381 Broadway, New York, NY
Please join HB381 and Scandinavia House for a conversation between artist Irene Nordli, editor and writer Gjertrud Steinsvåg, designer Martin Lundell, and moderator Emily Stoddart, on the occasion of Nordli’s solo exhibition Both Sides Now and monographic publication My Hands Just Keep Getting Bigger.
Irene Nordli (Norwegian, b. 1967) forms clay into convulsive vessels, complex assemblages freighted with wrinkling folds and amorphous ribbons of matter that cause them to sag, stretch, and falter. There is something akin to an oracle’s divination at work in her practice, offering up the entrails of our cultural detritus for inspection and interpretation. Exquisitely produced, her intricate sculptures turn the body inside out, inviting viewers to contemplate the unformed and reviled: intestinal coils and slabs of clay modeled as if they were composed of the interior membranes of the body.
The publication My Hands Just Keep Getting Bigger presents Nordli’s works in individual chapters, each corresponding to places significant to her artistic journey. At the heart of the text is a dialogue between the artist and editor Gjertud Steinsvåg. She describes places, people, and events that have shaped Nordli’s life and art, highlighting decisive moments and thoughts that have influenced her development. Of special importance are Nordli’s friendships and conversations with peers and neighbors—one of whom, Tyra Teodora Tronstad, contributes an essay reflecting on Nordli’s relationship between body and clay.
The included photographs by Thomas Ekström show Nordli’s works in everyday contexts. They go beyond pure documentation, situating her art in both her Norwegian hometown of Bjorne and her workshop in Heestrand, Sweden. The book’s section titled “Museum” presents Nordli’s works together with text and photo essays printed on uncoated paper. Through sensitive design and the use of linen binding, the book highlights Nordli’s personal voice as both an artist and a chronicler of her own practice.