Martin Sæther at VI, VII
The work of Oslo-based artist Martin Sæther references Scandinavian ornamental traditions from the favored vernacular which can be on the verge of disappearing. In his present at VI, VII, a lot of the works are wall-mounted reliefs crafted from paper bonded to canvas, their off-white surfaces patterned with barely seen bumps that repeat at common intervals. The impact is recognizable as an imitation of the fiberglass “strie” wallpaper generally present in middle-class properties in Norway from the Seventies till the late ’80s.
Right this moment, it isn’t unparalleled for trend-conscious Norwegians to renovate areas which can be only some years previous. Sæther’s reliefs appear to counsel {that a} delicate sense of character—maybe even a social-democratic dedication to temperance—has been misplaced on this fixed cycle of renewal. But these works are additionally arresting in purely formal and aesthetic phrases: Their minimal floor therapies playfully obfuscate any distinction between floor and movie.
Many older Norwegians can recall accumulating single-use paper napkins as keepsakes from household get-togethers or simply for his or her pleasing floral patterns. Untitled, 2022, includes six classic napkins in a putting blue adorned with stylized oak leaves. The artist has fused these onto a billowing sheet of cotton paper, whose pure white floor is seen in patches the place the napkins don’t align completely. With Sæther’s work, there’s a refusal of standard aesthetic hierarchies and “refined” style, in addition to a dedication to craftlike processes that welcome imperfections. It’s the reverse of smooth, although additionally minimal to the purpose of bordering on the anti-aesthetic.
— Nicholas Norton
