Studio Visit: Manuel Portioli

Photos: Tove Lise Mossestad

Interview: Nora Adwan

Q&A with Manuel Portioli

MP: Manuel, A+F: ART + FOLK

Art+Folk visited Manuel in his studio at Norsk Stålpress on a hot summers day. The space is made up of two rooms, a storage for completed big canvases and a bright working space with paint on every surface. The smell of oil paint from several works in progress on the walls is almost overwhelming; we sit in this scene of prolific activity for the interview. 

The communication between Bergen and the rest of the world is good. That is something which doesn´t happen in Italy, that you have an international airport 20mins from the centre of such a small city. I don´t do thousands of exhibitions abroad, but when I need it, it is great to have the flexibility.

There is a strong art community here which is surprising for the population. Bergen offers a lot; you can get everything done here, even if the shipping times are incredibly long. But we get everything we need here. It´s nice to have a community that you actually see and interact with. Most of my own art community is online, communicating with artists in other countries or using Instagram in an intelligent way to get relevant and interesting images.

A+F: How has moving to Bergen influenced you?

MP: I never painted landscapes before I came to Norway. I´ve been influenced by being here, I think it´s unavoidable. I came from a country that´s different to Norway in every possible aspect; different people, different culture, different economic situation, costumes, and ideas and ideals. One of the ways a person finds his way in a new place, is to become part of the surroundings so you have social interaction with people and you realise you are not in the flat landscape you are used to, but there are mountains and sea everywhere. When I was trying to decide what to do at the end of the master program, I started to have dreams of mountains and water. I know it sounds strange but I am not someone who dreams usually. At the same time I started painting landscapes, partly in the hope of fitting into the market here. I don´t remember if the dreams came before the landscapes or the landscapes after the dreams. I think it was something like the chicken and the egg. Probably they came along together. I was dreaming of water especially, the black Norwegian waters, it was so strange. But it hit me every night, so I felt like it was a weird message, so I just continued painting landscapes. I use them as a way to relax between more more demanding paintings.

A+F: You have become part of other people´s art collections, how does that work with your practice? What is your relationship with art collection? You make series but you sell individual paintings separately. How does that feel?

MP: Well I make series to make 10 paintings from one idea. Its hard to get enough fuel to make one painting, its better to spread it out. It takes a lot of energy. Sometimes an idea is too big to fit on one canvas. There are incredibly crowded paintings, like those by Hieronymus Bosch, but he took a year on one painting. If I want to live from painting I would need to charge a year’s wages for a single painting. I think of it as TV series rather than movies or as an album. I have the series as my portfolio, its fine if one or two actual paintings are not in my possession anymore. Every series needs a couple of hits and lighter and darker elements to balance it, just like an album. You have to balance a series and for me the work is the exhibition. I had an exhibition at Visningsrommet called Lovers´ Nest. The finished work is the hanging and arranging the paintings together.

A+F: Do you know the people who buy your paintings? Do you have a relationship with them?

MP: Mostly not. Some people follow me on social media, some I have a bit of a relationship with. It would be nice to stay in touch with people and to know more about why they like the paintings. I like to think they appreciate the intellectual intentions and the material skill behind the work, but maybe they just like how well they fit with the sofa and the furnishings. That is ok.

It would be hard for me to surround myself with paintings, they are work for me and I need to relax at home.

A+F: Do you still have your gallery in Italy? Are you working between countries?

MP: Yes, I am going to curate another edition of Cold Current with Helene Førde in the autumn. There will be an exhibition in September.

A+F: Do you think your interest in curating is a way of collecting works, but in a way that you don´t own them?

MP: I think you are right; I think that is how I make collections. I often admire other peoples works and curate exhibitions with things I like and think that its important for other people to see. I do actually accidentally own some works from other people through curating, they are in storage in Italy, but it is because the artists never collected them after I organised exhibitions. It is nice to revisit the works now and then.

A+F: How do split your time between earning money, studio work and free time?

MP: It´s very random. My money job is very flexible, sometimes I only work a couple of times a week and sometimes very intensely. Sometimes I work more than fulltime in the studio and sometimes I don´t have a lot of energy and I will spend a few months away from the studio, reading books, watching movies, travelling, recharging. I prefer to take off time in the summer to be outside while its nice, but it doesn´t always happen that way.

I don´t have a regular work day. I work both day and night shifts in my job. Last year I had a show coming up and I worked nights in my job and all day in the studio with just a few naps. It was very intense. Now I´m the manager so I can control my shifts, I check in most mornings to make sure everything is as it should be before I come to the studio and I try to be in the studio five times a week.

