As a child in the faraway mountains of Norway, I stumbled upon From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the wonderful story of two siblings who run away from home to go live in hiding at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. I loved the idea of roaming the empty galleries alone at night, and this was the seed that spurred my ongoing series of live-in, large-size wall work creation in museums and galleries all over the world. Thus far, I have completed such solitary 24/7 drawing marathons in four countries: the US; Germany; Sweden and Norway.
“The relationship between concept, execution and object is particularly explicit in Kjøk’s site-specific piece for her Kunsthaus Tacheles exhibition. Prior to the show’s opening, she will live in the gallery for seven straight days, drawing the large-scale piece directly onto a freestanding wall, racing to complete the work in time. For much of that period, she is alone (solitude being the optimal condition for maximum concentration), eating and sleeping very little."
"In the course of working so intensely, notions of the self and of time collapse, until mentally and physically, Kjøk reaches a heightened state in which she feels a part of the piece (various performance artists have spoken of achieving a trancelike state during such extended acts of endurance). A formidable amount of stamina and commitment are required to carry out such an epic project. Kjøk is well prepared for this degree of athleticism; an avid runner, she has completed the New York City Marathon several times.” (Meghan Daily, “Always Somebody Moving”)
Pastels and crayons,
12' x 18' x 2' times 2
(365 x 550 x 50 cm)
Four-sided wall work created on-site at
Kunsthaus Tacheles, Berlin, in one week.
Pastels and crayons,
12' x 18' x 2' times 2
(365 x 550 x 50 cm)
Four-sided wall work created on-site at
Kunsthaus Tacheles, Berlin, in one week.
Pastels and crayons,
12' x 18' x 2' times 2
(365 x 550 x 50 cm)
Four-sided wall work created on-site at
Kunsthaus Tacheles, Berlin, in one week.
Crayons and pastels, 8' x 14'
(244 x 427 cm)
On-site piece created
in 24 hours straight
at NOoSPHERE Arts, New York,
for ACTION-ReACTION show.
Oil crayons on three sheets of paper, 12' x 18'
(365 x 550 cm)
On-site piece created over the course of 9 nights at Bill Hodges Gallery, New York Gallery Building at 24 West 57th Street, New York, for UN-INTERRUPTED exhibit.
Oil crayons on three sheets of paper, 12' x 18'
(365 x 550 cm)
On-site piece created over the course of 9 nights at Bill Hodges Gallery, New York Gallery Building at 24 West 57th Street, New York, for UN-INTERRUPTED exhibit.
Click for larger image
Oil pastels and oil crayons on wall, 108 x 108 inches (275 x 275 cm)
Created on site in 3 days at Caridi Gallery, Miami, for Art Basel Miami Beach Week.