GOING TO MARKET

NOVEMBER 19 - FEBRUARY 7, 2010

What is it that gives a work of art value? Is it the price it fetches, the work that the artist has put into it, or does it depend on symbolic values of quite a different kind? The exhibition Going to Market focuses on contemporary artists who comment on the market and the relationship between art and value.

Artistic freedom
There are close links between contemporary artists and the international market and as a result, the autonomy of the artist is a subject of debate in our hypercommercial culture. As creators, artists are still related to a concept of freedom, yet at the same time, today's artists are often obliged to meet production requirements; they are in the business of producing goods and therefore also market value. Due to this increasing adaptation to the market, artistic freedom is at stake to a much greater degree than before. By means of a large range of techniques, the exhibition Going to Market investigates the underlying mechanisms of the market and the possibility of choosing alternative strategies.

The Art Strike
From 1977-1980, the artist and activist Gustav Metzger initiated one, single project. With his manifesto Art Strike 1977-1980, he urged all artists to go on strike for two years. The aim was to bring the art market to its knees and re-empower the artists. The strike was never put into effect but still represents a unique and uncompromising, activist project – a counter reaction to market mechanisms.

Market mechanisms
Rather than intervening in the systems themselves, as Metzger had proposed in the 1970s, the participating artists at Going to Market comment on the relationship between art and value. Whereas transitions between art and value are often invisible, this exhibition looks at artistic projects that make them visible. Through the use of a wide range of techniques and approaches, the artists question the position of works of art in our culture in general, and, more specifically, in the marketplace.

Nestors
The exhibition features works by Nestors such as the American concept artist John Baldessari and the artist and activist Gustav Metzger, along with young Norwegian contemporary artists such as Lina Viste Grønli, Marianne Heier, Jesper Alvær and Snorre Ytterstad, as well as relevant international artists such as the Canadian Melanie Gilligan and the French artist collective Claire Fontaine.

Participating artists: Jesper Alvær, John Baldessari, Melanie Gilligan, Lina Viste Grønli, Claire Fontaine, Marianne Heier, Gustav Metzger, Snorre Ytterstad.

Caroline Ugelstad has been responsible for curating the exhibition. A catalogue to accompany the exhibition is on sale in the Art Centre's shop.

Crisis in the Credit System Episode 1 by Melanie Gilligan: