EXHIBITION
KVAE & BARK: THE SOFT FOREST IS OURS ON LOAN

Opening: Friday 15 September, 7–10pm (flag raising, reading and sound piece at 8pm)
Exhibition: 16 September – 12 November 2023

The Soft Forest Is Ours On Loan is artist duo Kvae & Bark‘s first large-scale solo exhibition in Oslo. The opening at UKS coincides with the unveiling of a cookbook comprising notes from the Trysil woodlands, with images and recipes gathered across seasons, as well as Wagtail Sonata, a sound piece by contributing artist Eirik Melstrøm.

For their UKS presentation, the duo—Karoline Sætre (b. 1992, NO) and Øyvind Novak Jenssen (b. 1988, NO)—have brought the forest lands of eastern Norway and treasures of the sea from both north and west to Oslo, in a sculptural environment that doubles as a work space and a site for gathering. Much of the Soft Forest—its pillars, materials and the foods that will tickle the adventurous tastebuds of curious visitors in an extensive public programme—has been found and foraged around the artists’ home in the deep inland forests of Trysil. Both exhibition and public programme become containers for nourishment, labour and community-building, in which audiences are invited to join in the unpacking and rearranging of goods, both foraged and immaterial, over the course of the autumn season.

Throughout the exhibition period, Eirik Melstrøm’s Wagtail Sonata plays at 1pm and 4pm every Wednesday – Sunday.

PUBLIC PROGRAMME:

Young Taste in Open City: Foraging trip and workshop
Thursday 28 September, 5–6.30pm
75 kr, including a small snack

Gather and Gather: A performative dinner
Friday 29 September, 6–8.30pm
150 kr

Autumn Apple, Winter Thirst: Workshop and roundtable discussion
Thursday 19 October, 5–7pm
Free, sign up not required

Gather and Gather: A performative dinner
Friday 20 October, 6–8.30pm
150 kr
Tickets here (waiting list)

Sharing the Spoils: Finissage
Saturday 11 November, 1–5pm
Free and open to all

PRESS:

— Review in Billedkunst, Nr. 4 2023 (magazine)
Vennligheten forførte meg

— Review in Kunsthåndverk, Nr. 3 2023 (magazine)
Med skogen i sin frakkelomme, Kunsthåndverk, pp. 14

— Review in Kunsthåndverk (online journal)
Med skogen i sin frakkelomme, Kunsthåndverk, 10.11.2023

— Review in Kunstkritikk (online journal)
Preapokalyptisk catering, Kunstkritikk, 17.10.2023

— Mention in Kunstkritikk (online journal)
Kunsten spiser seg selv, Kunstkritikk, 22.08.2023

*Image above: Kvae & Bark, ‘The Soft Forest Is Ours On Loan’ at UKS. Photo by Vegard Kleven