MAGNE'S ART WORKS

Stavanger, October 13, 1989 - Magne Furuholmen opens his first exhibition "Maleri" ("Painting" - the noun, not the verb) in Gallery Solvberget. The general public knew him better as Mags, the keyboarder from a-ha, always in for a joke. But music had never been Magne's sole interest. He'd been drawing and painting for many years. In late 1982, Magne Furuholmen and Pal Waaktaar went to London, to conquer the music world. But when the music world didn't show much interest, they threw themselves on other artistic fields. Pal wrote an entire poem collection, "En tyv i journalene", and Magne bought himself an airbrush set. Working restlessly and concentrated, he soon had a whole stack of drawings, aquarelles and airbrush paintings. He tried to sell these works on the streets and to galleries, and whilst waiting for clients, he studied books on anatomy and film animation. Maybe he could go to the art academy, if this music business didn't work out. Eventually, the music business did work out, but Magne never stopped exploring the visual art. The books "Veien till topps" and "Sa blaser det pa jorden" which tell about a-ha's history, show us black and white drawings of mainly faces and human figures. It's probably not much more than just scribblings or exercises, but they show a keen eye for the different postures of the human body and the wide variety of facial features and expressions. Next to a few drawings and lithographs, that first exhibition "Maleri" shows 16 colorful paintings. The style of these reminds many people to the well-known Norwegian painter Edvard Munch ("The Scream"). Two expressionistic landscapes are even named "Munch landskap I" and "Munch landskap II". One can indeed recognize the typical Munch style and colors in the sunset. The first bright painting shows the sun and its reflection nearing mountains, the second one shows the same landscape after sunset, in red and dark tones. One of my personal favorites is "Stille Sentrum/Kokong/I stormens oye" ("Silent Centre/Cocoon/In the eye of the storm"). It shows a sleeping nude, blue woman swept away (by her dreams ?) in a white whirlpool. Blue and black flames are swirling around it. "Mann og kvinne" ("Man and woman") are in fact two paintings, placed on one another. Both have a dark red background. The upper one shows a white woman stretching out; her arms, head and hair becoming one streaming mass. The lower painting shows a man standing, looking down to his side, where he seems to be bleeding. A (water) stream like the one the woman disappears into/emerges off, reaches his shoulders and neck. The last painting I want to talk about, is named "Ubuden middagsgjest" ("Uninvited dinner guest"). We see a table full with raw seafood. The whole room is in bright and vivid colors, but through the window, we see a vast darkness, with only a weakened moon trying to get through. And then, at a second glance through the window, you discover the outlines - nothing more - of a dark head and shoulders : the uninvited guest. The second exhibition didn't come before March 1992. In the intermediate years, Magne had got to know the Norwegian painter Kjell Nupen, who taught him a lot, although Nupen was rather skeptic at first. "This big-headed popstar wants to paint ???". The exhibition took place in the RH Galleri in Tvedestrand, and was quite different from the first one. No oil paintings this time, but only litographies and black-and-white drawings. The drawings looked like they were made in one fluent motion, without lifting the pencil from the paper. One recognizes many animals, frogs, horses, dogs, buffalo's,... Some drawings, like the buffalo's are hardly more than one long scribble, and yet one can clearly distinguish the animals stampeding the plains. There are also several lithographs from little monsters, all called "Diavolino", featureless animals with a large, dinosaur-like mouth and dito teeth. Some drawings show humans : a head with the earth globe as bald skull, a female torso ("Private view VI"), a bearded man lying down, a pencil in his hand ("Private view II"), in which one could recognize the artist himself. After this event, the artist Magne Furuholmen seems to have lost some of his initial nervousness, and more exhibitions follow. In the first week of August 1992, Magne shows 35 photographs in the Henie-Onstad Kunstsenter near Oslo. The title : "Retrospective stunts". In October, the Steiner school in Nesbru has two days of art expositions. Magne contributes six new works, which were more abstract than the Tvedestrand collection. The main colors are black and all tones of red.
In March and April of 1993, there is a more extensive exhibition again, this time in Galleri Bi-zet in Kristiansand. Visitors can see new works of Kjell Nupen, Per Fronth and Magne Furuholmen. The latter has produced 30 new paintings, of which the style has become even more abstract. The theme of Magne's works is "monsters", but only a few pictures show recognizable subjects. Among these : the skeleton-like figures in two paintings, both called "Monstre en duel" (French for "Monster fighting a duel"). The main color is black once more; the "Monstre en duel" series has small, colored insect-like splotches on them. Some other titles : "Dialogue des Monstres" (Fr, "Dialogue of Monsters") and "Tete de Monstre" (Fr, "Monster face"). In February 1994, Magne lends a few paintings to the "Crossover" event : eleven Norwegian artists show some of their works at Sentrum Scene in Oslo. Magne's pieces envision haunting scenes, in which everyone can see something else. To me, one looks like a leafless tree with reaching arms for branches. In September-October, visitors to the "Norske Bilder" exhibition in Oslo can experience new paintings in a new and different style. Magne has taken the theme "absurd landscapes", and five completely abstract, colorful woodcuts are the result. In this period, the Henie-Onstad Senter organises an exposition around the theme "Kunst for frihet" ("Art for freedom"). The idea for this event comes from the human rights organization World View". Seventeen Norwegian artists take part in it, amongst them Magne Furuholmen. His contribution shows 'holes', actually the real imprints of bullets. Shooting the wood was a strange and unreal experience for pacifist Magne... That same year, shoppers of the Sandvika mall have the opportunity to meet art in a rather unusual place. Magne has been asked to decorate the entrance hall, and has accepted. The walls are covered with black abstract figures, which remind to his earlier exhibition in Tvedestrand. Sadly enough, the walls have been repainted in the mean time. During all this time, one could hear Magne was preparing something 'big'. And this big thing is presented to the public for the first time on April 29, 1995, in the Henie-Onstad Kunstsenter. It is the opening day of the woodcuts exposition "Kutt/Cuts". Magne has put a lot of personal memories and emotions in these works, and is quite nervous. Will he be accepted as a 'real' artist ? No need to worry : the critics and art lovers are enthusiastic about the colorful, lively pictures. The style is a further evolution from the works one could see at "Norske Bilder". Characters and words, songtitles, have been cut in the wood. Sometimes Magne even used a chainsaw ! Because of the printing process of woodcuts, all the words and images appear mirrored on the final pictures. Music is a real part of the exhibition, not only because of the use of jazz song titles, but also because of the mood, the atmosphere. "Moonlight in Vermont" shows a nightly scene. One 'o' of moon is big and bright, like the moon itself, and its light falls on a houselike construction. Triangle roof, with the word 'night' in it, and two saloon doors - a jazz club ? "Night in Tunisia" is the most figurative : a dark night sky, ocre mountains, a red oasis and orange palm trees in a red desert. Here, the moon is formed by a stylished 'G' in night. "I'm beginning to see the light" is so bright, one could use sunglasses. It's like a fast lava stream flowing over red hot rocks. "How high the moon" has a "W" with comet tails, once again an "o" for moon, and a ladder which reaches from the M high in the sky. In "Alice Blue Gown", I see both a front view and back view of a woman. "The trumpet of remembrance", a poem of Magne's friend Henning Kramer Dahl, is printed on a light background. The poem tells things about Magne's past, and the "trumpet of remembrance" is the trumpet of his father, found in the plane wreck in which Kare Furuholmen died. The titles of the Kutt pictures are jazz songs Magne's father played with his band. No wonder this exposition is so important for him... After Oslo, the woodcuts travel to Trondheim (Galleri Ismene), Stavanger (Galleri Solvberget), Kristiansand (Galleri Bi-zet) and Bodo (Kunstforening). In Stavanger, one can see five new additions to "Kutt" plus two works of a new series of five, inspired by the legendary jazz musician Chet Baker. All five works are part of an homage to this musician, and will be sold in a portfolio with a CD of Baker songs. This new series uses the same wood printing technique as "Kutt", but is even more lively and vibrant. Everything is swirling around and it feels like you are dragged into a wild waltz. In the autumn of 1995, the Henie-Onstad Senter organizes a big event around Chinese art in all forms. Magne and Kjetil Bjerkestrand write the music for the fashion show of the Chinese designer Flora Pavlova Cheong-Leen. Magne seems to be quite interested in China and its art, and together with the artist Qi Chen, he's planning to show his works in China. After that, it's possible the exposition moves on to Paris and New York. But painting is not the only thing Magne is doing lately. Together with choreographer Anderz Doving, he's working on a modern ballet performance. The premiere of the 15-minutes long dance "Stot" takes place on October 1994 in the Sandvika Theatre. Magne has taken care of the music, but was also involved in the designing of the costumes, the choreography and the stage decors. After these first experiences, both men started working on a longer performance, which is slated to premiere sometime in March or April 1996 in Oslo. Later, the show will travel to Copenhagen and Stockholm, possibly Helsinki as well.

