Following the waves: the art of Lars Fredrikson, Anastasia Ax and Christine Ödlund at the Swedish Institute

In the mid-1940s, Lars Fredrikson, a young radio engineer, and a friend attempted to create explosive sculptures on a Swedish beach. The artistic approach was sensational for its time, to say the least, and paved the way for a singular and varied body of work. Lars Fredrikson soon moved to Paris to study art at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and remained in France for the rest of his life.

Mainly based in the south of France, in the Vaucluse region, he creates work that can be described as revolutionary in the fields of kinetic sculpture,image, sound and new technologies. His work involves many innovative collaborations at the crossroads of sound and poetry, sculpture and movement, as well as major technological advances in the service of art.

He became a professor at the Villa Arson in Nice in 1971, and also devoted much of his life to innovative pedagogy, as founder and director of the first department of sound, electro-acoustic and visual research. Despite these important breakthroughs, Lars Fredrikson is virtually unknown in Sweden, and hardly better known in France, with the exception of a small circle of art historians, curators and artists.

This spring, theSwedish Institute presents a selection of works by Lars Fredrikson in dialogue with two contemporary artists, Anastasia Ax and Christine Ödlund. Both have a versatile practice that evolves freely in a broad and rich field of expression: sculpture and various forms of image, performance, movement and sound. They also share with Lars Fredrikson a fascination for the way energy flows and transforms through different materials, and for the way communication operates between different forms of life and states.

Following the Airwaves is the first in a series of exhibitions at the Swedish Institute that will bring historically important artists into dialogue with contemporary artists, highlighting the impact of the former on the latter, as well as their current relevance.

Theexhibition is complemented by a rich program of performances, concerts and meetings in the spirit of Lars Fredrikson, organized in collaboration with EMS (Elektronmusikstudion, or Electronic Music Studio) in Stockholm, which for sixty years has been an important meeting point for contemporary electronic music and sound art.

Highlights not to be missed:

April 25, 2024 at 8:30pm
Les Inspirations Visibles invite Tarek Atoui to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Elektronmusikstudion
Église du Saint-Esprit, Paris 12e
Ticketsonline

May 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Meeting with Christine Ödlund + contemplative concert: Quatre dimensions d'un marais by Malörtens Vänner

June 06, 2024 at 7pm
Concert + performance to celebrate 60 years of Elektronmusikstudion
More information to come at www.institutsuedois.fr

June 13, 2024 at 19:00
Memorabilia sound performance (Settlers ) + meeting with Anastasia Ax

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