Art Prize
HELLE MELLEMSTRAND is the winner of the Coast Contemporary prize, 2024
We are thrilled to announce Helle Mellemstrand as the winner of our art-prize, granted to an artist who opens their studio doors, in collaboration with OSS – Open Studios Stavanger.
Helle Mellemstrand is one remarkable woman.
Working in wool, glue and self-made felt she creates large scale installations and intricate work. The work could make ones thoughts wander towards wounds, crust, fat, brain, entrails, a delicious dessert or the latest fashion on the cover of Vogue. In her own special way of treating the wool, developed over many years of research and experimentation the magnificent work seems fresh and undiscovered, yet there is also something ancient and timeless in Helle Mellemstrands work. Mellemstrand is based in Stavanger and graduated from Bergen Kunsthåndverkskule in 1986, with a Master in Textile.
Helle herself explains that her practice is research into textile possibilities.
“I am looking for textiles and forms that convey shared memories and experiences, be it current political events or universal themes such as anxiety, loss, joy, death, the sea and love. I reuse textiles to preserve and promote female and feminine values.
I work with wool fibers, self-made felt and reused textiles in 2- and 3-dimensional works, and often use glue so that the textiles become hard, even if the surfaces look and feel soft. I sew patches of homemade felt and old household textiles together into new shapes and patterns. Some of the wool fiber works are large flakes, while others consist of parts/modules.”
The Jury were simply blown away discovering Helles world and work in here studio at Tou Scene in Stavanger during OSS, and we can’t wait to present her work during Coast Contemporary in September 2024, selected pieces will be presented in an exhibition in Oslo during Coasts eight edition.
Helles website www.hellemellemstrand.no
A big thank you to Mari Rossavik, director of OSS and to Mona Orstad Hansen, artist and Chair of OSS, and to the board of OSS for this wonderful collaboration.
The Jury consisted of Heather Jones, independent curator, and co-founder and Editor of Contemporary Art Stavanger (CAS) and Tanja Sæter, founder of Coast Contemporary.
ABOUT OSS (text by OSS)
Open Studios Stavanger is an annual art festival held in Stavanger and Sandnes follows a similar model to the Oslo Open and B-Open studio festivals. Our core activity is to arrange open studios for the general public and for a professional visiting program consisting of gallerists, curators, critics and writers. The festival became an organizer for the first time in September 2023.
The aim is to give local artists greater opportunities to exhibit locally and internationally to arrange for artist presentations, studio visits and professional events. Local we want to connect the audience closer to their art environment. The festival will strengthen the dissemination of what is going on of productions and practices in the region, and create closer connections between the art and the audience. The initiative for the festival comes from the artist community at Tou Atelierhus and Elefant in Stavanger, and Station K in Sandnes. OSS responds to a need in the art field because there has been a lack of an established one structure in Stavanger and Sandnes to invite both the public and curators into the studios.
The prize consists of fully funded participation, production funds and representation during Coast Contemporary 2024.
If your institution or foundation wishes to contribute to our prize with funding of an artist or by inviting the prize winner please get in touch at office@coastcontemporary.no
FORMER PRIZE WINNERS
2022 Viktor Pedersen
2021 Covid cancelled
2020 Anne Lise Stenseth
2019 Ragnhild Aamås
2018 Randi Nygård
ARCHIVE
The first four prizes were granted in collaboration with Oslo Open to honor an artist who opens his, their or her studio during the art festival Oslo Open.
2022
VIKTOR PEDERSEN
Artist Viktor Pedersen was the winner of the Coast Contemporary art prize, 2022.
Pedersen participated in Tromsø during our sixth edition Land of Prey – Witch-hunting in the 21st Century, with a screening of the new film To See Without Man. The work is a collaboration between artist Ingrid K. Bjørnaali and Viktor Pedersen.
To See Without Man is an animated video narrated by poetic reflections originating from attempts to approach and understand the vegetal mind.
Bjørnaali is behind the visual part of the video, where she has worked with photogrammetric 3d scanning of plants that Pedersen grows at home. These plants are mainly in the Nightshade family, and include members like Tobacco, Belladonna, Datura Stramonium, and Mugwort. Specimens that through history have been used for ritual and magic purposes.
Viktor Pedersen (b.1988) works interdisciplinary with video, performance, sound, and text. In his artistic practice, he approaches non-human intelligence to look at how we interact with other organisms in conscious and unconscious ways.
Location: Tromsø.
2020
ANNE LISE STENSETH
Artist Anne-Lise Stenseth – The prize winner was presented with a month long screening of the film Suspended Dust HD 25 min. (2015) including a publication.
She also participated in an artist talk with chair of Oslo Open Trond Hugo Haugen, during “Constructing Structures” curated by Tanja Sæter.
Location: Hovedøya (and Covid-19 limitations).
2019
RAGNHILD AAMÅS
The prize winner Ragnhild Aamås was presented at Håholmen with the out door performance and reading;
urørt&naturleg
untouched&natural
intacte&naturel (once again)
Aamås also presented sculptures and outdoor installations. She participated in 2019 during “Organized Freedom” curated by Sverre Gullesen and Tanja Sæter.
Location: Molde, Håholmen and Bergen.
2018
RANDI NYGÅRD
The prize winner Randi Nygård was presented with the book The Wild Living Marine Resources Belongs to the Society as a Whole, and an artist talk with scholar and author Timotheus Vermeulen, during the second edition “Rugged weathered, above the sea”, curated by Charles Aubin (New York) in dialogue with Artistic Director, Tanja Sæter.
Location: Lofoten to Bergen and Hurtigruten.
JURY MEMBERS
2018
On behalf of Oslo Open: Artist and Chair of Oslo Open, Trond Hugo Haugen.
On behalf of Coast: Coast Advisory Board member, author and art critic Timotheus Vermeulen and founder of Coast, Tanja Sæter.
2019
On behalf of Oslo Open: Artist and Chair of Oslo Open, Trond Hugo Haugen.
On behalf of Coast: artist Sverre Gullesen & founder Tanja Sæter, co-curators of the third edition.
2020
On behalf of Oslo Open: Astrup Fearnley curator and Oslo Open board member Therese Möllenhoff.
On behalf of Coast, Tanja Sæter, founder of Coast.
2021
Oslo Open was Covid-cancelled.
2022
On behalf of Oslo Open: ADirector of the Canica collection and Oslo Open board member Therese Möllenhoff.
On behalf of Coast, Tanja Sæter, founder of Coast.