Title: Good Bread
Artist: Melissa Vandenberg
Location: The work developed for Värnamo, Sweden
Material: yarn, crispbread, sourdough, performance / video , video call, photography
Scope: 19 new works divided into two series 
Physical exhibition: at Gummifabriken Värnamo opened October 22nd and will remain open through January 2021
 
 

”I spent much of my adult life looking for good bread, the bread my grandmother baked for my mom. Not out of some health-conscious or grand moral desire, but simply for taste... a taste of cultural identity. My mother spoke a great deal about the homemade limpa she grew up with. The project in Värnamo will address the personal journey, and almost mythologic relation to various breads. I wish to collaborate with Värnamo residents, and the Småland landscape, to form socially oriented and performative artworks with bread as a primary focus. These interactions will not be heavily scripted, but will be multi-faceted with several tiers of collaborative development."

- Melissa Vandenberg, 2018
The concept of showroom was developed in response to the pandemic. The artist's month-long stay in Värnamo was canceled and a work for the public space was developed as a hybrid work. On the one hand, Vandenberg worked with Värnamo residents via video link. The material then became the basis for the exhibition in gallery Blickfånget. Videos can be viewed in full screen format.

ABOUT THE WORK AND THE ARTIST

During the pandemic, baking became something that many people did. In both Sweden and the United States, the debate over face masks was highly agitated. Vandenberg has been employed in phrases such as "home sweet home" as well as in issues related to migration and cultural heritage. In the history of his own family, the artist has a connection to Sweden and to the bread (loaf) that the relatives baked. Vandenberg has experimented with different sourdough recipes and come to master the baking art something that was necessary to be able to design the sourdough works with precision. This was possible through the meeting with Värnamo residents' bread stories, which also gave many other impressions for the artist.


Hösten 2019 hade Melissa Vandenberg möjlighet att besöka Värnamo för att genomföra ett konstnärssamtal samt även för att orientera sig i stadens dynamik och historia. Det gav konstnären möjlighet att knyta an till olika personer som hon skulle arbeta med då hon återvände sommaren 2020. Arbetet låg klart men i mars 2020 tog Region Jönköpings län beslutet att på obestämd framtid skjuta på projektet. I juni kom beslutet om framåtrörelse igen, men då som ett hybridprojekt. Konstnären fick delvis tänka om igen. Vad skulle fungera i den nya tiden? Delar skulle utvecklas lokalt och annat i dialog med Melissa. Under sommaren trycktes vykort upp som bjöd in Värnamobor att dela av sina brödminnen. Dessa utgör nu ett arkiv och installerades tillsammans med gestaltningar av Vandenberg. Verken är gjorda i blandtekniker där garn och knäckebröd samt fotografier av de säregna brödmaskerna.


Melissa Vandenberg lives in the state of Kentucky, USA, where she also works as a professor of art. She would have worked in Värnamo during May-June 2020. Instead, the country and the world were shut down due to the pandemic. A reality that we all had to relate to. The interpersonal distance that DISTANCIO revolves around was given another bottom, created by what came to be called social distancing.


Exhibition: Blickfånget, Gummifabriken Värnamo, Sweden

Period: October 22 - November 22, 2020

Further reading about the process and the artist >>>



Developed in collaboration with the cultural administration in Värnamo (alternately): Cecilia Gustavsson, Gro Knutsen, Lars Alkner and Region Jönköping County: Mike Bode and Märit Lundsten.  Collaboration also took place with Värnamo Hembygdsförening, Historiska Sällskapet Gamla Wernamo.

Curator: Anna Viola Hallberg.


ABOUT THE WORK AND THE ARTIST
During the pandemic, baking became something that many people did. In both Sweden and the United States, the debate over face masks was highly agitated. Vandenberg has been employed in phrases such as "home sweet home" as well as in issues related to migration and cultural heritage. In the history of his own family, the artist has a connection to Sweden and to the bread (loaf) that the relatives baked. Vandenberg has experimented with different sourdough recipes and come to master the baking art something that was necessary to be able to design the sourdough works with precision. This was possible through the meeting with Värnamo residents' bread stories, which also gave many other impressions for the artist.


Hösten 2019 hade Melissa Vandenberg möjlighet att besöka Värnamo för att genomföra ett konstnärssamtal samt även för att orientera sig i stadens dynamik och historia. Det gav konstnären möjlighet att knyta an till olika personer som hon skulle arbeta med då hon återvände sommaren 2020. Arbetet låg klart men i mars 2020 tog Region Jönköpings län beslutet att på obestämd framtid skjuta på projektet. I juni kom beslutet om framåtrörelse igen, men då som ett hybridprojekt. Konstnären fick delvis tänka om igen. Vad skulle fungera i den nya tiden? Delar skulle utvecklas lokalt och annat i dialog med Melissa. Under sommaren trycktes vykort upp som bjöd in Värnamobor att dela av sina brödminnen. Dessa utgör nu ett arkiv och installerades tillsammans med gestaltningar av Vandenberg. Verken är gjorda i blandtekniker där garn och knäckebröd samt fotografier av de säregna brödmaskerna.


Melissa Vandenberg lives in the state of Kentucky, USA, where she also works as a professor of art. She would have worked in Värnamo during May-June 2020. Instead, the country and the world were shut down due to the pandemic. A reality that we all had to relate to. The interpersonal distance that DISTANCIO revolves around was given another bottom, created by what came to be called social distancing.


Exhibition: Blickfånget, Gummifabriken Värnamo

Period: October 22 - November 22, 2020

Further reading about the process and the artist >>>



DISTANCIO has been developed in collaboration with the cultural administration (alternately): Cecilia Gustavsson, Gro Knutsen, Lars Alkner and Region Jönköping County: Mike Bode and Märit Lundsten. Curator: Anna Viola Hallberg. Collaboration also took place with Värnamo Hembygdsförening, Historiska Sällskapet Gamla Wernamo.
 
 
 

 Artist Talk, Nov 28th 2019, Värnamo (Poster by Värnamo Municipallity)
 

"I look forward to Distancio in Värnamo. Melissa Vandenberg seems to be an exciting artist with breadth in her creation. It will be so fun to see how it develops, social art is an interesting way to create art. I hope it will many Värnamo residents who want to take part in a unique art project that houses both our city's stories and aesthetic values."

 - Cecilia Gustavsson, Kulturpedagog, Värnamo, 2018

Comments to slide shows:
1. Melissa Vandenberg's work series Breadworm , photography ( sourdough, cotton ribbon). Complete info, download to-do list.
2. Melissa Vande Berg's works series crispbread , mixed media, crispbread, embroidery yarn. Complete info, download to-do list.

3. Installation pictures from Blickfånget, Gummifabriken October 21, 2020

4. Invitation card to share bread memory. The cards were in various places in the public space and were also handed out by summer working young people. During the exhibition, the collection of memories continued: bread, Värnamo and Covid (integrated among Vandenberg's works)

5. The rubber factory and the road to the gallery The eye-catcher installed with Värnamo 100 years, with the works (Värnamo 100 years + cottage on crispbread) made by Gro Knutsen (curator (and Eva Thörn (assistant to the artist) and collected material on three themes: Värnamo 100 years, Covid, bread )
 6. Unpacking of works shipped from Kentucky Photo: Gummifabriken.

NEXT SHOWROOM: MARK RAUTENBACH/TRANÅS

Contact: curator@distancio.se