Amanda Trygg (SE) |
Curator: Maja Gade and Richard Krantz |
In the exhibition oooh, that’s sooo nice! Amanda Trygg explores aspects of a feminine stereotype. Aesthetics of immaturity, cuteness and naivety are central. What does it mean to inhabit it and what does it mean to adopt it? Can a state of submission be a way to gain control?
Suspended from the gallery ceiling are head-sized plaster sculptures in alternating shades of pink and gray. Big soft folds with imprints of hearts and shapes reminiscent of fists - that are actually gift bows. Each bearing phrases like “Your opinion is better than mine” , “Look at your face when I agree with you, you look so happy and confident.”
Smaller yet similar reliefs cover a painting, all speaking in the same tongue; Hearts that please, flowers that agree and giggling ribbons.
“Treating painting as a doll” is another phrase that pops up. Art journalist Jens Asthoff writes:“Treating painting as a doll” is such a characteristic figure of speech for Trygg. It’s a phrase that sticks into your mind and links to her work. Treating a painting as a doll? It is a rather disconcerting thought at first. The cute, the sweet is not necessarily at home in the art context; at most it may be accepted with an ironic tone. But Trygg is not concerned with irony, by any means; she explicitly opens up a kind of cuteness discourse with her world of motives - which also includes projections onto femininity.”
Statements, emotions and verbs are linked with symbols, colors and shapes. The exhibition is installed in a way that is reminiscent of a mind map, something for the viewer to keep in mind to orient themselves in the exhibition.
Amanda Trygg b. 1990, Stockholm. oooh, that's sooo nice! is Amanda's first solo exhibition in Sweden. She graduated with a Master from Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg 2019, after her Bachelor at Trondheim Academy of fine arts 2017. Following graduation she has been active in the Hamburg art-scene, showing and organizing group exhibitions. In 2021 she compiled and released a catalog with works spanning from 2018 to 2021 including a text on Amanda and her works, by Jens Asthoff. In 2022 her works will be shown in Malmö, Hamburg and Leipzig.
Amanda Trygg (SE) |
I utställningen oooh, that's sooo nice! undersöker Amanda Trygg sidor av den feminina stereotypen. Estetik som minner av en viss omogenhet, söthet och naivitet står i centrum. Vad betyder det att ikläda sig den feminina stereotype och att använda sig av den? Kan ett tillstånd av undergivenhet vara en väg till kontroll?
I galleriet hänger gipsskulpturer i huvudstorlek som skiftar mellan olika nyanser av ljusrosa och gråa toner. Det är fina mjuka veck och avtryck av hjärtan och något som kan liknas vid knytnävar, men som egentligen är avtryck av presentrosetter. De är dekorerade med olika text fraser som Amanda förknippar med stereotypen. Exempelvis: “Your opinion is better than mine”, “Look at your face when I agree with you, you look so happy and confident.”.Mindre gipsskulpturer i form av hjärtan, täcker ett måleri. Också de med skrift pa. Hjärtan som tillfredställer, „I please“, blommor som haller med, „ I agree“ och rosetter som fnissar, „hihihihihihi“.
Konstskribenten Jens Asthoff skriver:” 'Treating painting as a doll' is such a characteristic figure of speech for Trygg. It’s a phrase that sticks into your mind and links to her work. Treating a painting as a doll? It is a rather disconcerting thought at first. The cute, the sweet is not necessarily at home in the art context; at most it may be accepted with an ironic tone. But Trygg is not concerned with irony, by any means; she explicitly opens up a kind of cuteness discourse with her world of motives - which also includes projections onto femininity.”
Påståenden, känslor och verb binds samman med symboler, färger och former. Utställningen är installerade på ett vis som påminner om en tankekarta, något för betraktaren att ha i åtanke för att orientera sig i utställningen.
Amanda Trygg f. 1990, Stockholm. oooh, that's sooo nice! är Amandas första soloutställning i Sverige. Hon tog sin masterexamen vid Hochschule für Bildende Künste i Hamburg 2019 och avslutade sin bachelor 2017, vid Kunstakademiet i Trondheim. Efter sin examen har hon ställt ut på Hamburgs konstscen och också själv organiserat grupputställningar, tillsammans med andra konstnärer. 2021, sammanställde hon en Katalog med arbeten mellan åren 2018-2021, med en text av Jens Asthoff. Under 2022 kommer vi kunna se hennes arbeten i bland annat Malmö, Hamburg och Leipzig.