Thora Dolven Balke
(She/her)
Address: Atelier Kunstnerforbundet, Kjeld Stubsgate 3, 0160 Oslo
Floor: 2. etasje
Room number: 2
The studio is open Sunday 28 April from 12-17
My works always have their roots from image production like film and photography, even when they are closer to sculpture. Photographs, video and sound are combined with functional materials such as water-repellent exam table paper, towels, memory foam, textures from drainage patterned surfaces like sinks and industrial floors. I often reference water and flow, as an image of the absurd attempt to tidy, dry and control the massive leakage that accompanies life. My work explores the slippage between analogue and digital media, by letting their inherent tactility and qualities strengthen one another, the physical experience of the work and its story. I am fascinated by the language we use to describe the undescribable; events related to time, our own vulnerability and care, personally and as part of a society. There is a lot of humour and sincerity in the maintenance required to preserve those fragile constructions we build around everyday life.
Sculpture, sound, installation, photography, video
"When a meteorite hits the kitchen table", Thora Dolven Balke, UV exposed mattress foam, panphonic directional speakers, 28:12 min sound loop, 300 x 200 x 100 cm, 2023, Installation view from exhibition at UKS, credit: Vegard Kleven
Rough Seas, Thora Dolven Balke, solo exhibition, 2021, Melk (Oslo), installationview, credit: Melk
FLOW series, Thora Dolven Balke, silicone, original polaroidfphotograph, 40 x 35 x 2 cm, 2023, Melk (Oslo), installation view, credit: Thora Dolven Balke
Beast, Thora Dolven Balke, manipulated 32" TV screen, towels, plastic cups, outdoor cable, 04:43 min videoloop, 80 x 55 x 10 cm, 2019, Cavalo (Rio de Janeiro), installation view, credit: Felipe R. Pena
In my studio
In my studio I will show several artworks in process, to be shown at a solo exhibition autumn 2024 – as well as a publication in its final stages, displayed on the studio walls.
Planned projects and exhibitions
25 Solo exhibition, Cavalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
24 Out on a limb, solo exhibition, Melk, Oslo
24 Duo with Lila de Magalhães, Entrée, Bergen
24-25 Isola di Santa Andrea, exhibition and workshops, with Alexander Furunes and Kristine Jærn Pilgaard, Venezia
24 Publication “FLOW”, monografi, med tekst av Marthe Ramm Fortun, Heavy Books
25 Publication “Agder Kunstakademi”, design Plantas Press
CV
EDUCATION
2012 Mountain School of Art, Los Angeles, USA
2004-06 Oslo Art Academy, Bachelor
2003-04 Bergen Academy of Art and Design, dep. Fine Art, Bachelor
2002-03 Bergen Academy of Art and Design, dep. Photography, Bachelor
2001-02 Fata Morgana Fotokunstskole, Copenhagen, Denmark
2000-01 Robert Meyer Fotokunstskole, Oslo
SOLO / DUO EXHIBITIONS
25 Cavalo, Rio de Janeiro (forthcoming)
24 Out on a limb, Melk, Oslo (forthcoming)
24 Duo with Lila de Magalhães, Entrée, Bergen (forthcoming)
24 Duo with Lila de Magalhães, CAMA, São Paulo, Brasil (forthcoming)
21 Rough Seas, Melk, Oslo
20 You’re Dead, K4 gallery, Oslo
20 False Spring, Lydgalleriet, Bergen
19 FLOW, Melk, Oslo
19 FLOW, Cavalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
17 Alt som puster, konspirerer, UKS, Oslo
15 I is, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo
15 Von hinten durch die Brust ins Auge, Kristiansand Kunsthall, Kristiansand
14 ALVOR, med Ann Cathrin November Høibo, Michael Thibault Gallery, Los Angeles
14 Attachments, Melk, Oslo
13 Variety Lights, duo with Sam Lipp, curated by B Ingrid Olsen and John Henderson, Devening Projects, Chicago
12 Eureka, Galleri Christian Torp, Oslo
06 How to swallow a meteorite, Galleri Fimbul, Oslo
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
23 Museum of Sound, curated by Rikke Lundgreen, Maaretta Jaukkuri Foundation, Kvalnes, Lofoten
23 Moon in your Mouth, curated by Max Hannus, UKS, Oslo
23 Palimpsesto Sentido, Kubik, Porto, Portugal
22 Festspela i Heidal, curated by Anders Holen and Sandra Kolstad, Heidal
21 Preliminares, Espaço C-A-M-A, São Paulo, Brasil
20 Central Finnish Exhibition, curated by Rickard Borgström, Jyväskylä Art museum, Finland
20 Alt fast smeltar, Midnightsunscream festival, curated by Kjetil Berge, Lofoten
20 Pluss 1, Golsa, Oslo
20 Dybdeflater, curated by Bjarne Bare, Formuesforvaltning, Oslo
