Gustav Gaudernack. The Magic of Enamel. AT the Jugendstilsenteret in Alesund

06/09/2019 > 12/01/2020

Unique objects from one of Norway’s first designers.

The Jugendstilsenteret and Kube Art Museum presents “Gustav Gaudernack: The Magic of Enamel”, devoted to one of the great metal artists of the Art Nouveau style. Gustav Gaudernack (1864-1914) combined his love for nature and Viking and Medieval Norwegian folklore with international trends to produce works of outstanding beauty. Having studied at the Vienna School of Art and Crafts, he then worked for a leading Norwegian goldsmith firm, David Andersen, where he developed outstanding design skills. With a unique passion for the complexity and beauty of enamel techniques, he also invented a new plique-à-jour technique that enabled him to produce work of an astonishing size. He received national and international recognition with numerous awards, among which the Silver Medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition, and the Grand Prize at the St. Louis World Fair of 1904.

The exhibition sheds light on Gaudernack’s work process and offers a comprehensive presentation of his artistic oeuvre, including works never shown in public, both from the museum’s holdings and from private collections, as well as a selection of his beautiful watercolour sketches. It also presents two contemporary artists, Kristina Aas (textile on wall) and Benjamin Tomasi (sound installation), whose dialogue with Gustav Gaudernack’s works underlines their striking modernity. 

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