A+F: You are painting a lot of landscapes; do you also work outside the studio?

MP: I go out to places and go up and down mountains as fast as possible to make it feel adventurous, while looking for the right scenery. I feel I´m going fast but probably any Norwegian pensioner would overtake me! I work from photographs back in the studio. I work with Photoshop and watercolours to sketch out the series. 

A+F: What new projects are you developing at the moment, are these landscapes for an exhibition?

MP: Yes, they are for Solund Kunstlag they asked me to come and make some paintings. The landscape is amazing there. I will do an exhibition on the 25th August. I went there and explored for 2 days to take pictures to try and capture some of the rock formations they are famous for. Actually the paintings are too green, it looks too much like Bergen.

Thanks so much for your time!

Once a month, ART + FOLK will introduce someone from our local art community.  We will open  the doors to their home or to their studio and have them tell us a bit about their everyday, their work and what they have on their own walls.

Interview by Nora Adwan;  photos by Tove Lise Mossestad. 

This project is supported by the City of Bergen (Bergen Kommune) and Arts Council Norway (Norsk Kulturrådet).

Home & Studio visit: Kiyoshi Yamamoto

ART + FOLK visited Kiyoshi at his studio in USF, Bergen on a sunny morning.  His studio is clearly and extension of his home and it is possible to see Kiyoshi’s personality and train of though on every crook and corner of the space.  Kiyoshi, as his work, is bright, colorful and welcoming.  He has always a warm cup of hand brewed coffee ready and space on his sofa for a good chat.  He is super hard working, is generous with advice and feedback and has no fear of telling it as it is.  

Kiyoshi is what I would say a crossover. He is a crossover within his art practice and a crossover within culture.  Like a sponge, he has been absorbing bits of here and there and put them into practice, creating objects and projects that are not definable by a creative branch but by many.  

Q&A with Kiyoshi Yamamoto

K: Kiyoshi, A+F: ART + FOLK

Photos by: Tove Lise Mossestad

A+F:  Kiyoshi, what would you say is your artistic background?

K: Do you mean my education background? I have a BA and a MA from the former Bergen National Academy of arts and now The faculty from arts, music and design. 

A+F: How would you describe your art practice?

I have problem describing my practice. I try to never exclude ideas or be too judgemental. As a very feminine man, I have always experienced discrimination or pre- judgement. So in my practice I make sure that I am including and not excluding.

What I mean is that my artistic practice is very close to my private personal life. Until now, I have to manage to separate both.

A+F:  How does your cultural heritage play a role in your work?  And how does living in Bergen contribute to that?

I do think that my multicultural background does influence on my work in many and different ways. It can be on the way I use colors or how I approach social surviving skills. I come from a immigrant family. People in my family are used to fast changing and to accepting prejudice. Those attributes may have influenced my work.

You mean working in Bergen? For sure I feel included here. Bergen is a perfect place for producing art. People are nice and everyone is helping each other. And the weather helps to keep me inside and produce more, reflect more and get more hunger for art making ;)

A+F: Tell me a bit about the artworks you have from other artists? How do you choose art you want to own?  And, do you have a wishlist of works that you would like to have?

I don't have any special approach on how to I buy art, I get what I like. I have some prints from Rita Marhaug, Ingeborg Annie Lindahl, a sculpture from Kirsti Van Hoege and some ceramics from Kari Aasen. We have been exchanging art for a some time. I do also have two Original prints from Anni Albers that may be the most expensive thing I got in my life. But besides that, not so much more.

And I do have a large wishlist. And believe me is too long for posting here. Lets just say that almost every artist I know in Bergen is on this list. Unfortunately as an artist I don't have the financial situation to invest art. I do think that more people should be investing in Art. Its just that my situation is little different. But I love the idea of exchanging art between us artists. It feels so right ;)

1. First image:  living among the plants, sculpture by Kirsti Van Hoege
2. Second image: plant pot by Kari Aasen, wooden bird by Lars Beller Fjetland, cups by Herdis Torsvik and plates by Anette Krogstad.
3. Third image: among Kiyoshi's prints, sculptures, and tools, works by Rita Marhaug and Ingeborg Annie Lindhal

A+F: You recently moved to this amazing studio at USF, tell me about it, how do you feel having a larger studio in such a place influence your work and your ideas?

Yes I am happy and still dreaming. When I was student one of my professors, Kari Dyrdal, let me borrow her studio at USF during one month. And for me, it was unreal and impossible to have a working space there. It is a fantastic space, with a lot of creative people working every day and night. I am so humble to have the opportunity to work there.

