Nina Beier and Marie Lund

PDF: Portfolio
PDF: Bio

Represented by:

Croy Nielsen, Berlin

Laura Bartlett Gallery, London

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News:

Current and upcoming group exhibitions include:

-'Momentum Nordic Biennial', curated by Lina Dzuverovic and Stina Högkvist, Moss, Aug – Sep

-'La Notte', curated by Lorenzo Benedetti, Kunsthalle Mulhouse, March-June

-'Getting Even -Oppositions + Dialogues', curated by Matt Packer, Kunstverein Hannover, June-July

-'Reduction & Suspense ', curated by Eva Kraus and Tilo Schulz, Kunstverein Bregenz, July-Aug

-'Revolver', curated by Severin Dünser and Christian Kobald, COCO Kunstverein, Vienna, May-June

-'A Sensed Pertubation', Murray Guy, New York, June-July

-'We would like to thank (again) the curators who wish to remain anonymous', Anne Barrault, Paris, June - July

‘Chapter Three: The Wall of the Sky, The Wall of the Eye’, curated by Christiane Rekade, About Change Collection, Berlin, May-July

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About

Berlin and London-based Danish artists Nina Beier and Marie Lund work collaboratively as well as individually within their practise.

'Drawing on the history inherent in pre-existing materials or contexts, Beier and Lund’s work ranges from immaterial interventions and performances to concrete objects. Over the past year their work has increasingly tended to unfold in the realm between conception, perception, and interpretation.

Autobiography (if these walls could speak) operates on a site-specific level, and it literally frames the exhibition: The artists asked the gallerists to recall all the holes made from the nails and screws used to hang artworks on the walls since the gallery had opened. These holes have been carefully excavated and reopened, and the small piles of dust generated in the process have been left on the floor—meticulously unveiling what had been just as meticulously hidden. It is a generally accepted premise that each gallery exhibition leaves no traces, and the space serves as a blank page for the subsequent show. Similarly, it is taken for granted that the viewer is able to blank out whatever was shown previously. By disrupting this relationship Beier and Lund point towards the constructed situation, not only of the physical space but also of the continuous exhibition program that constitutes a gallery—especially one with a relatively short history such as Croy Nielsen.

As often the case in their work, a simple instruction leads to an action that in turn leaves behind certain traces. Not just the traces are important; equally significant are the individuals performing the instruction and their experience of the situation (on another occasion they asked a gallery attendant to let his hair and beard grow during the show, for example). In this case, the “performers” are the gallerists, who also mediate and discuss the work with visitors. This means that their subjective experience forms a crucial part of the work. The holes convey the ghostly presence of past exhibitions, and the work forms a kind of ritual within which these are able co-exist—at least until the exhibition by Beier and Lund comes to an end and the whole process is repeated in reverse.

Inverse repetition is also an element in the series (Calling) Loss and Cause, which consists of unfired clay replicas of sculptures that have disappeared from collections around the world at different points in history. They have been modeled on the plinths upon which they are exhibited—fully showing the marks of their making process. Placed in a dense grouping, they convey the sense of a studio or storage space rather than a presentation. At the beginning of the exhibition the sculptures are wet and soft and become brittle and fragile as they gradually dry. The potential owner must assume responsibility for taking care of them, but he or she must potentially sacrifice them for the greater good of our cultural heritage: If the original sculpture should resurface, the owner is obliged to destroy the replica. The sculptures function as stand-ins of a sort, which communicate their temporary nature both in terms of their material and imperfect aesthetic. They exist because the originals have disappeared, and they will disappear themselves should this situation change.

Some of the stories behind the individual sculptures, which have been stolen or simply lost in bureaucracy, are related to specific political or historical events, but their hand-made aesthetic suggests the notion of a much more short-lived process—and the fact that even within the act of making lies the desire that the work of art be preserved for the future. The work emphasizes certain aspects of cultural heritage and property while challenging the importance of universal value as opposed to private property.

New Novels, New Men (Jealousy, Jalousi, La Celosia, La Gelosia, Die Jalousie oder Die Eifersucht) is the title of an event that takes place throughout the entire period of the exhibition: It includes five different translations of Alain Robbe-Grillet’s La Jalousie and five young men, native speakers of each respective language, who come by to read the books for periods of time. Bookmarks mark their place until they have completed their individual copies. The viewer will not necessarily encounter one of the readers (who each decide when they will come), but the bookmarks mark the fact that someone is reading the book and thus function as stand-ins—in a manner similar to the holes in the walls or the sculptures of (Calling) Loss and Cause.

In French La Jalousie carries both the meaning of jealousy and Venetian blinds (through which the narrator spies on his wife). This double meaning is either lost or handled in alternative ways in the translations. Robbe-Grillet’s work bucks traditional literary conventions and La Jalousie contains almost no action. The narrator is a recording eye, detached in tone but obsessively involved with the objects and events related to his wife’s infidelity. Visitors to the exhibition are left to observe the readers, witnessing the inaccessible experience that is taking place in front of them. Beier and Lund add their own layer onto the narrative style of Robbe-Grillet—leaving the viewer on the outside to rely on his or her own interpretation. A perceptual triangle is formed: the intention of the writer, the experience of the reader, and the viewer’s limited observation of this exchange. The work deals with the distance between a private experience such as reading, on one hand, and collective experience such as the translation or distribution of a book, on the other—a process that unavoidably leads to certain alterations or even misunderstandings.

