ISSUES

MARIA ADLERCREUTZ 1936–2014, lived and worked in Stockholm.

Maria was the first artist to incorporate photography in weaving. In the fifties, the textile studies at Konstfack were devoted to making the craft an artistic expression in its own right. Maria became a pioneer in pushing the medium beyond its limits and started making commissions for churches. After a trip to Spain under fascist rule in 1966, Maria became politically engaged and so did her work. Incorporating media imagery in her textiles was a radical move and her suite of Vietnam war protest weaves became a symbol for the protest movement in the seventies. The weave I hennes ögon bevaras folkets ljus (In her eyes, the light of the people is kept) was shown in 1972 at Galleri Heland in Kungsträdgården, Stockholm and was immediately bought by the National Museum. Maria continued to weave until her passing in 2014. Women’s rights and solidarity with people of the third world were consistent themes alongside close studies of stones, shells and plants. She saw the visual richness in nature as a training ground for seeing.

Potpourri at ISSUES is the first gallery appearance of Maria’s work in fifty years. Her work is represented in the National Museum of Sweden, Moderna Museet, Göteborgs konstmuseum, Röhsska museet, Skissernas museum, Södertälje Konsthall, Eskilstuna konstmuseum and Uppsala konstmuseum.

THOMAS HÄMÉN b. 1987 in Luleå, Sweden. Lives and works in Berlin.

Mixing natural science with poetry and humor is a privilege scientists may not enjoy. As an artist, Thomas Hämén uses industrial machines, household electrical appliances and living organisms as a playful way to shed light on the fears and desires we humans feel in our relation to these things.

He studied at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm (2014) and De Ateliers in Amsterdam (2017). His work has been shown at Moderna Museet, The Barbican in London, Diepenheim Kunstverein (NL), the Moscow Biennale, Clearview Gallery London, Luis Adelantado Gallery Valencia,a solo with ISSUES in 2017, the Downtown Issues group show last year and with ISSUES at Artissima in Turin 2019.

MIA SCARPA b. 1997 Boston, MA. Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

The distinction between contemporary art and craft has been up for discussion in recent years. Mia Scarpa, a painting graduate from Rhode Island School of Design (2020), brings a refreshing ambiguity to the discussion with her material-driven pictures inspired by things such as treasured objects, man caves, clutter, stickers, garages and dogs. In the vein of German painter Jana Euler, Mia manages to offset the viewer’s expectation of what her next picture may be, like a nightmare game of Picture Memory. Mia recently presented her debut LA solo show Masshole, at Spy Projects in Los Angeles in April this year. Other recent select exhibitions featuring Mia’s work include Straight Ahead & Pose-to-pose at The Japanese American Cultural & Community Center in Los Angeles (2022), Summer Fling at L.U.P.O. Lorenzelli Projects in Milan (2022), You Lead Follow Me at Sow & Tailor in Los Angeles(2021), Hello World at Spy Projects in Los Angeles (2021), Fast and Small, a pop-up show located inside of a U-haul truck in Providence, Rhode Island (2019), Peers Whose Work I Admire at Memorial Hall in Providence, Rhode Island (2019), and Spring Cleaning at the Old Mailroom Gallery in Providence, Rhode Island (2019).

KLARA ZETTERHOLM b. 1991, lives and works in Stockholm.

Klara employs methods used in set and stage design to create fake narratives of archaeology and natural history. Ancient civilizations come to life in a fantasy built in styrofoam, spray paints and lacquers. The viewer is presented with stories told in relief symbols and pictures on fragments of architecture and statues. With close attention to detail, masterly craftsmanship and a rich imagery of alternative plants, animals and human life, Klara makes art that offers a chance to learn from a fake history and reflect on our own collective human journey. Klara graduated from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm earlier this year and her MFA exhibition was awarded with a grant from the Bonnier foundation. Her recent exhibitions include the MFA spring show at Royal Institute of Art (2022), Inside / Outside at Coulisse gallery (2022), CREAM (2022), Downtown Issues at ISSUES (2021) and Survival of the fittest at Accelerator, Stockholm (2020). Upcoming shows in 2023 include a solo show at Thomassen gallery in Gothenburg and a temporary exhibition at Odenplan’s subway station in association with Kulturförvaltingen.

STEFAN TCHEREPNIN b. 1977, Boston MA. Lives and works in Stockholm.

Having entered the art world from the New York music scene, Stefan’s art continues to be collaborative and performative. His own exhibitions become immersive narratives and platforms where artists, musicians and writers together form spontaneous actions. From one of these settings, a monster was created. Not a terrifying one but humble and plush. With their own narratives and eyes wide open, the furry monsters inhabit Stefan’s installations of musical instruments and video. Stefan studied composition at Oberlin Conservatory and at Milton Avery School of Art at Bard College, he has had solo presentations at Le Consortium, Dijon, FR (2021), Kunsthalle Zürich (2019); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2018); Freedman Fitzpatrick, Los Angeles (2018); Real Fine Arts, Brooklyn (2017) and Francesca Pia, Zürich (2016). Stefan has been in groups shows at Aspen Art Museum (2021); Dependence, Brussels (2020); Greene Naftali, NYC (2016); Halle für Kunst, Lüneberg (2016); Akademie Der Kunste, Berlin (2016); Künstlerhaus Bremen (2016); and Kunsthaus Glarus (2016). He acted in Ei Arakawa’s How to DISappear in America: The Musical and performed as a musician in Seth Price’s Social Synthetic.