I remember the first time I saw the studio. I almost cried. But since I had the landlord with me. I had to keep myself together.

USF is a place where some of my idols produce maybe my favorite works. People like Kari Aasen, Åse Ljones, Cato Løland, Maia Urstad, Anne Knutsen Signe Halle, Sissel Blystad, Ida Hansen, Line Hvoslef and many others have inspired me since I started at the art school in Bergen.

One of the works that i will present at CM7 is inspired by the corridors of USF. But I don’t want to say so much about that. You have to come to the show and experience by yourself.

A+F: Could you tell us how a typical work day looks like for you?  

This is so hard. And can maybe sound like too much, but I don't have any typical routine. Let's say a typical month contains at least two trips to Oslo and one somewhere else. This month I was in Harstad for almost nine days and then one week in Trondheim.  Those trips made it almost impossible to have a normal routine.

(Learning more Norwegian and singing have been my latest challenges.)

And the time I am in Bergen I have to be at my studio as much as possible. But between that I am doing some glass blowing somewhere else and testing new prints and inks in another friends studio. And producing all the other five projects that are going on at the same. And visiting a photo print studio to finish the works I will be showing at CM7!

And some sleeping as well.

Well I have no LIFE. But I enjoy every minute. I do appreciate the chance to be a 150% artist. But I do also know that everything can collapse and this reality goes back to be a dream.

I am not concerned about that, however I am aware of it.

Thank you so much Kiyoshi! 

Kiyoshi's exhibition “...Stop right now thank you very much” will be opening this coming Friday 2nd of March in Bergen at the project space CM7 and will be showing until the 30th of March.

ART + FOLK presents: Home and Studio Visits

Once a month, ART + FOLK will itroduce someone from our local art community.  They will open up the doors to their home or to their studio and tell us a bit of their every day, their work and what they have on their own walls.

Interview and (approximate) English translation by Daniela Ramos Arias   Photos by: Tove Lise Mossestad.  This project is supported by the City of Bergen (Bergen Kommune).

 

Home visit to Linda & Vegard

Linda Soh Trengereid and Vegard Vindenes are both visual artists living and working in Bergen.  They both have their studio at BLOKK and live in a lovely apartment in sunny Landås, Bergen.  They have renovated every bit of their place with their own two hands and the help of family members, so you can see that there has been a big labour of love, making this place their own.  They have an impressive art collection that we needed to take a look at.  Welcome!

A+F: ART + FOLK      L: Linda        V: Vegard

A+F: Tell me a little bit about yourselves.  When did you both decide to become an artists?

L: I grew up in Sotra, an island on the outskirts of Bergen.  There aren’t any artists in my family but I’ve always been encouraged and supported to follow my interests, that is why after High School, I applied to Kunstkolen i Bergen (KiB), a two year program in arts.

These years were quite magical.  There were so many changes that happened in the way I thought about art and how to work with it. I still have the voices of some of our teachers in the back of my head when I work.

For me, these two years at Kunstkolen i Bergen, were challenging, lots of hard work with long days.  But there was also development, curiosity, fellowship and friendship.  This is where Vegard and I met, and many of our classmates became very good friends and now, colleagues.

I don’t think I ever thought I would become an artist when I applied to KiB, but during the second year, I decided to apply to Kunsthøgskolen i Bergen, where I did a BA, and later on a MA in Visual Arts.

V: I grew up in Geilo and moved here to Bergen when I started at Kunstskolen i Bergen in 2004.  After KiB, I continued at Kunsthøgskolen i Bergen (KHiB) in the same class as Linda all the way. Now, we are also neighbors at our artist collective BLOKK.

I come from a creative family, and that has a lot to say for the path I chose to take, but there are no artists besides me.  At some point during my time in art school I decided to go on to the Art Academy.  I think that this had a lot to do with the inspiring environment at KiB and the good teachers that managed to create a lasting interest in art.

Artworks by:  Åge Peterson, Klara Sofie Ludvigsen (tallerken), Jens Bohr, Egil Røed, ODKA, Kari Bugge Gjerstad

A+F: Linda, You are a very active member of the artist community, you are part of the core group the started the studio collective BLOKK and you run B-open, which has become a huge event in Bergen, connected to other cities and countries now.  Tell me what it’s like to be an artist in Bergen.

L: I Have always been the kind of person who likes to do many things at once.  I really like to work with my own things at the studio, but since my studies, I have also been involved in arranging and organising other art related events.  When I was offered to be the project leader for B-open, at that time, a 25% position, I thought It would be a nice challenge to take on.  