The final work in Beier and Lund’s exhibition is presented on the shelves of the gallery’s office, and it also deals with issues of perception, language, and translation. The Points is a series of abstract shapes cut out of the covers of theoretical books in different languages and from various disciplines (psychology, economics, politics, social theory, etc.). They are mounted on pieces of cardboard that are the same size as the respective original books. Furthermore, each work bears the often complex title of the book, such as El Concepto de Correccion y Prestigio Linguisticos or Fundamentals of Learning and Motivation. Together (the presentation at Croy Nielsen includes 37 pieces) they create a sort of map of different theoretical convictions. Detached from their content both the titles (language) and imagery seem like arbitrary attempts to capture the full content of the book in short and simple form.

Visually The Points celebrate a certain design favored when trying to illustrate abstract thought. Isolated from the rest of the cover, the clear colors and geometric shapes inevitably refer to the history of abstract painting, and in particular that of the avant-garde. Presented on the shelves normally housing the gallery’s library, this art-historical source is turned on its head and reappears as the graphic design of the book covers. This is taken another step further by printing some of the works in this publication.

The four works that make up Permanent Collection deal with various time spans, and they all involve subtle alterations or even obstructions through which Beier and Lund underscore systems of representations that are part of our cultural heritage and visual culture. By using the frame of the exhibition (the history of the gallery and its space, the presence of the gallerists as mediators), the time span of the exhibition (during which the readers have to finish their respective copies of La Jalousie), the premises of collecting, and the pre-existing language of graphic design, Beier and Lund gently push given conceptual structures towards a breakdown or negation of their presumable logic.’ 

Introduction by Henrikke Nielsen

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(Calling) Loss and Cause

The artists have made unfired clay replacements of sculptures that have
disappeared from public and private collections. The models exist on the
premise that they are destroyed if the originals resurface.

from 'Permanent Collection', Croy Nielsen, Berlin, 2009

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New Novels, New Men (Jealousy, Jalousi, La Celosia, La Gelosia,
Die Jalousie oder Die Eifersucht)

The same novel, in different translations, is read in the space during
the exhibition, by men of corresponding mother tongues.

Event, 6 books, 6 men, from 'Permanent Collection', Croy Nielsen, Berlin, 2009

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The Collection

Various objects fitting between the gallery walls (1.3 x 3 m) borrowed from a 68 year old man.

'Two Women', Laura Bartlett Gallery, 2008

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Autobiography (If these walls could speak)

Following only their memory, the gallery staff has been asked to excavate all the filled holes
in the walls made from hanging the artwork in previous exhibitions in the space.

Intervention, Proyectos Monclova, Mexico City, 2009

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All Together Now

The people working in the building have been asked to whistle
a socialist workers’ song when performing routine tasks during the installation,
public hours and de-installation of the show.

Nina Beier, Event, Zoo Art Fair, 2008

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The House and the Backdoor
Since Nina’s mother moved in with Nina’s father in 1972,
she has kept a box in the attic, of those of her books that
overlapped with his collection. The artists have built a
wooden container for the books, which is for sale on the
premise that the buyer will return its contents to Nina’s mother,
should she ever again have to make a home of her own.

Wood, glue and varnish, 18x25x35cm, 2007

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All the People at Tate Modern (Clap in time)
The employees of the museum are asked to stop what they are doing
and start clapping at a given time during the opening hours.
Visitors chose to either clap along or be clapped at.

As part of event programme 'Actions and Interruptions', 2007

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Reminiscence of a Strike Action
6 old revolutionaries have been asked to keep their eyes closed
for as long as the others still do it. The situation is documented in
a panning close-up, exposing the efforts to stick to the task while
making sure that the others do the same.

Video, 8min, 2007

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From 'Laughing in a Foreign Language', Hayward Gallery, London, 2008

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The Witness

A gallery attendant has been asked to let his hair (and beard)
grow for the duration of the exhibition.

Event, ICA, May-Nov, 2008

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The Archives (World Peace)

Framed second hand peace posters are folded to cover themselves inside their frames.

The Archives (Pour la solidarité anti-impérialiste, pour la paix et l’amitié) 2008

The Archives (Nach dem nächsten krieg wird kein kind mehr spielen) 2008

From 'Eurasia', MART Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, 2008

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A Circular Play

An actor performs a play on a specially constructed stage. A stenographer sits
opposite on a similar construction and notes down everything being said and
done in a script format. The actor performs the new script and his performance
is noted down repeatedly.

Art Berlin Contemporary, Croy Nielsen, Berlin, (Actor: Armin Dellapiccola, Steographer: Sabine Schulten) 2008

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'The Points 'The Principles of Development', 'The Points ‘Economía Política del Capitaliso',
'The Points 'Zur Strategie der Arbeiterbewegung im Neokapitalismus'

Cutout from book covers, 2009

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Les Sabots

Children of the 68’ generation are gathered to make a face towards the camera
for the duration of a roll of film.

16mm film, 5min, 2007 

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En Encore

A young singer-songwriter, who recently performed at the ICA, 
is invited back on the premise that he play, say and act 
exactly the same as he did the first time around.

ICA, London, July 14^th, 2008 (Performer: Jack Shirt)

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The Difference between Humans and Walls
A group of uniformed employees of a museum are asked to stand,
blocking different passages in the exhibition. When a visitor asks
to pass, they disperse and regroup somewhere else.

Event, various durations, Tate Britain, November 2007

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