Møstings

NIKOLINE LIV ANDERSEN: UTOPIA

16. September 2023 - 26. November 2023

This autumn Møstings presents the exhibition UTOPIA by the Danish visual artist and designer, Nikoline Liv Andersen. The exhibition merges classic handwork techniques in a universe where humans and nature intertwine. The obscure and dense blend with bright and lightweight materials gives rise to transitions that are both beautiful and intense, and where hope and despair meet. 

With a visual language that embraces abstraction and figuration, as well as mythical beings, nature, and fantasy, Nikoline Liv Andersen presents a universe that is both recognizable, utopian and dystopian. Thematically, the exhibition UTOPIA revolves around profound existential questions; about being human and our relationship with nature. 

Through the use of tufting, embroidery, knitting and crocheting, Nikoline Liv Andersen has created a series of new works that explore the transformation and relationship between humanity and nature. Transformation often carries a positive connotation, but transformation in nature is also driven by the necessity for the survival of species. Perhaps the same applies to the beings present in the exhibition. 

The textile works, showcased within the elegancy of Møstings’ architectural setting, draw the audience into a world far away from the hustle of the city. The handwork is characterized by a slowness that invites immersion in the universes it creates. This represents the work of the hand and the dream of an analog world where there is time for details and for making mistakes. For one thing is the vision and the dream – and another is the reality. Nikoline Liv Andersen’s beings and universe spring forth from this materiality – everything is tactile and created by the meticulous work of the hands. 

In UTOPIA the human connection and conflict with nature becomes tangible, and it serves as a counterpoint to the speed of modern society and its increasing dependence on the digital world. 

About Nikoline Liv Andersen 

Nikoline Liv Andersen (b. 1979) graduated as a fashion designer from the Royal Danish Academy in 2006. For several years, she worked as a couture designer for the Italian fashion house Fendi under the leadership of Karl Lagerfeld and was a designer for Björk during her Vulnicura Tour in 2015. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally, including exhibitions such as Eden at Nikolaj Kunsthal (2021), Dark Matter at Horsens Art Museum (2019), Formens Magi at Kunsten (2021) and The Queen of No Man’s Land at Maison du Danemark, Paris (2015). Over the years, she has also received several awards and recognitions from institutions such as the Ole Haslund Artist Fund and the Danish Arts Foundation. 

The exhibition is supported by Det Obelske Familiefond, The Danish Arts Foundation, Kvadrat, Beckett Fonden, Grosserer L. F. Foghts Fond and the Danish Art Workshops.