ISGIES – gallery supported activity in 2022

Laetitia Queyranne established ISCA gallery in central Oslo in November 2019. She came from New York with work experience from Sotheby’s and Gagosian in addition to having worked with a private art collection for many years. Queyranne found that Oslo did not have many art galleries but did have many interesting artists who she wanted to give a place to show their works.

Her asset and aim are to give Norway based contemporary artists and their work international attention via international art fairs, exchanges, and collaborations with other galleries abroad; with emphasis on New York.

We were thrilled for ISCA Gallery to be invited to participate in CHART at the Kunsthall Charlottenborg in Copenhagen. As one of the leading art fairs in Europe and the Nordics, it was a big steppingstone and sense of validation for the gallery, which opened its doors only two years ago. We were contacted by Louise Birch Sørensen, Head of the art fair and programming, who kindly invited the gallery to have a booth at the art fair alongside some of the regions most established galleries, lending a great deal of weight and credibility to ISCA Gallery.

We exhibited the works of two artists represented by the gallery - Liv Ertzeid and Tron Meyer - who's paintings and sculptures provide fresh insight in young Norwegian artists. Both Liv and Tron work in an expressive and colorful manner, taking inspiration from nature and their surroundings in the local landscape. We showed a new series of rich floral paintings by Liv Ertzeid, and a combination of floor based sculptures and vibrant paintings by Tron Meyer. In addition to the booth, we were given a prominent space in the stairway leading up to the fair to hang a large painting by Liv Ertzeid. This was the first artwork on display that visitors encountered as they made their way up the stairway from the reception to the main floor of the fair. Visibility and curiosity was greatly increased through this placement and resulted in many collectors coming directly to our booth to inquire about the painting and learn more about the artist.

A good number of contacts were made during the art fair and Liv Ertzeid was named in a press article from a Viennese newspaper as well as a piece in ‘Natt og Dag’ in Norway. We met many Norwegian collectors, both old and new, which helped solidify our relationships and increase visibility and trust with our clients. We also met with a number of curators, art advisors, museum representatives both at the fair and at the dinners and events that were organized by CHART. Tron Meyer was invited to participate in a group show at the Haugar Museum in Tønsberg in 2023, and Liv Ertzied was invited for an interview with Kapital and Finansavisen's podcast 'Kunstpraten' to talk about her practice and experience at the fair.

We were overall very pleased with CHART, they were very helpful before and at the fair, bringing guided tours to our booth so we could present the artists shown and talk more in depth about the gallery. We were grateful for the opportunity to introduce our artists to a wider, more international audience and to strengthen our relationships with collectors, curators, etc. Our participation would not have been possible without the generous support of OCA, especially since the gallery is still in its infancy and does not have the resources to finance all the fees associated with the fair. The grant scheme makes it possible for us to present the works of emerging Norwegian artists to a broader international audience who might not have had the chance to encounter them otherwise. The access and opportunities that the art fairs offer is invaluable and contributes a great deal to the success and longevity of the gallery and the artists represented within. We have been invited to participate again next year and look forward to presenting a new booth with more Norwegian artists represented by the gallery

Elephant (also known as Elephant Kunsthall) is composed of Mads Andreas Andreassen and his animated alter ego IMLIKEANELEPHANT. Elephant is known for curating and exhibiting contemporary art in a shared studio/warehouse in the small town of Lillehammer. Elephant was conceived one day in the studio, when Mads decided to paint on one of his friend's works. Elephant often interacts with Andreassen’s regular practice as a visual artist.

He came to CHART book fair to present self-published articles of artists that he had exhibited at Elephant Kunsthall like Birk Bjørlo and Markus Li Stensrud.

Elephant has developed into a collective project which takes on many forms and dialogues in different contexts.

He and the textile artist Maria Brinch as a team attended the NAA (Norwegian Arts Abroad) Competence program for internationalisation in 2022. Their project in the program was a book on Maria Brinch’s artistic practice with a publisher with international reach. Elephant will serve as one of the contributing editors.

They both came to CHART to do a public talk within CHART’s main programme with curator Andreas Schaegel about Maria Brinch’s artistic practice. Andreas Schaegel will contribute with an essay for the book.

Given Elephant’s fluid nature across hierarchies and its participation in the NAA Competence programme and Chart 2022 he now continues with new opportunities abroad. He will be presenting his joint practice at Future Fair, New York in 2023 and takes on a curatorial collaboration at HB381 Gallery in New York with Nordic sculptures in two years time.

In Norway his next exhibition as a visual artist is this fall at P.A.L.M.E.R.A-Bergen together with artist Urd J Pedersen.