Northing
Searching for the Flying Stone — Artist talk with Li Binyuan and Kurt Johannessen
19:00
Critically acclaimed Chinese artist Li Binyuan is on a New Year’s trip in Bergen. He paid a visit to the studio of Kurt Johannessen, whom he admired since reading the book that presented all of Kurt’s performances from 2007 to 2017. The cultural and language barriers were easily crossed after sharing some hearty moments where two artists took action to improvise with playful postures and exchange ideas through physical interaction.
Northing found this short but sweet encounter extremely valuable and would love to help extend it into a public event. Bergen Kunsthall kindly accepted our proposal and decided to host this artist talk despite the short notice.
At the event, the two artists will present some of their most important works through video screening and book launching, followed by a conversation on performance art in the context of the natural environment.
Moderator and interpreter: Ben Wenhou Yu
Li Binyuan (b.1985) lives and works in Beijing. He graduated from the Sculpture Department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2011. Many of Li’s works are improvisations that can be carried out in daily life without an exhibition gallery or an audience. It is exactly these fragmented individual actions that distinguished his work from the traditional common experience and make up the unique values in his expressions. His works are exhibited in many important institutions including MoMA PS1, Groninger Museum (The Netherlands), Museum of Old and New Art (Tasmania) and others.
Kurt Johannessen (b. 1960) is a Norwegian artist who works with performance art, sculpture, books, and visual art. He is considered one of the most prominent performance artists in Norway of his generation and has been presented in numerous exhibitions and performances in Norway and internationally. Since 1984, he has published more than 130 books through his own publisher Zeth forlag, where he treats words and texts as a visual language.
This event is part of Bergen Kunsthall’s live programme.