Young & Loving!

Young & Loving!

10.10.26-08.11.26

Young & Loving! Is a humorous translation of “young and promising”, pointing to the exhibition’s focus on newly graduated artists. An exploratory approach to glass as part of an artistic practice has been a defining feature of the exhibition concept at S12 since 2007.

This year’s artists are John Erwin Dillard, Bjørg Dyg Nielsen and Maria Adolfsson. What they share is an exploratory approach to glass, using the material as part of broader investigations into people, society and the world around us.

John Erwin Dillard explores the meeting point between magic, technology, spirituality and science. For the exhibition, he presents Viven Fon, a steam fountain in semi-transparent glass, developed during his residency at S12. The work is inspired by a musical composition by Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) and explores the relationship between human knowledge, creativity and collective consciousness.

Bjørg Dyg Nielsen works with audiovisuals and sculpture, combining materials including glass, latex, metal and ceramics. The work Enter the Mermage is part of a series of works exploring eco-revolution and examines how nature reclaims cultural remnants such as objects, buildings and technologies.

Maria  Adolfsson works between glassmaking, sculpture and found materials, with an interest in class, belonging and lived experience. Be Needed, Grown Beside and Let’s Shine grow out of memories of childhood, class and the feeling of standing slightly outside. The works contain both humour and sadness, exploring the desire to belong and to be seen, while also finding strength in never quite fitting in.