The arrival of Jan Groth’s tapestry, ‘Sign 1979’ at MIA (The Minneapolis Institute of Art) this year, is a very exciting moment. This is one of the most important pieces of his work to cross the Atlantic, and it will be exhibited alongside three more of his ‘gobelins’ (tapestrys) in the Fountain Court of the museum.

Hard at work at with Jan Groth tapestry 25 4 17 (Svalbard)

Over the past few years, I have developed a close relationship with Groth and his work. This resulted in a three-day intervention at his 2017 exhibition at Kunsthallen Bergen (commissioned jointly by the Bergen Festspilerne and the gallery). This development of this project was supported by and involved both research and performance at Lysebu (Dansk-Norsk Fondet), Oslo, and on Svalbard, presented by the Nordnorks Museum, Tromso. I am very grateful to Anders Beyer (Director of Bergen Festspilerne),and to the musician and artist Magne Furuholmen (Aha), whose had the idea for the project.

The artist with the violin, observed. JanGroth w/ Anne Birgitte Paulsen. 29 11 16