Observingarts: Bjørn Ransve, Edvard Munch, Scandinavian contemporary art

"Den norske ekspresjonist-generasjonen er representert ved blant andre Rolf Nesch, før utstillingen avrundes med 1960/70-tallet og kunstnerne Per Kirkeby, Bjørn Ransve, Ola Billgren og Kjartan Slettemark».
«Danske Kirkeby, norske Ransve og svenske Billgren hører til vår tids store malere, mens norsk-svenske Slettemark var, og er, en mester i iscenesettelse." 

"The Norwegian expressionist generation is represented by, among others, Rolf Nesch, before the exhibition ends with 1960-1970's and artists Per Kirkeby , Bjørn Ransve, Ola Billgren and Kjartan Slettemark". "Danish Kirkeby, Norwegian Ransve and Swedish Billgren belong to our time great painters, while Norwegian - Swedish Slettemark was, and is, a master of staging".

Quotes from article in Aftenposten: http://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/anmeldelser/Munch-ismer-7135143.html

Observingarts: Bjørn Ransve - contemporary art.

Bjørn Ransve has distinguished himself as one of the foremost and at times most surprising contemporary artists in Norway . He has often changed expression between their exhibits and proven as a virtuoso artist with many signatures.

Source: Ustvedt, Øystein. (2009, 13. februar). Bjørn Ransve. I Norsk biografisk leksikon. Hentet 26. januar 2015 fra https://nbl.snl.no/Bj%C3%B8rn_Ransve. (Norwegian)

Exhibits and reviews for Bjørn Rasve:
http://www.kunstforum.as/2013/12/ransves-prosess/ (Norwegian)

NRK program om Bjørn Ransve her: http://tv.nrk.no/program/FOLA01009483/maleren-bjoern-ransve (Norwegian)

Observingarts: legacy and inovation.

"The simple and frontal statement in the pictures show a red thread in Ransve art: the concentration on a figure, an object or shape leaning against a background. His debut as painter in 1971 caused a sensation with his estranged, isolated figures positioned frontally facing the viewer of the picture. The classic traditions of portraits and the legacy of Edvard Munch is mixed  with the experiences from meeting the nightmarish pictorial scenes of Francis Bacon. Pictures that are embedded in a larger European and existentially charged figurative painting tradition, but the irrational and absurd aspects of the motives also brings an element of paradox".

Bjørn Ransve, Demon

Edvard Munch, Puberty 1894

Source: Wikipedia CC Licence

Bildenes enkle og frontale oppstilling viser til en rød tråd i Ransves kunst: konsentrasjonen om en figur, et objekt eller en form stilt opp mot en bakgrunn. Hans maleridebut 1971 vakte stor oppsikt med sine fremmedgjorte, isolerte skikkelser plassert frontalt overfor betrakteren av bildet. I disse blandes den klassiske portrettradisjonen og arven fra Edvard Munch med erfaringer fra møtet med Francis Bacons marerittaktige billedscener. Det er bilder som er forankret i en større europeisk og eksistensielt ladet figurativ maleritradisjon, men det irrasjonelle og absurde ved motivene bringer også inn et element av paradoks.


Kilde: Ustvedt, Øystein. (2009, 13. februar). Bjørn Ransve. I Norsk biografisk leksikon. Hentet 8. februar 2015 fra https://nbl.snl.no/Bj%C3%B8rn_Ransve.

Observingarts: Harlequin - Picasso and Munch

Bjørn Ransves universe gives generous room for the harlequin as a motive. This mystic and ambiguous figure is a central motive in his production. The beauty of expression and colours speaks out for itself. 

"The harlequin figure was a basic motive in Ransve development as a painter. Of the many artists who have depicted harlequin figure, Ransve version are pointing with particular clarity against the early Picasso who in his " blue " and " pink " periods circled arond bohemians, jugglers and outside the mart track destinies. The saturated colors and line game in Munch 1890 century symbolism is not far away".

"Harlekin-figuren var et grunnleggende motiv i Ransves utvikling som maler. Av de mange billedkunstnere som har avbildet harlekin-skikkelsen peker Ransves versjon med særlig tydelighet mot den tidlige Picasso som i sine «blå» og «rosa» perioder kretset om bohemens, gjøglerens og outsiderens martrede skjebner. De mettede farver og linjespillet i Munchs 1890-talls symbolisme er heller ikke langt unna". 

«Bjørn Ransve», Audun Eckhoff, Orfeus Forlag 2000

Nature as ideal and freedom of execution.

