Strategies in Concrete
Oct. - Dec. 2023)

Strategies in Concrete at NOUA juxtaposed concrete sculptures by Sverre Gullesen with archival photographs of Erling Viksjø's concrete architecture. Gullesen takes materials as the starting point for his practice and the exhibition included sculptures that were cast on site, using textile forms that were filled with concrete. Gravity pulled the concrete mass downwards within each form and the density of the material, in combination with the drying process, affected each sculpture’s shape and tactile qualities. In contrast to Modernist/Brutalist architecture, Gullesen’s sculptures, with their variations in size, shape, colour and use of materials, can be seen as organic and expressive. The works are both humorous and domineering, playing with ideas about social structures, systems and ideologies that are torn to pieces and then reworked. Gullesen mixed various pigments and stones into the concrete, resulting in unique colour combinations and textures. Certain sculptures were split vertically and horizontally and displayed as wall-hung concrete panels.  

Photographs of Viksjø's architecture (from the National Museum’s archives) were displayed alongside works by Gullesen. Viksjø's buildings challenge widely held ideas about ‘ugly’ and ‘pleasing’ architecture. Viksjø'¸ was an innovator and engaged in unique collaborations with a number of artists. In the photographs we see the results of his extensive collaborations with artists such as Carl Nesjar and Pablo Picasso.