For the 2022 edition of The Armory Show, OSL contemporary is proud to present Ane Graff with a selection of new sculptures and paintings.

The sculptural tables are titled The Goblets (Mixed Dementia), The Goblets (Panic Disorder) and The Goblets (Clinical Depression). They are a continuation of her ongoing series of goblet-work, showing the material components and entanglements that influence mental health. They are also a study of the material expressions of our socioeconomic and physical environments and how they can shape mental distress. The works position the body as a meeting place contained within a larger system, and the sculptures can in general be seen as bodies in themselves, where entangled narratives and materials meet, both conceptually and materially. Part of this research is an exploration of not just what a material can do in the body when touched/ ingested, but also situations and historical events that possibly create epigenetic changes.

The four silk paintings deal with the subject matter of leaky brains and are titled BBB (The Blood Brain Barrier) I, II, III and IV. The blood that brings nutrients to the brain goes through a protective barrier, called the blood brain barrier. This brain barrier ensures that only substances that can provide some type of functional asset to the brain are allowed through and that the brain will be compromised by invasive substances. Leaky brain syndrome occurs when the blood brain barrier in the brain fails to keep out certain substances. This means that harmful substances are able to carry through the walls and find their way into the brain which can change the way that we function. Quite often leaky brain syndrome is related to leaky gut syndrome. Both conditions are caused by the inflammation. The same factors that cause inflammation in the gastro-intestinal tract, like food sensitivity or imbalance of bacteria, may cause the inflammatory processes in the entire body and cause weakness of blood brain barrier. Once this barrier becomes compromised the brain can fall victim to damage from environmental toxins, like heavy metals, bacteria and more. Leaky brain symptoms are associated with mental states such as depression and anxiety, and are implicated in a range of dementia conditions.

Ane Graff (b. 1974, Bodø) lives and works in Oslo, Norway. She graduated from Bergen National Academy of the Arts in 2004 and currently holds a position of PhD Research Fellow at the Oslo National Academy the Arts, with her doctoral dissertation scheduled December 2022. She has been part of exhibitions such as 'Weather Report –Forecasting Future', Nordic Pavilion at the '58th Venice Biennale', (curated by Piia Oksanen and Leevi Haapala, KIASMA), 2019; 'Art Encounters Biennial', (curated by Maria Lind & Anca Rujoiu), 2019; 'Soon Enough: Art in Action', Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm, 2018; 'Myths of the Marble', Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Oslo, and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, 2017; the '11th Gwangju Biennale The Eighth Climate (What Does Art Do?)', Gwangju, 2016; and 'Surround Audience', The New Museum Triennial, 2015, NY.

Recent exhibitions include: 'Liquid Life' at the Kistefos Museum (2021) curated by Martha Kirszenbaum, the Rhizome/ New Museum/ Stavanger Kunsthall collaboration '7x7' (2021); and '2021 Liverpool Biennale', curated by Manuela Moscoso.

In 2022, Ane Graff was the first Norwegian artist to have a solo exhibition in the Netherlands at Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam, entitled 'Ane Graff: The Wound in its Entanglements'.

For selected works by the artist, please follow this link.

The participation is kindly supported by OCA, Office for Contemporary Art Norway.