MAINTAINING THE ORDER OF THINGS - The Aesthetic of Modernism in Commercialism, Nationalism, Elitism and Socialism

The exhibition consists of sketches for honorary gifts, on loan from Glasrikets Skatter, Orrefors, works of art from DDR  from the collections of Rostock Kunsthalle and works from the collections of Kalmar konstmuseum.

Curators: Martin Schibli & Per Larsson

The practice of making art is associated with the contemporary culture in which a work is produced. The conditions for making art vary with the established view of art and the general spirit of the day. From a larger perspective, it’s about the established ideology and its economic, social, and political premises. Twentieth-century art was no exception to such conditions. During the twentieth century and the modern era, it was often asserted that art could serve a normative function. Art could provide us with a glimpse of a better society. It could lead the way to an ideal society. Dictatorial regimes have tried to strictly control art to ensure that it conform to their own ideologies. On the other hand, the power regimes in market economies have also used economic power to associate themselves with cultural capital.

This even has an effect on how a museum’s collection develops over time—what it purchases, the donations it receives, and what it chooses to exhibit from its collection. For this exhibition we have brought together three collections that correspond with events in Europe during the twentieth century. The three collections are: sketches for honorary gifts from the Orrefors Treasures of the Glass Kingdom, works from Kunsthalle Rostock including art of the East German era, and selections from the collection of Kalmar konstmuseum. For Kalmar konstmuseum, the idea is to put our own collection in perspective in the context of the historic and socioeconomic events of our own geographic region, in terms of both the year the works were made and when they were donated to or purchased by the museum.

Per Larsson has made a selection from among the sketches for honorary gifts made by Orrefors Glassworks 1931-44. The sketches were made by Simon Gate, Vicke Lindstrand, Sven Palmqvist, Nils Landberg, and Edvin Öhrström. The selection includes gifts that were commissioned by the group that built up and controlled Sweden’s development as an industrialized nation. The motifs reveal the aesthetic that was accepted and desired within this circle. The manufacture of exclusive engraved honorary gifts reached its zenith during the 1930s and 40s, and during the late 40s became more neutral in character. The Orrefors sketches are a unique source for documenting the taste and values of the day, occupying the borderland between artistic expression and commercially commissioned work. The sketches are on loan from the Orrefors Treasures of the Glass Kingdom, and most are being exhibited here for the first time.

Rostock Kunsthalle was the only new art institution built during the East German era. Rostock Kunsthalle opened in 1969 and was intended to provide a home for the Baltic Biennale that had begun in 1965. The Baltic Biennale was started for the expressed purpose of collaborating with the other countries around the “Sea of Peace.” On loan from Rostock are twenty-five works by some twenty different artists. Several of these artists were heavily promoted by the DDR. Some, including Gerhard Marcks, had been branded degenerates during the 1930s by the National Socialists. Among the other artists represented in the exhibition is Werner Tübke, who today is also known for having taught several of the members of the “Leipzig School,” which included artists such as Neo Rauch.

The selection from Kalmar konstmuseum’s collection consists of three groups of works: works in Kalmar konstmuseum’s collection made 1932-45, works in Kalmar konstmuseum’s collection donated or acquired 1932-45, and works made 1949-90. These three groupings aim to give a hint of how the collection has developed in relation to the realpolitik and the economic conditions of our region.