Exhibition Details

The work of Aleksander Stav is an exploration of nature and cultural history. The artworks point back to something archaic, an origin that concerns us all, and which in our technological and digital age feels more and more important to get in touch with. Working primarily in wood, Stav explores a material we all have a strong connection to as a reference to nature.
Five large wooden sculptures fill the gallery spaces. They are charred, and appear as raw and living organisms, with their pulse. The black-and-white expression is in great contrast to the gallery rooms. Nature is endlessly fascinating and complex. Cruelty, destruction, and beauty play out together in the exhibition. The sculptures are produced from unique wooden blanks, and processed on the material's terms, to promote natural energy and expression. The exhibition conveys the terrifying beauty found in nature's destructive power. Just like many wild animals today, early humans used forest fires to survive. This was probably our first interaction with fire and is believed to have taken place three million years ago. Our technological development started here. We pulled burnt animal carcasses out of the flames and thus learned to prepare food. The flames gave us light and warmth so that we could maintain our activity in the dark and cold part of the day.
Aleksander Stav wants to give the public experiences that increase their wonder, fascination, and love for nature. Nature, in turn, is always influenced by how it is presented, and how we view it. Our ideas about nature are shaped in a world where critics of urbanity claim we are alienated from nature, and where the media's depictions of natural disasters and climate change increasingly influence us to see nature as something both traumatic and traumatised. We live in a time where the world is characterised by migration, climate change, and ecological crises. As one of several artists today, Aleksander Stav also reflects on this and creates works of art that confront us with thought-provoking questions and attitudes about how society and civilization develop.
Aleksander Stav's sculptures connect natural phenomena and wildlife with man-made technology and cultural-historical ideas. Artistry is informed by nature's processes, infinite complexity, and primal power. Through his works, Stav wants to contribute to a growing fascination with and deepened understanding of nature. The utopias of childhood meet today's reality in a beautiful melancholy.