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Æsa BjörkIceland / Norway
By combining cross disciplinary investigation and experimentation (philosophy, science, and music), Æsa Björk considers questions related to human existence and phenomenon connected to the body and personal borders.
Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, Björk studied at the Glass Department of Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland, from where she graduated with a 1stclass BA (Hons) degree in 1995 and an MA in 1997. In 2006 she was an Artist in Residence at the Corning Museum of Glass (NY), and attended the Pilchuck Glass School (Washington) as an Emerging Artist in Residence (1999) as well as instructor (2016 and 2019). Her work has been shown internationally and she has received numerous grants among them a 5 years’ working grant from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture (2015-2019). She has had several public art commissions in Norway where she co-founded the open access gallery and workshop “S12” in 2007. From 2011-2014 she held a 3-year position as a visiting artist and faculty member at the School of Art and Design, Alfred University.
Björk often focuses on the different layers of experience and meaning, exposing inside and outside of human existence and its inherent duality as well as juxtaposing the viewer and the viewed in its exploration of time and the act of viewing. Glass has played an important role in Björk’s artistic output with its inherent qualities of fragility and strength as well as its ability to juxtapose inner and outer aspects simultaniously along with the many layers in between. The Artist currently works and lives in Bergen Norway.
Exhibitions and Awards (excerpts)
2018 | Grand Prize at Toyama International Glass Exhibition 2018, with “ShieldⅡ”
(Toyama, Japan) Solo Exhibition, ShieldⅡ, S12 Studio and Gallery in collaboration with Tinna Thorsteinsdóttir (Bergen, Norway) “HANDMADE-SCANDINAVIAN GLASS STARTING ALL OVER”(Glass Museum Ebeltoft, Denmark) |
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2000 | “Clearly Brilliant, A Decade of Pilchuck Glass School’s Emerging Artists in
Residence” (Tacoma Art Museum,WA, US) “Aurora-Contemporary Nordic Glass Art” (PERA MUSEUM, Turkey) |
1998 | “EMBODY” (Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Great Britain) |
Collections (excerpts)
- Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority (NO)
- KODE Art Museums of Bergen (NO)
- The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo (NO)
- Toyama Glass Art Museum (JP)
Public Art
2011 | Hellinga barnehage / kindergarten (Kristiansand) |
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2009 | Kluge advokatkontor, (Bergen) |
2009 | Gjøa platform Statoil Hydro (North Sea) |
2008 | Lindebøskauen skole, Flekkerøy (Major commission) (Kristiansand) |
2005 | Stord sjukehus /psychiatric ward (Stord) |
2004 | Husnes bu og rehabeliteringssenter (Stord) |
Tinna Thorsteinsdóttir
(conceptual development & sound)
Iceland
Tinna Thorsteinsdóttir has a broad experience with new music and has premiered around 80 piano works especially written for her in recent years. She works on a regular basis with numerous composers, is active in the experimental music scene in and out of Iceland. As multiple player/performer, she is engaged in transgressing projects including installations and soundscapes; in collaboration with Aesa Bjork, Tinna participates with her own brainwaves through the interdisciplinary “ShieldⅡ”, which was awarded “Grand Prize” at the triennial Toyama International Glass Exhibition 2018. She studied piano performance in Hannover and Münster before taking on further studies at the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, with multiple scholarships. Tinna has won many prizes including “The DV Culture Prize for Music” (Iceland, 2013). She is also a founder and one of the artistic directors of Cycle Music and Art Festival (Iceland, Berlin).
ARTIST WORKS
Shield II
2018
Installation slumped pâte de verre glass wafers, fused glass, electronics, transducer speakers, sound of brainwaves and video projections
Conceptual development & sound: Tinna Thorsteinsdóttir175.0 × 75.0 × 100.0 cm
Shield II
2018
Installation slumped pâte de verre glass wafers, fused glass, electronics, transducer speakers, sound of brainwaves and video projections
Conceptual development & sound: Tinna Thorsteinsdóttir175.0 × 75.0 × 100.0 cm