. (US) Maarten van der Graaff (NL) Marente van der Valk (NL) Marissa Lee Benedict (US) Marwan Moujaes (LB) Nina Glockner (DE) Quenton Miller (AU/GB) Rain Wu (TW) Rasmus Nilausen (DK) Riksa Afiaty (ID) Sean Ervan Kuhnke (US) Sepideh Zamani (IR) Sofie Van der Linden (BE) Sooji Lee (KR) Sytske van Koeveringe (NL) Vera Gulikers (NL)

The work Heavy Lifting is part of the publication Vestlandsutstillingen 2019.

The exhibition Mathias by Idun Baltzersen and Anna Ihle January 31st 2019 – February 24th 2019 at Trøndelag Senter for Samtidskunst, Trondheim. Text on the work Grinding in Adressa (in Norwegian).

Idun Baltzersen and Anna Ihle have emerged on the Norwegian art scene with questions related to the role of the artist. In their exhibition at Trøndelag Centre for Contemporary Art they will explore the conditions for artistic work by testing different strategies for stress management and how artists can achieve recognition. How do we use language to present artists? What are the criteria for being a successful artist? Baltzersen and Ihle works with woodcuts, wood carving, installation art and video in their practices to explore these questions.

«It is hard to find images of Oda Krohg’s paintings on the internet. Though we do find several portraits of her painted by her bohemian colleagues. According to the internet Krohg was the bohemian princess that had an intimate relationship to them all. Several renowned artists are named Mathias. In the exhibition «Mathias» we want to use the language that is used to portray him. Picturing him, objectifying him, owning his image. Our homage will be transmitted to us. Our attitude. Our stress management and success. We grit our teeth. We look away. Lift our gaze».

The book Uvirksomme Hender / Idle Hands consists of documentation of selected artworks by Anna Ihle (2014–2018), texts by Kathi Weeks, Roland Paulsen, Merete Hermansen Jonvik, Basim Mardan and Geir Haraldseth. Design by Joseph Atkinson. Editors: Geir Haraldseth and Torunn Larsen. Available at Rogaland Kunstsenter (200NOK).

Documentation from the exhibition series AREIDSVERK 1-4 curated by Hans Edward Hammonds and Anna Ihle can be found here (in Norwegian).

Exhibition UVILJE Idun Baltzersen & Anna Ihle opening October 11th at Buskerud Kunstsenter. View documentation of the installation Idle hands, workflow and lack of willpower (2013-2018) here.

Exhibition and book launch at Rogaland Kunstsenter, Stavanger. Review (in Norwegian) in Stavanger Aftenblad on Bright Future Horizons by critic Trond Borgen. Short review (in Norwegian) at VISP on Bright Future Horizons by critic Arve Rød. Images: Oddbjørn Erland Aarstad. Facebook event here.

New performance work, Unhealthy Arrangements & Other Activities, presented at Stavanger Art Museum April 26th. View documentation images from the performance Unhealthy Arrangements & Other Activities here.  Photos by Oddbjørn Erland Aarstad.

The concept of recreation undergirds the works Anna Ihle will show at Kuppelkupp on the Thursday before International Workers’ Day (1 May). There are also some direct sources of inspirations for these works: for one, a radio interview from 10 January 2018 with the director of Spekter (Norway’s employers’ union), Anne-Kari Bratten, who discussed women working part-time, for another, a speech held at the opening of the exhibition Bjarne Melgaard/Sverre Bjertnes in Stavanger earlier this year. As part of her instruction-performance, Ihle has invited the local Voice of the Soul Choir, directed by Priscila Serrano, to perform a work composed by Jens Borge. By making small, ambiguous interventions in the choral programme and in the cupola, Ihle actualizes questions about work, productivity, free time and the reigning ideals and hierarchies in society.

Opening of UVILJE Baltzersen / Ihle at Nils Aas Kunstverksted, March 17th 13:00. Facebook event here.