Electra 96
From March 2 until April 14, 1996 visitors of the Henie Onstad Art Centre in Hovikodden, Norway, could find themselves in a futuristic setting. The name of the project/exhibition was "Electra 96", and the goal was to link art, high tech and modern media. Computers, fractals, image adaptation, Internet, interactivity, virtual reality, electronic art. And Magne Furuholmen as one of the coordinators. Magne was responsible for "Electra Sonus", the part of the exhibition where technology and sound were combined. We all know that music is a child of its time. Just think of how synthesizers and electric guitars opened new possibilities for musicians, or how samplers and computers gave birth to house and techno. But also the other side of the music chain - the listener - is becoming digitized. CD's are probably the best example here. Electra Sonus went one step beyond, and presented those new techniques in an arty setting. Two artists - Laurie Anderson from the US and the Norwegian Rob Waring - made contributions. Apart from that, one could also listen to newly digitized versions of old electronic music recordings. The "Sonomatrix" of Rob Waring consists of 64 small-sized speakers tied to the ground, in an 8x8 arrangement or matrix. They are all connected to a computer, from which they receive signals. On the computer screen, you can see a 8x8 chess board, of which the squares lit up in an adjustable pattern. Whenever a square brightens, the corresponding speaker produces its own personal sound. This way, 'melodies' are composed. Laurie Anderson's contributions are named "The Level" and "The Handphone Table". The former looks like an slightly oversized carpenter's level, but is of course more than just that. The water containers have little domestic scenes built in them. The one on the right for example, shows a tiny chair, a table and a grandfather clock. When the level is moved, the water starts running through tubes and activates sound chips. A recorded, eerie voice then floats through the built-in speakers, and tells about "when my father died..." "The handphone table" is inspired by the buzzing feel one gets when leaning on a table with electronic equipment on it. The sound vibration travels through your arms to your head. Anderson's table has three songs 'in' it, one for two bass lines, one for piano and one from a Fender Rhodes guitar. When leaning on this table, you can literally 'feel the music into your bones'. Electra Sonus was one of the smaller sections of the exhibition, but the chosen works indeed combined sound and modern techniques in an original way.

Sabine Clement ( Taken from www.a-ha.com )