46th Tendencies, «In the Right Hands» opens 23 March at Galleri F 15 in Moss, Norway

The 46th edition of Tendencies, In the Right Hands, focuses on craft’s materiality, the work of the hands, and making statements through textiles.

In the Right Hands presents the works of 15 textile artists based in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Their hands create expressions that narrate our contemporary world and offer unique strands of thought on the numerous ways in which the relationship between the hands, the mind and materials come together.

- For the first time in its 53-year history, Tendencies focuses its attention exclusively on textiles, an area of craft which has received a lot of recognition and has been included in large and prestigious art exhibitions both in Norway and internationally in the last 10-15 years. Audiences will be presented with works by emerging textile artists and influential pioneers on the scene, says the curators Maria C. Havstam and Anne Klontz.

With a specific focus on textiles, the exhibition takes into consideration how this genre’s related materials and techniques have been accessible through time and social barriers while providing a universal language uniting generations and cultures.

Building on this, the exhibition explores how artists express and communicate their ideas, feelings and values using the hand's work with materials. These artists imagine and explore notions related to the environment, politics, and technology but also reflect on the emotional, the spiritual, the individual and collective identities as well as traditions.

The exhibition's title is an appropriation from art critic and writer Nicholas Norton's article "Becoming Elastic" in The Vessel # 6, 2023, where he argues that contemporary crafts, in the right hands, can be a powerful tool for channelling and conveying different perspectives on the world. This is also a key argument that this year's edition of Tendencies tries to demonstrate.

ARTISTS
Henna Aho (Finland) Marsil Andjelov Al-Mahamid (Serbia/Norway) Kristina Austi (Norway) Lisa Englund (Sweden) Brit Fuglevaag (Norway) Tore Magne Gundersen (Norway) Ida Suvituuli Immonen (Finland) Kamil Kak (Poland/Norway) Esse McChesney (Sweden) Hanna Oinonen (Finland) Inger Johanne Rasmussen (Norway) Hilde Skancke Pedersen (Norway) Kristina Skantze (Sweden) Maja Stjärna (Sweden) Kristin Tinsa Sæterdal (Norway)

Curated by Maria C. Havstam and Anne Klontz
Exhibition period: 23 March – 12 June 2024 

ABOUT TENDENCIES
Tendencies has presented Nordic craft at Galleri F 15 since 1971. Since 2016, the exhibition has become a biennial format allowing for an in-depth exploration of important developments within the craft field.

MEDIA ENQUIRES
Press viewings are possible from Friday 22 March.

Contact Press and Communications Officer Ann Kristin Traaen, Galleri F 15, for scheduling of press viewing, interview requests and additional information.

OPENING
In the Right Hands opens Saturday 23 March at Galleri F 15 (opening hours 11-17) in Moss, Norway. The official opening takes place at 2 pm in Alby Kafé. Programme at gallerif15.no.