Awarded Stavanger Artist of the Year 2018
Description (in Norwegian) here.
From Rogalands Avis here.
From Stavanger Aftenblad here.

Interview (in Norwegian) in Norwegian art journal Billedkunst.
Download pdf: ihleborge_intervju

Solo show opening at RAM Galleri, Oslo, December 14th

For the exhibition Downtime (Nedetid) Anna Ihle will present four new works. The production of Downtime has taken place, for the most part, between breakfast and dinner on work days, as Ihle considers a normative Scandinavian work week to be a guideline for her practice. During her working hours, the artist has been negotiating between a protestant Norwegian west coast work ethic, and a start-up vibe, both inspired by Ihles hometown Stavanger, the oil capital of Norway. Since the start of her MFA,  Anna Ihle has been making art while questioning the meaning of work today. In her artistic practice, she has been stone carving, wood carving, gold panning and invited in people for conversations in the work process. The conversations often contain questions like «When is your work day over? What is considered a job? Hey, what do you think about while working? When are the hours after work recreation and not just rehabilitation?»

Facebook event here.
Photo documentation here.
Exhibition recommended in Subjekt and Dagbladet.
In a series of self portraits in Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen (in Norwegian) here.

Opening of the exhibition SAUDA October 7th:
Anna Ihle used the gym of powerlifter Hildeborg Juvet Hugdal as a studio during a week in October. For the opening of SAUDA Ihle will show the work «Heavy lifting» which consists of water colors, photography and the letter “Dear Hildeborg Juvet Hugdal and others lifting heavy things in Sauda!”, photography and water colors. The letter is published in the local newspaper Ryfylke October 6th.

Video blog KUNZT introducing both Studio17 and ongoing research by Anna Ihle (English subtitles).

Interview “Artist of the month” in VISP (in Norwegian). Read here.

Interview in Namdalsavisa. Read (in Norwegian) here. Artist residency at Snedkeriet, at the Norwegian Sawmill Museum, Namsos July 2017.

Dialogues 02: Anna Ihle & Verena Winkelmann FERIEKUNST
Galleri Hi10, Skien Norway
August 11th – 13th 2016

Open Day June 24th at the artist run initiative Velferden, Sokndal.  Artists: Anna Ihle, Aleksander Andreassen, Hans Edward Hammonds and Maiken Stene. Facebook event here.

INTERVIEW IN CAS BY MATHIAS KRYGER (In English).
 Read full interview here.

TIED UP // FOTOGALLERIET
07-23.04.2017 Facebook event here.

My passion and love for my work is of high, high value. I nurture my passion so well, other people want it. I do my work with ease and care, I don´t get sick. – Anna Ihle

Bright Future Horizons is covered by The Creators Project, Vice. Read full interview here. For more images from the show Bright Future Horizons, click here.

Passive aggressive: Idun Baltzersen / Anna Ihle
Opening at Kunstgarasjen, Bergen November 25th. Artists Baltzersen and Ihle in conversation (in Norwegian) with Åse Løvgren 7:30pm. Facebook event here.  View more images from the ongoing show Baltzersen / Ihle at Kunstgarasjen, and read the exhibition text by Ida Bringedal (in Norwegian) here.

Lysende Framtidsutsikter / Bright Future Horizons is covered by ArtSceneTrondheim; interview by Eline Bjerkan (in Norwegian). Read here. NRK article from the making of Bright Future Horizons (in Norwegian). By Kjartan Trana and Amand Aune Nilsen. Photo by Kjartan Trana, NRK. See more images from Lysende Framtidsutsikter / Bright Future Horizons at Babel Art Space by Susann Jamtøy ArtSceneTrondheim here.

Awarded Work Grant 2016 Kunstmuseet Nord- Trøndelag. See more images from the summer show, and read the jury statement (in Norwegian) here.