“Despite considerable variations in motif and approach, Bjørn Ransve focused on the figure in space as his primary theme from the time of his artistic debut around 1970 until the mid – 1980s. The relation between nature as ideal and freedom of execution had been a consistent source of tension in his images, helping to situate his work in the art-historical context”.

Audun Eckhoff, “Magic mirror// Point Zero”. “Ransve paintings 1962 – 2009” Arnoldsche 

"Pale heart" by Bjørn Ransve

Bjørn Ransve

Pale heart

1975, oil on  canvas

60 x 50 cm

When all is subtracted, what is left but the object itself? Is there hope in a brutal, grey horizon? Or does it just bring structure to the painting? Structure versus pure organic form. The pale, transparent colors surrounding the object are giving off indications that it is somehow at rest, even when free floating. The background brings up associations to  works of Rothko. But the background has a function to the composition: to embed and contrast the heart. Hide and conceal.

But the heart – it is left lifeless. It is frozen in time and space. What a mare for an organ that should be warm, pumping, pouring red blood into the body. Giving restless, vibrant life. Now, at rest against colors of earth and maybe fog. Is there a sky, a higher dimension, potential of salvation and freedom? And, there is earth: death and the potential for new life. No matter how barren the land might seem. So there is hope. A heart gives hope. Standing out at the center of the painting and at the same time dissolving into the background. A dissolving, pale heart? A heart without the function of a heart. Faint, distant but with a strong presence. The painting of a heart, heart of the painting, the heart of a painter? Attempting to fix form and idea and expelling feelings and emotions. Are the composition an expression of a barren artistic landscape inhabited only by the visiting spirit of the painter? Is this the modern reflection on "The scream" by Munch?  Is it a self-portrait or a portrait of despair of how our attitude towards our surrounding has left it both pale and exhausted, passing the pain on to the observer? 

Intimacy and distance - man and nature.

Bjørn Ransve

Brown-red ape.  1995. 

Oil on board, 122 x 99 cm

How would you measure the distance between an ape to a human? What to measure, what metrics? How close are we to our primal ancestors? Is that a relevant question to the theme at present? Resemblance or distance could be depending on the situation. This cage is different. What if we as a naked individual are left, alone, under the eye of the observer, naked, stripped down to our basic existence? All integrity removed, our gaze introvert, yet seeking something outside. Yes, I have seen the gaze in the depicted primal before, it was on the face of a tormented human. What we expect to fill out the discomfort of pure existence is gone. Context is the color of feelings, not that of the rational. The core of our own identity, so stripped of everything that helps us constitutes it.  The jungle gone, left are structures vanishing in rough strokes of vibrant colors, impressions beyond that of the rational. A productive state of shard feeling – the fragile existence we cling to as primates in various states of evolution. This state of pure being establish a bridge over which we are invited to an intimate, yet rationally distanced encounter with – “our selves”.

And by stepping back the monochrome, dissolving unfinished expression leaves the primate naked and fragile to our looks. Intimate, even at a distance.  

For a more extensive discussions on the theme"The body: the meat and the spirit: becoming animal" based on pictures by Francisc Backon, please visit:

http://www.alexalienart.com/bacon%20bled%20bare.htm

Bjørn Ransve - a life in art.

Bjørn Ransve. 

"Blood", 1967. Oil on canvas, 82x70 cm. 

Norsk kunst, andre halvdel av 80-tallet/ Norwegian art, the second half of the 80s

"Most major solo exhibitions in the 80s was devoted painters. Painter Bjørn Ransve was presented with a retrospective exhibition in both daylight halls in 1986. Although Ransve was only 42 years old, images from a 20-year period was displayed. The exhibition played on changes within production while continuous themes was made clear, especially the dynamics between representation and the material side of paintings. In the catalog text, Hans- Jakob Brun described how Ransve seemed to have taken advantage of and opposed the distinction between art and reality. (Hans- Jakob Brown in Bjørn Ransve, KH, 1986) Instead of maintaining clear distinctions, the paintings in the exhibition evolved both fictional rooms and self-referential compositions".

"De fleste store separatutstillingene på 80-tallet var viet malere. Maleren Bjørn Ransve ble presentert med en retrospektiv utstilling i begge overlyssalene i 1986. Selv om Ransve bare var 42 år ble det vist bilder fra en 20-årsperiode. Utstillingen spilte på forandringer innad i produksjonen, samtidig som gjennomgangstrekk ble tydeliggjort, spesielt dynamikken mellom representasjon og maleriets materielle side. I katalogteksten skrev Hans-Jakob Brun hvordan Ransve syntes å ha utnyttet og motarbeidet skillet mellom kunst og virkelighet. (Hans-Jakob Brun i Bjørn Ransve, KH, 1986) I stedet for å opprettholde klare skiller viste maleriene i utstillingen både fiktive rom og selvrefererende komposisjoner". 

