Hanne Friis. FLOM.

The Norwegian artist Hanne Friis (b. 1972) is renowned for her monumental textile installations that redefine the concept of sculpture. She hand-dyes fabric and sculpts it using a time-consuming sewing technique that she has developed and adapted over the past 20 years. Using a small needle, Friis transforms the material by folding and pressing the fabric into organic forms and complex structures.

One kilometre of fabric and countless hours with a needle and thread: the installation FLOM has emerged through a long process in which Friis has revisited the Tower Room multiple times and experimented with various materials, colours and shapes. FLOM consists of three sculptures in different tones of colour that have been composed and assembled on-site. They are sculpted in shimmering nylon organza, a sheer fabric commonly used in fashion creations, which will reflect the changing weather in Bergen on the outside in various hues.

Through its soft and flowing forms, the chemically produced material appears organic and created by nature, reminiscent of underwater creatures, spider webs, or structures in the human body.

Nylon organza is made from oil and is part of the growing global pollution problem. The exhibition title FLOM (meaning flood) brings to mind the newspaper headlines we encounter ever more frequently, accompanied by photographs of rivers bursting their banks and posing new dangers; glaciers melting into rushing water; massive mudslides sweeping away cars and buildings; of people standing by helplessly as the forces of nature strike and make the world unsafe.

Friis’ artwork impart a sense of change and growth, and an ambiguity between form and materiality. The meticulous work of the hand creates sensory spaces that present breathtaking leaps between the microcosm and macrocosm.

Curator for the exhibition is Heidi Bjørgan.

About the artist

Hanne Friis (b. 1972, Oslo) is educated in painting and sculpture at the Academy of Fine Art in Trondheim (1992-96). Works by Friis are included in the collections of Haugar Art Museum, Haugalandmuseet, Kunstsilo, the Oslo Municipality Art Collection, Kode, the National Museum, Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, the Art Museum of Northern Norway, as well as a number of private collections both in Norway and abroad.

Friis has undertaken several public and private art commissions and has exhibited extensively in the Nordic countries and Europe. In 2022/23, Friis had a solo exhibition at the Vigeland Museum. This autumn Friis will open a solo exhibition at MK&G in Hamburg and is featured in a duo exhibition with the American sculptor Lynda Benglis at Locks Gallery in Philadelphia.