Having a cold shower at the Cisterns

Why not spend one of these mighty fine and bright spring days underground in a cold and dark cave? This was my thought, as I read that the Swedish artist Ingvar Cronhammer (b. 1947), is currently exhibiting at the Cisterns, Frederiksberg. 

The concept for my words on this exhibition H will be more fragmented and intuitive than usual. I think this way fits my experience of Cronhammers installation best.

Immediate experience of the installation - in five words:

• Showers
• Beauty
• Darkness
• Raumgefühl
• Repetition

Emotions related to the experience of the installation - in five words:

• Tranquility
• Purification
• Freedom
• Loneliness
• Immersion

Three good things about H at the Cisterns:

• The use of sound and music (by Martin Hall) in the installation adds something valuable to the experience of the space
• The installation is so spacious that you can experience it without much disturbance from other visitors
• The Cisterns are, with its cold, dark and moist caves, an interesting space in itself

Two less good things about H at the Cisterns:

• Very little information available about Ingvar Cronhammer and his exhibition at the Cisterns, and online at cisternerne.dk (luckily there are many reviews available of the exhibition online, my favourite is Lisbeth Bondes review for KUNSTEN.NU)
• I imagine that too many visitors will make the experience less fortunate

Christina Capetillo 2015 (from cisternerne.dk)

Cronhammers exhibition can be seen until November 29, 2015.  

Boosting my passion for architecture: Visiting Danish Architecture Center

I've always had an interest in architecture. It's not just about buildings; it's about humans, about life, about flow. Essential stuff. Often exhibitions on architecture display 2- and 3-D models of buildings and landscapes. Mostly computer-made, with an immense load of data and accompanied by an immense load of information. The narratives told about art and architecture in exhibition context often takes on an intellectual, abstract, even loftily character, telling us how to understand and interpret the aesthetic objects presented. I sound pessimistic, but it's only because I just visited the summer exhibition at Danish Architecture Center (DAC), curated by the author Tor Nørretranders, which was a contrasting experience. At The Heart of Stone there was room to take in things, to experience, to reflect and the approach was to open up the visitors body and mind. To provide a platform for relating to all the architecture that surrounds us in our everyday life. 

Foto fra dac.dk af Kristian Ridder-Nielsen

The Heart of the Stone investigates the very being of architecture by looking closely at the work of the Danish Studio Lundgaard & Tranberg. This studio is behind some of the most interesting new buildings in Copenhagen, like The Royal Playhouse, The Lighthouse, Tiegtenkollegiet and SEB Bank. In my opinion the works of Lundgaard & Tranberg are always marked by 'raumgefühl', integrated solutions and a love for natural materials. Furthermore they seem to have a concern for the social life and communities, which resonates nicely with Tor Nørretranders thoughts on architecture and society.

The exhibition presents brickwork, images, texts, videos, running water, mirrors, optical effects, computer models and poems, which will stimulate visitors' sense of touch, spatial awareness, sense of depth, perception of time and scientific curiosity. It's a great summer blend, communicated cleverly by Nørretranders. In his blog he sums up his curatorial concept: "It attempts to bring a new take on architecture - not seeing it as a display of aesthetic objects, but as the channeling of flows through life."

I was happy as I walked out of DAC and into the real exhibition.

See the exhibition at DAC until september 21, 2014.

Read Tor Nørretranders book Vær Nær (2013).

As a bonus, the Japanese architects Atelier Bow-Wow have the exhibition City Housing in the future? on the first floor. It's free and includes an postcard exhibition catalogue. 

Connecting to the infinite nature: Tróndur Patursson's Cosmic Universe

Tróndur Patursson (FO, f. 1944) has crossed the great oceans of this planet seven times in frail boats with his friend, the writer and voyager, Tim Severin. One adventure came close to a disastrous end as their primitive boat were about to sink, and the two friends were standing in water to their waists. This harrowing, but also amazing experience on the ocean, with thousand kilometers of deep sea below and the infinite sky above, inspired Tróndur Patursun to create the art installation Cosmic Universe (2002). 


Shaped like an igloo Tróndurs universe displays itself as an exotic object on the harbour front, next to Nordatlantens Brygge and Noma. If you are curious and take of your shoes to climb into the igloo, a space of mirrors, glass and color unfolds. The painted glass walls are reflected in the floor of mirrors and the hexagon shaped mirrors that make up the roof of the igloo. The bluish space that surrounds you deepens as your image is reflected in what seems like infinite angles and depths. The immense perception in this man-made but natural scenery can in the same moment seem disturbing and calming. It's a thrilling, meditative and very sensous feeling to be in Tróndur's igloo, it's for all ages and it's for free - so get going! 

A video from inside Cosmic Universe here