Working for the artist-collective BLOKK includes different tasks, from staying in contact with the landlord and being the janitor to curating exhibitions and writing applications.  Luckily, we are four people who volunteer to run this place, and many of us where here from the start 5 years ago.  All of us have a studio here together with 10 other artists.  

I think many artists in Bergen are a little bit like me, wearing many hats and playing different roles in organisations tied to the art community, mostly volunteering. We like to say that we are very good at collaborating in Bergen, that we are good at making things happen and lift each other up, and the reason for that is because it is true.

A+F: Linda, Vegard; many people wonder about this.  How do artists manage day to day?  How would you describe your daily life?

L: I can say that it is a lot of hard work with long days and long evenings.  If anyone still believes in the myth of the glamorous life as an artist,  with easy money pouring in, and thoughtless scribbles rolling out of the studio, then they have a big misconception.  That being said, I have chosen this career myself and I wouldn’t want to do anything else.  I love the fact that it is possible for me to work with what I love.  

Most of us have an extra job, what we call: “money job”. It took me a little while to realize that it is not everyone who is familiar with this term.  For us, it is very normal.  For those who are not familiar with what this means, I can shortly explain that since artists usually do not earn enough to live of their work, and there are bills to pay, rent, food, studio space, etc, we need to find other jobs to be able to pay for all of these things.  How much people work these jobs besides their art practice depends on each artist’s needs. It’s a puzzle that takes time to put into place.  I, for example, (besides my work as an artist, or better said, so that I can afford to be an artist) work with B-open, BLOKK, sometimes I teach and I work a bit in a clothing store.  Some years, we are lucky enough to get a stipend which allows us to reduce our “money job” hours, some years we manage to sell something, or get a commission. It’s impossible to predict.  I never thought I’d get used to this.  In it’s own way, the unpredictable becomes predictable over time.

V: Yes, working days can be unpredictable. There are periods right before an exhibition when there will be late nights at the studio to get everything ready.  Other slower periods are used to earn money with our money jobs, to give our economy a push.  I work for example as a technician at Bergen Kunsthall.

Artwork on the last image: Gro Lygre Petersen

A+F: You both recently moved into this apartment and renovated it yourselves.  Can you tell me a bit about the process and what you were looking for?

L & V: We had actually been looking for an apartment in this area for a while.  It was important for us to be close to nature, the city and to have a garden.  Already on the first viewing of this place we knew we would feel at home. It felt right. Luckily enough, we got it!

It was a huge renovation project, the place had uneffective room solutions and it hadn’t been looked after.  But it was actually what we were looking for, a place that we could transform ourselves.  We got a lot of help from our family and we used every single free minute we had available to fix the place up. We tore down walls, moved rooms around to built new walls again.

Artworks from top to bottom by: Gunnhild Torgersen, Magnhild Øen Nordahl, Anders Sletvold Moe and Sveinung Rudjord Unneland

A+F: You have an impressive art collection at home. What do you look for when you buy art? What’s important?

L & V: A lot of the art we have in the apartment has been an exchange with friends and colleagues.  It’s a bit of a game of chance when it comes to who and when, but when it comes to such an exchange, it mostly goes on common interest in each other’s work.

It’s not very often that we consider buying art, but when we do, there are a few things we think about, and sometimes it can be different things that interest each of us.  It’s difficult to point exactly to what we want but that feeling in your gut plays a big role, as well as the price tag.

What we have on our walls, is art that we want to look at every day.

Artworks by: Mathijs van Geest and Torunn Skjelland

A+F: Linda, Vegard; what are you working on at the moment?

V: I am working on a series of paintings to be exhibited at LNM in Oslo next February.  Later in 2018, Linda and I will have an exhibition together at BOA Gallery in Oslo as well.

L: My next project will be a solo exhibition at Kunstgarasjen in Bergen, that opens on the 27th of October.  After that, I will be a part of a group show at Langegården Gallery early next year.  And after that, an exhibition together with Vegard at BOA Gallery, as Vegard mentioned.

A+F: Can you tell us a bit about your work?

V: I work mostly with painting, and for a long time, I’ve been working on a series called “Front”. The motives in the series can be seen as still life of constructed elements. The image space is both a staged environment of objects and an arena for colors, composition and abstraction.

(Use arrows to pass the images on the gallery)

The paintings originate in photographs of buildings, sculptures, and constructions, and I use miniature models of cardboard and paper as a way to aid the process.

In the project I make variations of figures built from the same geometric shapes. Some variations become chaotic patterns and structures, while others express order.

When the paintings are put together, they become a peephole into a process where the motif undergoes continuous change.

L: I am mostly working with painting and drawing.  I usually work on series with a common theme or starting point.  I work on the motifs with different techniques in different layers.

(Use arrows to pass the images on the gallery)

At the moment, I am working on a series of paintings and drawings that take a starting point in photographies taken in highly populated cities in the world, and different old-growth and rain-forests.

I’m interested in experimenting with motifs, techniques and materials, letting the lead from the pencil and paint become part of the surface, and the visual expressions that comes from this.

With this as a starting point, I look for the abstract among the figurative. The so-called close-up is perceived as a series of interrelated forms becoming clear motifs at a distance. The work can also be seen as a form of documentation of something perishable, a portrait of people and nature in constant change and symbiosis.

A+F: And lastly, what would you recommend people looking to buy art?

L: Go to many exhibitions, visit artists studios when possible, for example during B-open, in Bergen.  Use websites such as this one, or kunstguide.no.  Also, most of the artists have their own website these days that you can look at.

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Thank you so much Linda and Vegard for opening your doors to ART + FOLK and for your generosity giving us a peek into your lives at home and at work.  Best of luck!

Hello!

So midsummer is here and it is a natural time to look back at what has happened this year, so here it goes.

This has been a very intense few months for ART + FOLK as the official start was just March 2017 when I received a Project Stipend from Bergen Municipalty, that made it possible to stand on two feet.

The stipend gave me the chance to give ART + FOLK an identity, created by the brilliant Anette L'Orange.  She gave this project the fluidity, approacheability and openness that I was looking for by having an it interchangeable logo with colors that feel welcoming.

It also gave me the chance to use my time to introduce the idea to the artist community in Bergen, hear them out and listen to their needs but also communicate the needs that I have been hearing from people that want to learn more about how we work.

The first collaborations appeared with Kunstguide and B-Open and that gave a world of possibilities.  The result was KUNSTMARKED, an art exhibition from local professional artists where everything was priced under 5000 NOK.  We received over 200 visitors during the weekend and more that 30 artworks were sold.  The feedback both from the participants and the visitors was very positive and it has been so encouraging and energizing to know that this initiative is needed and wanted.  

Then came a new chance for a new pop-up, in collaboration with concept store CLAY and design guide TENDENS, where I had a chance to talk to an audience of 90 people about what ART + FOLK does and have a small selection of art works from local professional artists for sale.  There were works from Tonje Bøe Birkeland, Martin Harkjerr Halse, Kirst Van Hoege, Numi Thorvarsson.  This was also very positive in terms of feedback and future interest, but most importantly, a good step into reaching out to a new audience, which gives new possibilities.

The first Art Tour was organized, and it is called "Å se på kunst sammen" (To look at art together). We visited two exhibitions in the city centre with a group of five people.  We offered food, wine, and great conversation.  First we looked at Tonje Bøe Birkelands solo exhibition  "Character V" at Bergen Kjøtt, where the group had a chance to hear directly from the artist the process of making this project, they also had a chance to hear about the venue from the director Annine Birkeland and learn about the way they work and think of projects.  After this we headed to Galleri S12 to look at Baptiste Debonbourge's glass installation called "Raging Dreams" and we got a chance to talk to art historian and mediator Anett Haukås, who was a part of the team building the sculpture.  We learned about the space and the possibilities it offeres.  We looked at art together, we discussed and we all learned a lot as a group.

"Å se på kunst sammen" will be a series of art tours continuing in the fall and together with Anett Haukås, we will visit different exhibitions and spaces to look at art together and get to know our art city better.

Last but not least, ART + FOLK moved in to a new office space called CM7 together with VISP and B-Open.  The space is on street level with a large window which gives is gallery like qualities, and we as a group intend to use that as an opportinity to meet the public and to be more accesible and visible.  We all work independently but have one thing in common and that is that we are all resources for the art community in Bergen looking to create opportunities for them, to reach out.  By joining forces in one space, there is even more potential for collaboration, new projects and stability.

From left: Aslak Høyersten, Daniela Ramos Arias (me), Åse Løvgren (back) and Linda Soh Trengereid.  CM7 is VISP, B-Open and ART + FOLK.

ART + FOLK is just at the beginning of what I hope is a long run.  The support received from everyone I meet is so happily overwhelming that I am positive great things can happen in the coming months, years, who knows!

For now, thank you for a great start to everyone who has made it possible for me to work on this amazing project and see you all with new activities after the summer!