Laundry hour  (a conversation between Mohamed El Abed and Anna Ihle) Tuesday 17 May, 6.30pm

When I work, both paid work and housework, I try to create spaces that feel like my own. I listen to podcasts and shows, to feel educated, entertained and less alone. One of the voices, I often listen to while I work is Mohamed El Abed – Anna Ihle. Laundry Hour is part of the project Open House, an exhibition that took place at Konsthall C in 2015. Supported by OCA – Office for Contemporary Art Norway. Facebook event here.

 Ihles Information on Contemporary Art part II (in Norwegian), in relation to ongoing shows FUTURUM and Blindheten at TKS. Facebook event here. Lecture at Telemark Kunstsenter Wednesday May 11th 19:00.

Artist talk at the University of Linz, during residency at Atelierhaus Salzamt. March 3rd 5pm (in English).

Artist talk in Stavanger. Nils Viga Hausken and Anna Ihle. Feb 11th 7pm (in Norwegian) at Rogaland Kunstsenter. Facebook event here.

Artist talk at Kunstskolen i Rogaland during Open House. Feb 10th 15:15- 17:00 at Kunstskolen i Rogaland. Facebook event here.

Ihles Information on Contemporary Art part I (in Norwegian). Lecture at Telemark Kunstsenter Wednesday Feb 3rd 19:00. Facebook event here.

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DRIV, FLYT, STIKKER KLOKKA FIRE / DRIVE, WORKFLOW, OFF BY 4PM
Exhibition at Spriten Kunsthall Dec 10th – Jan 9th
In media (in Norwegian):
Aftenposten
TA
Varden

Press on PRECARITY (in Swedish):
Folkbladet:http://www.folkbladet.se/kultur-noje/om-arbetslivet-forr-och-nu-8781674.aspx
NT: http://mobil.nt.se/kultur-noje/konsten-soker-sig-mot-det-prekara-12179079.aspx
ETC: http://www.etc.se/kultur-noje/prekart-arbete-blir-konst

Heavenly Orders # 3 VI SETTER PRIS PÅ SVETTE / WE VALUE SWEAT

Spriten Kunsthall Oct 16th – Nov 21st. Henna Hyvärinen and Anders Moss
Curated by Camilla Edström Ödemark and Anna Ihle. Facebook event here.
Documentation of show here. Exhibition is supported by Norway Arts Council and Skien Kommune 

Heavenly Orders is an exhibiton series at Spriten Kunsthall. WE VALUE SWEAT is the final part, curated by Camilla Edström Ödemark and Anna Ihle.

WE VALUE SWEAT is about artistic labor, industry and sweat. Because if someone who´s worked their ass off- they´re probably awesome. Someone who´s not afraid of dirt and who´s all in before deadline. Someone who loves their work. We value that.

The exhibition is distributed at three floors at Spriten Kunsthall, ones housing a distillery (a side industry of the cities earlier main industry: wood processing). The exhibition is shown by guided tours by the curators. The guided tours is built on stories about the art works and from historical events of the building (based on conversations with Kjell Åge Isaksen, previously an employee in the Norske Skog Union at the very location).

Contributing with the work Idle Hands in the show PREKÄR (PRECARITY) at Arbetets Museum  in Norrköping. Konst i Arbete at Arbetets Museum November 22nd in Norrköping. Information in Swedish below.

Information in Swedish below.

 

Sveriges Konstföreningar bjuder in till konferensen Konst i Arbete på Arbetets museum i Norrköping den 21-22 november 2015. Konferensen handlar om relationen mellan konsten och arbetslivet i ett nutida och historiskt perspektiv. Varför bör det finnas konst på arbetsplatsen och vilka politiska ideologier har tidigare legat bakom konstens integration i arbetslivet? Rapporter från konstnärer och konstföreningar som verkar i ett arbetsliv i förändring varvas under konferensen med performativa inslag, historiska utblickar och teoretisk fördjupning.

Till konferensen kommer konstföreningsledare, experter på arbetets filosofi och idéhistoria, representanter från näringslivet, konstvetare, curators och konstnärer.