19 Mind moves with matter, body blends into space, curated by Helena Holmberg, Kunsthall Trondheim
19 Gathering, Hypha, curated by Kamilla Langeland, Oslo
18 A lesson loosely learned, curated by Felipe Ribeiro Pena, Cavalo, Rio de Janeiro
18 Postcapitalistic auction, Bergen Kunsthall og BIT Teatergarasjen, Bergen
17 Slutten, curated by Linn Pedersen and Ann Cathrin November Høibo, Kristiansand Kunsthall
17 The Young Lions, Preus Fotomuseum, Oslo
17 Lucia, curated by Kristian Skylstad, QB Gallery and Blomqvist, Oslo
17 Innland, Centre Création Contemporaine Olivier Debré, Tours, Frankrike
17 Off The Page Festival, Ny Musikk and The Wire, Bergen Kunsthall
16 Respira Conspira, Capacete, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
16 Daata Editions, online digital editions, launched at NADA NYC and online
16 Nulla Dies Sine Linea, Satellite Berlin
16 Entrée Radio & LUDO Sounds, Uncovering history; Women in electronic music #1-4, Bergen and online
15 Distant Shadow, Jimei X Arles, East West Encounters Photo Festival, Xiamen, China
15 LoveOften Worlds Aparty, curated by Kjetil Berge, Lofoten
15 Kapital.FM, curated by Ilja Karilampi, Wilkinson Gallery, London
15 Them, They, curated by Tiril Hasselknippe, Gallerie Drei, Cologne
15 Tilfældet Oslo, Ringsted Galleriet, Danmark
14 Collection as Allocated Objects, Tidens Krav, Oslo
14 Chez Pedro, Pioneerworks, New York
14 Darkness&Light, Scandinavian House, New York
13 drawNearFar, Winchester, UK
12 Agnes Amstaff presents The Last To Say, Gavu Cheb Museum, Tsjekkia
12 The Running Room, curated by Anders Smebye & Marianne Zamecznik, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York
12 Calma, curated by Kristian Skylstad, 18th Street Art Centre, Los Angeles
11 Word Perfect 2.0, Noplace, Oslo
11 Situation as Object, Gallery D.O.R, Brussel
10 Fear Nothing, Akershus Kunstsenter
10 Reflekterad i en droppe olja, curated by Linus Elmes, Galleri Niklas Belenius, Stockholm
09 Weird Science, Waterside, London
09 AntArctica, Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum
09 Biennale of Jafre, Catalonia, Spania
09 The 53rd Venice Biennale, The Collectors, curated by Elmgreen & Dragset, Danish Pavilion, Venice
09 Darkness Descends, M*A*S*H, New York
08 Alone in the Dark, curated by Kristian Skylstad, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo
08 Lights On – Norsk Samtidskunst, Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo
08 Voudou, Galleri 54, Göteborg, Sverige
07 I Wanna be Loved by You, Hamar Performance festival, Kunstbanken, Hamar
07 Old Bold Neuropa 2, Galleri Area 53, Wien
06 When I leave the world behind, Skulpturparken 2006, Kari Cavén & Stefan Andersson Galleri, Umeå
05 Performance for Kjetil Berges participation in Havana Biennale, Cuba
04 Performance tour with Slow Revolution Orchestra and Motherboard, Uganda
SELECTED CURATORIAL PRACTICE
24 Isola di Santa Andrea, Venezia, exhibition and workshops (forthcoming)
23 Kunst som Straff: Agder Kunstakademi, exhibition and seminar, Kunstnernes Hus
23 Museum of Sound, event for Maaretta Jaukkuri Foundation, with Rikke Lundgreen
23 Dizzy Spell, group exhibition, MELK, Oslo
20 – 23 Agder Kunstakademi, co-curator Kristine Jærn Pilgaard, three year art academy for Agder Fengsel, KORO
22 Tacit Knowledge, seminar for Maaretta Jaukkuri Foundation, Kabelvåg, Lofoten
19 Stories told and re-told, seminar for Maaretta Jaukkuri Foundation, Kabelvåg, Lofoten
19 Perimetral #1, co-kurator Felipe Pena, with Thiago Martins de Melo and Maritea Dæhlin, Oslo
17 Tongue and ear, co-kurator Felipe Pena, Kristiansand Kunsthall
17 All that respires, conspires, performances with Klein and Sandra Mujinga, Kunstnernes Hus
17 Innland, CCCOD, co-curator Elodie Stroecken, Tours, France
16 Respira Conspira, Capacete, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
15 Distant Shadow, Jimei X Arles, East West Encounters Photo Festival, Xiamen, China
11 Lofoten International Art Festival LIAF 2011 – Something in the way, co-kurator Linn Pedersen, Lofoten
06 – 10 Founder and co-curator of the artist-run gallery REKORD with Eirin Støen and Ingvild Langgård, Oslo
08 Love & Order, co-kurator Linn Pedersen, Plattform 08 and LIAF
08 Pineapple, or Knife? Iceberg, or volcano?, REKORD at Lights On, Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo
06 God is a Gallery, Galuzin Gallery, Oslo