Ann Kristin Einarsen & Lillian Tørlen

Composite Organism

9 March - 30 April 2023

COMPOSITE ORGANISM

A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.
 
Ann Kristin Einarsen and Lillian Tørlen are both ceramic artists and have since their graduation from Oslo National Academy of Art in 2011 shared studio in Oslo. Through these years they have offered each other support, feedback, criticism and assistance, and they have developed a unique understanding of each other’s process, mindset, aesthetics, skillset, strengths and weaknesses. For this exhibition they sought to explore collaboration as both concept and method. With different forms of interactions and collaborations in nature as backdrop and inspiration, they joined forces in this project with no preconceived notion of what to make, but rather to let methods and the process show the way. All the while with a goal that this symbiosis between two individuals would lead to an autonomous result.
 
Ann Kristin Einarsen (b. 1981, Narvik) holds a MA in applied arts from the Oslo Academy of the Arts, with a background in crafts studies at Volda University College and Telemark University College.She has participated in group exhibitions such as Crafts at the Museum of Decorative Arts andDesign in Oslo (2012), The North Norwegian Art Exhibition in Bodø (2013 and 2015), Still Life inMotion at Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum in Tromsø (2014), Norwegian Presence in Milan (2016,2017,2023), 100% Norway in London (2016) and Norway x New York in New York (2018). She has twice won Bo Bedre’s Design Award for Craft of the Year and has been acquired by Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum, Sparebankstiftelsen Nord-Norge and the Norwegian Craft Acquisition Fund.
 
Lillian Tørlen (b. 1975, Ålesund) has an MFA from Oslo National Academy of the Arts, and a BA in Art & Design from Central St. Martins College in London. She has participated extensively in projects and exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Among them are Nordic Bridges i Canada (2022), The Sculpture Triennale (2021), The Norwegian Drawing Association (2020), Experimental Gastronomy by Steinbeisser (2019), Østlandsutstillingen 2019, Vestlandsutstillingen 2019, Format (2016,2019), Converging Bodies : Contemporary Norwegian Ceramics Patrick Parrish in New York (2018), Norwegian Presence in Milan (2015, 2018), Kunsthåndverk (2014, 2015, 2017), North Norwegian Art Centre (2018) and CHART Copenhagen (2017, 2018).