Femtensesse proudly presents Norwegian artist Jennie Bringaker’s solo exhibition Outsiders. In the spirit of spring, the doors open up to the back garden at Ila Pensjonat where new works by Bringaker occupy outdoor and indoor spaces of the historical building that was purpose-built as a home for self-supporting women in 1921. Bringaker works in a variety of media including sculpture, drawing and collage with a special focus on the female figure and how the idea of the feminine is perceived through form, materials and artistic techniques. The metal and paper cutouts presented at Femtensesse are inspired by the unmarried women that once called the building their home, who lived a life outside of social structures in sisterly companionship. With gesticulating arms, long noses, protruding breasts and exaggerated genitals, the metal figures in the backyard seem to be moving around in circles. The group of hybrid creatures is accompanied by a transparent green figure, filling the large window in the exhibition room. Whether bent and twisted or spread-eagled, Bringaker’s new works, symbolically framed by the building, celebrate the metamorphic female figure and her spiritual affiliations with a nun as much as a witch. 

Outsiders includes an accompanying text by Norwegian author Victoria Kielland.

Jennie Bringaker (b. 1978, Oslo) lives and works in Strømmen, Norway. She has a BFA from the Norwegian Theatre Academy at Østfold University College and an MFA in Studio Art at New York University. Recent solo exhibitions include Pint sized riot at the silent Retreat, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo; Lay Me Low, Nitja Center for Contemporary Art, Lillestrøm; and Pillow talk Bestiary, The Association of Norwegian Sculptors, Oslo. Recent duo and group exhibitions include Anti-monument, Hannah Ryggen Triennale 2022, Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, Trondheim; Gripp Extended, The Art Association of Sandefjord; Constructing Structures, Coast Contemporary, Oslo; Upstairs, Femtensesse, Oslo and Human Touch,Tegnetriennalen 2019, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo. In 2022 Bringaker’s sculptural installation Some velvet morning was presented by Femtensesse at Liste Art Fair Basel. In the spring of 2023, concurrently with her exhibition Outsiders at Femtensesse, a new performance by Bringaker entitled Overwhelmed will unfold inside the exhibition Louise Bourgeois. Imaginary Conversations at The National Museum in Oslo. Bringaker’s work is included in the collections of The National Museum of Norway, Oslo, The National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, The City of Oslo Art Collection and KORO – Public Art Norway.   

This exhibition is kindly supported by Arts Council Norway