Medverkar gör: Pia Areblad, Jens Evaldsson, Marika Holm, Ann Ighe, Anna Ihle, Michele Masucci, Stina Nyberg, Jenny Richards, Gertrud Sandqvist, Frida Sandström, Emma Stenström, Nina Svensson, Marika Troili, Anna Östlund. Moderator: Kerstin Brunnberg.

Lördagen den 21 november 2015 kl. 12-18 och söndagen den 22 november 2015 kl. 9-16

AHeavenly Orders # 2 ALMOST THE SAME BUT NOT QUITE
Spriten Kunsthall Sept 5th – Oct 3rd. Jasmin Daryani and Camilla Edström Ödemark. Curated by Anna Ihle and Stina Ihle Amankwah. Facebook event here.

Stina:  I just don´t understand why people are concerned about not being called a racist, instead of not beinga racist. Don´t they understand how the things coming out of their mouth tastes like crap?

Anna: I guess, but it´s really uncomfortable discovering you´ve been eating shit for years.

Stina: Yes, but isn´t it just better to realize that? Rather than going through life believing that shit is food?

Sometimes I feel like the level of whiteness in this world overwhelming. The majority of the people on this planet are not white, yet my sister has asked me before meeting new people “do they already know that we’re brown?”.  As if all other colours have to come with a prior warning to let people decide on and practice a non-racist reaction or maybe even come up with a white witty joke to relieve the awkwardness that may follow. Whiteness penetrates all of us. Also people of colour. Most of us, when we hear about an instance of racism our first reaction is to look for an excuse or a justification on the side of the perpetrator.  Maybe the victim was aggressive, maybe they were a criminal, maybe they really were not the best qualified candidate for the sales assistance position even though they ran the biggest mattress company in the whole of Lebanon.  Whiteness can even make you question your own behavior and complicity in situations of injustice.  Maybe I did act suspiciously, maybe I am not good enough for this position, maybe I did hold something in my hand that looked like a gun. -Stina Ihle Amankwah

 

Visit www.konsthallc.se to listen to the audio work After Hours For What I Want, a part of the show Open House at Konsthall C. Click on the bottom right corner, to have 24:40min of company while you let´s say fold your clothes.

Photo: Carolina Garcia

Exhibition view from the show Open House at Konsthall C. the work After Hours for What I Want.

 

Home Works at Konsthall C in Arbetet.

HEAVENLY ORDERS #1: We Value Good Art

Nicole Levaque and Jaakko Pallasvuo. Curated by Camilla Edström Ödemark and Anna Ihle

Do you ever have the feeling that the world is becoming smaller? That our reality is an oyster for the capitalist project, where creation is slowly being translated into understandable monetary units. A piece of land in euros, a bird singing in dollars. Oil, water, landscape. Morality transferred and exchanged into value through the goodwill projects of multinational corporations. Curiosity, dreams, creativity. Price tag.

In a contemporary global market, where everything comes with a price, Heavenly Orders no. 1 seeks out artistic practices that questions the monetary value of creative and intellectual capital. What does the art world translate into money when evaluating an art piece? What is being transferred in a deal between the artist and the collector? The artist and the viewer?

The works of Levaque and Pallasvuo share a mutual interest in the value of art. By perverting and distorting materials and techniques traditionally regarded as ”of high value” within the art world, both artists position themselves against the market. Traditional ways of creating value are abandoned, forcing us to see the creative process of an artist as a commodity. What is the price of such a commodity?

Facebook event here.

ÖPPET HUS / OPEN HOUSE  Konsthall C Opening 20 May 2015, 6pm

20 May – 27 September 2015
Hiwa K (DEU/IRQ),  Anna Ihle (NOR) and Gunilla Lundahl (SWE)

Open House an international group exhibition with Anna Ihle, Hiwa K and Gunilla Lundahl – in collaboration with Bolaget (Lilian Domec and Thomas Gilek) that reflects on the question: What Constitutes a Home Today?

