“PROPOSAL FOR A WATER MONUMENT”
Courtesy of the artist
Curator Timo Valjakka at the Espoo Museum of Modern Art (EMMA) in Espoo, Finland, has invited artist Per Maning to present the solo exhibition ‘A Man Does Things: Photographs and video works 1983–2012', opening on Wednesday 6 March 2013. Presenting a wide selection of Maning’s art from the 1980s until today, the exhibition at EMMA features 26 photographic and video works from 1983 to 2012. The retrospective part of the exhibition includes Maning’s animal-themed photographic series that were exhibited at the Sydney Biennale in 1992 and at the Venice Biennale in 1995, among others. It ends with Self-portrait (1997–98), a series of works created with Norwegian actor Nils Sletta that expanded the focus of Maning’s art to cover the essential nature of human beings and non-verbal communication. The final part of the exhibition presents a series of new photographic works portraying people of different ages and their emotional states. According to the curator, Maning’s work deals with ‘what it means to be human and the notion that our identity does not depend on our race, gender or nationality, but, rather on our ability to recognise and accept our existence as one species among many’. A catalogue with essays by the curator and art historian Gertrud Sandqvist will accompany the exhibition.
About the artist
Per Maning (b.1943 in Oslo, Norway, lives and works in Oslo) has been exhibiting in national and international venues for more than three decades. Selected exhibitions include Fotogalleriet, Oslo (1988); The Sydney Biennale, Sydney, Australia (1992); Galleri Lars Bohman, Stockholm, Sweden (1994); The Nordic Pavillion, La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (1995); Suermondt Ludwig Museum, Aachen, Germany (1998); Albertinum, Staatliche Kunstsamlungen, Gämeldegalerie Neue Meister, Dresden, Germany (1997); National Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo (2002) and The Munch Museum, Oslo (2006). He has also been part of exhibitions in venues such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA (1999) and Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2011). His works are also represented in public collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum Folkwang, Essen; Germany; Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo; Malmö Museum, Malmö, Sweden; Norwegian Arts Council, Oslo and Preus Museum, Horten, Norway.