SOLO OSLO: Constance Tenvik Conversation

SOLO OSLO artist Constance Tenvik talks to curator Tominga O'Donnell about artistic practice, research approaches and influences

Sky Room

29.09.2024 14:00

Doors: 13:30
Seated event
Practical info: 
Allow extra time for use of wardrobe; large bags, food and drink cannot be taken into the exhibition area.
The ticket gives access to all exhibitions.

Constance Tenvik is an artist who likes to tackle big subjects, often departing from existing narratives. For this solo exhibition at MUNCH, Tenvik has drawn on Aristophanes’s comedy The Birds from 414 BC to create a new installation set in the current day. Here, the world is divided into three parts, and two humans decide to challenge the gods by enlisting help from the birds to take dominion over the air. “I think this is a good moment to poke fun at imperialist thinking, while finding joy in escapism and recognising human desire”, Tenvik wrote in the application for this fourth edition of SOLO OSLO.      
  
Constance Tenvik (b. London, 1990) is a Norwegian artist, who adopts a multidisciplinary approach, using sculpture, performance, textile, costumes, painting, drawing and video to create total installations. Tenvik’s artistic expression is characterised by a distinct style, humour, exuberant use of colour and theatrical gestures. Tenvik was educated at the Art Academy in Oslo and Yale School of Art. Past exhibitions include Loyal Gallery in Stockholm, the Astrup Fearnley Museum, UKS – The Young Artists’ Society and Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo, and Anat Egbi in Los Angeles. Tenvik’s work has been collected by a number of museums, including the National Museum in Oslo, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Kistefos Museum at Jevnaker, Zuzeum in Riga and Fundación AMMA in Mexico City.  
  
Dr Tominga O’Donnell is Senior Curator and Head of Contemporary Art at MUNCH, where she/they curated the programme Munchmuseet on the Move (2016–2019), adopting a queer curatorial approach and commissioning a range of off-site art projects. At the new museum on Oslo’s waterfront, O’Donnell is the curator of solo exhibitions with Camille Henrot, Sandra Mujinga, Piya Wanthiang and Admir Batlak; the inaugural MUNCH Triennale – the machine is us together with Stefano Collicelli Cagol; and a series of performance commissions in collaboration with Ingrid Moe in MUNCH Live, which include new works by Kiyoshi Yamamoto, Manuel Pelmuş, Bendik Giske, Camille Norment, and Brendan Fernandes. O’Donnell was educated at the University of Oxford, the Royal College of Art in London, the University of Oslo and the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. They have been Associate Professor in the theory department at the Art Academy, University of Bergen (2018– 2022) and a visiting professor at the Art Academy/KHiO in Oslo. 

Photo: Julia Grossi