Source/ kilde: http://www.kunstnerneshus.no/kunst/1980-tallet/

Bjørn Ransve - change and continuity

Kamuflasjeindianer II 1984. 147 x 150 cm.

Find Bjørn Ransve interview in "Kulturoperatørene" (Haagen Ringstrøm) and nice presentation of art including interview with Øystein Ustvedt 

Observearts: "Pink ape"

Bjørn Ransve:
Pink ape, 1995. 

Oil ond board. 125 x 94 cm. 

Light and darkness

So, what is this thing about art? Is it our opportunity to connect with others through a language spoken by great minds - guided by their hearts? Is it a clash of rationale and emotions, a productive solitude of the sender, echoing from the canvas? A silent language, left stripped and torn for our rational receptors. Intellect, emotions and - handcraft!   

                        Bjørn Ransve - detail from "Harlequin boy with monkey"

Observearts: harlequin boy with monkey

Bjørn Ransve:
Harlequin boy with monkey,1983.

Oil on canvas.

Observearts:Flow and fixation

Observing arts: the productive exchange and flow of ideas, patterns, challenging intuition, the making of  individual and collective constructs. Negotioations, agreement and diagrement. Individuality vs. collectivism. Associations and  - references of interpretation. Art through words, art through hearts. 

I want to share this rare interview with Frances Bacon. 

Source: A rare Francis Bacon interview from a 1971 BBC documentary.

                                       

Painting by Bjørn Ransve. 

Observearts: culture/ nature

Two quite distinct, different and unique perspectives on the relationship between nature and culture, animal and man. 

Bjørn Ransve.
Ape and cranium, 1981
Oil on board, 120 x 121 cm.

Observearts:

Bjørn Ransve

Large circle, 1998. 

Oil on canvas, 240 x 240 cm. 

The immense and open blackness surrounding and corroding things

Ransve loves to construct an origin for his gaze and his disquiet, in their multiple manifestations. Tenachiously, he insists on looking to the visible for what the visible continues to conceal and to render imperceptible. He persists obsessively in subtraction something to the immense and open blackness surrounding and corroding things.

Rita Selvaggio, “The eyes of the mind”. “Ransve paintings 1962 – 2009” Arnoldsche 

Man and Animal

To this day, in contemporary culture, the decisive political conflict, overriding all other conflicts, centres on the question of the animal and the human nature of man. As Giorgio Agamben points out in The Open: Man and Animal, 2004 that to analyse how man has been separated from the non-human and the animal from man, is more urgent than taking sides on the big issues and the so-called human  rights and values. 

Rita Selvaggio, “Memories of an unending beginning”. “Ransve paintings 1962 – 2009” Arnoldsche

On  theme culture vs. nature, animal from man: a quite distinct and different approach to some of the same issues.

                      Behold These Tears oil, acrylic and gold leaf on wood 24" X 36" 

http://www.varnishfineart.com/images/Files/Craig_LaRotonda_in_Traffic_East_Magazine.pdf


 

Encircled Head

“In the long run, I hope to create a painting that combines colour and non-colour, space and non-space: organic chaos” Bjørn Ransve 1985.

Encircled Head,  1976. Oil on canvas . 135 x 155 cm.

1985ビョルンRansve：「有機混乱長い目で見れば、私はカラーとそうでない、空間と非スペースを組み合わせた絵を作成したいと考えて」。

Cranium In White Room

Cranium In White Room, 1984. Oil on canvas. 275 x 200 cm.

Ransve loves to construct an origin for his gaze and his disquiet, in their multiple manifestations. Tenaciously, he insists on looking to the visible for what the visible continues to conceal and to render imperceptible. He persists obsessively in subtracting something to the immense an open blackness surrounding and corroding things. His is a nocturnal and lunar space with no perimeter; the body’s nefarious and abstract loss of outline where the figure is now eclipsed forever.

Rita Selvaggio, “Memories of an unending beginning// The eyes of the mind”. “Ransve paintings 1962 – 2009” Arnoldsche 

Fraktal

Large Fraktal, 1999. Indian ink on board. 366 x 366 cm.

“Despite considerable variations in motif and approach, Bjørn Ransve focused on the figure in space as his primary theme from the time of his artistic debut around 1970 until the mid – 1980s. The relation between nature as ideal and freedom of execution had been a consistent source of tension in his images, helping to situate his work in the art-historical context”.

Audun Eckhoff, “Magic mirror// Point Zero”. “Ransve paintings 1962 – 2009” Arnoldsche