Open House is the second exhibition of Konsthall C’s programme Home Works responding to our location within Hökarängen’s community laundry; investigating the politics of the domestic sphere and the home.For more information and to follow our public programme in collaboration with ABF Stockholm please vist www.konsthallc.se

Opening of ORKA! April 4th 2015 in Husby Konsthall. Artists: Emil Borhammar / Idun Baltzersen / Anna Ihle
Texts: Mona Susan Abbasnejad / Anna Ihle

HARDWARE Art Lab Gnesta
Photo by Art Lab Gnesta, mounting of the work Idle Hands.
Opening April 19t 2015

FREMSKRITT/PROGRESS

February 6th -March 29th 2015
TKS Telemark Kunstsenter, Skien
Sven Drobnitza / Helge Hansen / Anna IHLE

Cirkelstudien is a group show at ABF in Stockholm, intitiated and organized by Konstfrämjandet and Konstfack.

The contributing artists have all studied  Art in the Public Realm at Konstfack.

Opening: Jan 29th, 2015, 17.00–20.00

The show is on from Jan 30th –Feb 21nd, 2015

UPPSALA ART MUSEUM

The Foundation in Memory of Anna-Lisa Thomson

On the show at Uppsala Art Museum (in Swedish)

At konsten.net  “Anna Ihles installation Idle Hands har fått eget rum, kanske är detta en särart, ingen synlig människa finns bland de ingående delarna – de är däremot inskrivna i verket. En kraftfull hyvelbänk hänger upp-och-ner från linor i taket – upplyft; snarade, bundna, förankrade, som sänken för att arbetsredskapet inte ska stiga till väders och bli det man ärar – mer än det äras bör, hänger ängladelarna som befinner sig närmare marken, det som ska synliggöras – det pågående arbetet” (Excerpt, text by Marit Jonsson)

At unt.se  ”Idle Hands som består av en gammal hyvelbänk som upp- och nervänd är surrad i taket som ett fjättrat monster. Från bänken hänger en dekonstruerad träängel i bitar och under verket ligger en hög färska spånor. En sadomasochistisk bild av ett uråldrigt hantverk som rymmer mängder av tolkningsmöjligheter”. (Excerpt, text by Sebastian Johans).

Grant Recipient 2014:
Anna Ihle Idun Baltzersen Ida Persson Madelaine Stillfors

Image from TA (in Norwegian).
Awarded Skien Kommune Kunstner- og Arbeidsstipend 2015

Kunstschlager Gallery PASSIVE AGGRESSSIVE Anna Ihle / Idun Baltzersen

R A N D O M Group show by the SIM residence artists of October 2014

Anna Ihle NO Nicole Levaque CAN Ilan Gutin USA Knaggi (Andreas Knag-Danielsen NO & Arngrímur Borgþórsson IS) Torill Brosten NO Kathryn Maguire IRL Andrew Godsalve CAN Nina Rizzo USA Robert Clark UK Anna Domnick DE Anna Petters SE Facebook event here.

Artist of the week at Starafugl. Chat with Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir. Image by Kolbrún Ýr Einarsdóttir

Blind Navigation at the Living Art Museum, Reykjavik. In collaboration with Eva Isleifsdottir and Kolbrún Ýr Einarsdóttir at Nýló, Nýlistasafnið (The Living Art Museum), Reykjavik the exhibition Blind Navigationat Nýló opens October 18th 2014.

Part of RIGHT TIME, WRONG CITY in Stavanger. NMNP Project Space production.

Studio17 in Stavanger. Curated by Anna Ihle. Works by Lina Kruopyte, Emil Borhammar and Anna Ihle. June 12th – June 15th Opening June 12th 6pm Facebook event here.

Victoria Durnaks blog Vikileaks at Flamme Forlag asks about the Moussaka in the Trondheim show: http://www.flammeforlag.no/vickileaks-5/#more-16081