Mark Tholander. Born 1988. Denmark.
Instagram: https://instagram.com/marktholander
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/marktholander
My practice is occupied with communities, challenging the traditional notions of identity, togetherness and belonging. Through performance, sculpture and video installation, I investigate how communities, relationships, and social structures serve as the scaffolding upon which we construct our worldviews. In a world of increasing tension and fracture, the establishment of communities are more important than ever, but also the reevaluation of the communities we create. My practice examines togetherness by juxtapositioning the familiar and the alien, the collective and the individual, highlighting the blind spots of traditional communities and the possibility of forming other ways of being together.
"Danish artist Mark Tholander navigates the liminal spaces between mediums. As both creator and performer, the artist embraces a theatrical standpoint, weaving narratives that interplay individuality and society while expanding across different scales — from mundane situations to the spectre of catastrophe looming in the background.
Central to Tholander's work is the overarching theme of disjointedness - a fascination stemming from everyday occurrences, commonalities, and shared experiences in a world teetering between togetherness and fracture. This aspect of his work mirrors a constant state of tension, be it interpersonal or on a broader societal level. What does it mean "to be familiar with," and is similarity sufficient for connection? The artist draws inspiration from theorists such as Sara Ahmed, Francois Laruelle, Donna Haraway and Giorgio Agamben, delving into kinship ideas and resistance strategies not solely rooted in a sense of community.
Collaboration is a growingly important cornerstone of Tholander's practice. To create together with other artists in a dynamic interplay, seeking a standpoint where the community functions without a binding glue. The working method itself is a rebellion against comfort, a deliberate effort to work "against" oneself.
In the universe crafted by Tholander, unnecessary elements, overload, and contradictions are not flaws but intentional choices, shaping a unique narrative that defies expectations. Tholander’s aim is to promote an inquisitive approach, leaving the door ajar on the complexity of both the world we live in and his own artistic making. He invites viewers to witness the intricate construction of an open narrative, challenging them to embrace the potentiality in the imperfect, the aleatory, and the unresolved."
- Paola Paleari, curator and writer
:: Education ::
:: 2014 - 2019
:: Jutland Art Academy. Aarhus, Denmark.
:: 2018
:: Royal Danish Academy of Art (Exchange). Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: 2017
:: Inter Arts Center (Internship). Malmo, Sweden.
:: Collections (represented at) ::
:: SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst (National Gallery of Denmark).
:: Current and upcoming ::
:: 2023-2024: Selected for the ArtEx talent program (Talent Norway): https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtoKsrAoy1k/
:: Selected exhibitions / screenings ::
:: 2024
:: Post Territory Ujeongguk. Seoul, South Korea
:: Kunsthal Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark
:: c4 projects, Copenhagen
:: 2023
:: This Is Not a Church. Seoul, South Korea.
:: Spirefestival. Holbæk, Denmark.
:: 2022
:: Villa Kultur. Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: Re:present. New Media Artspace. New York, USA.
:: VEGA. In a collaboration between VEGA Arts & Art Hub Copenhagen. Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: Saigon Experimental Film Festival. Saigon, Vietnam.
:: 2021
:: OK Corral. Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: Art Sonje Center. Seoul, Korea.
:: Kunsthal Aarhus. Aarhus, Denmark.
:: The Drums. DobbeltDagger. Online.
:: Default Cube. KØS Museum for kunst i det offentlige rum. Denmark.
:: 2020
:: SAK Kunstbygning. Svendborg, Denmark.
:: DefaultCube. Storage and Kunsthal Aarhus. Aarhus, Denmark.
:: Ta·da. Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: LYS.MUR. Svendborg, Denmark.
:: 2019
:: Rencontres Internationales Paris. Louvre Museum, Forum des images, Center Pompidou and Le Carreau du Temple. Paris, France
:: Rencontres Internationales Berlin. Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany
:: FILE 2019 - Electronic Language International Festival. SESI Gallery of Art, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
:: New Other Odd. Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: STIFF: Seattle Transmedia & Independent Film Festival. Seattle, USA.
:: BIDEODROMO International Experimental Film and Video Festival. Bilbao, Spain.
:: Kunsthal Aarhus. Aarhus, Denmark.
:: Viborg Animation Festival. Viborg, Denmark.
:: Højbjerg & Simmelsgaard Gallery. Hobro, Denmark.
:: Korea Foundation Gallery. Seoul, Korea.
:: Galleri Blunk. Trondheim, Norway.
:: 2018
:: ORGANON Exhibition Space. Odense, Denmark.
:: Les Rencontres Traverse Video. Toulouse, France.
:: FILE 2018 - Electronic Language International Festival. SESI Gallery of Art. Sao Paolo, Brazil.
:: Fonlad Digital Art Festival 2018. Coimbra, Portugal.
:: OGA VideoArt Exhibitions 2018/2019. Rome, Italy.
:: Alt_Cph 2018. Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: KH7 Artspace. Aarhus, Denmark.
:: Chimeres.space. Athens, Greece.
:: INCA Institute. Portland, USA.
:: The Poor Farm. Wisconsin, USA.
:: STIFF: Seattle Transmedia & Independent Film Festival. Seattle, USA.
:: KinoDrome Festival. Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
:: La Collezione Visionaria. Ospizio Giovani Artisti. Rome, Italy.
:: Heiwata projects. Fuego cdmx. Mexico City, Mexico.
:: 2017
:: Captive Raum OPortal. Aarhus, Denmark.
:: The Final Exhibition. Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: FROSTBITE International Film Festival. Colorado, USA.
:: ADULT. Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: FICMA (Festival Internacional de Cine con Medios Alternativos). Mexico City, Mexico.
:: The Mediterranean Film Festival (MedFF). Siracusa, Italy.
:: Beijing International Short Film Festival. Beijing, China.
:: MADATAC 09. Madrid, Spain.
:: NEOS Fest. Puebla, Mexico.
:: Ung Dansk Fotografi 17. Fotografisk Center. Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: 2016
:: HearteartH Festival. Berlin, Germany.
:: Calculation. Nordic Contemporary Art. Kurgan Regional Art Museum. Kurgan, Russia.
:: FILE 2016 - Electronic Language International Festival. Sao Paolo, Brazil.
:: 9th International Exhibition of Contemporary Art "ENTRESILOS". Museum of the Silo Villacanas, Toledo, Spain.
:: Kunsthal Aarhus. Aarhus, Denmark.
:: VIII Tashkent Biennale of Contemporary Art. Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
:: 2015
:: Comfy Shorts. Movie Theatre. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
:: ProxyACT International Short Film Festival. London, England.
:: Phase One Electronic Music and Arts Festival 2015. The Dock Arts Centre, Carrick-on-Shannon, Ireland.
:: Fonlad Digital Art Festival 2015. Coimbra, Portugal.
:: Art Weekend Aarhus. Aarhus, Denmark.
:: Transborda Overflow 2015. Alcobaca, Portugal.
:: FILE 2015 - Electronic Language International Festival. Sao Paulo, Brazil.
:: CURRENTS 2015: 6th Santa Fe International New Media Festival. Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.
:: Vagrant Film Festival. Belarus.
:: Videograma Festival. Festival Internacional de Video Arte 2015. Bogota, Columbia, and Pereira, Colombia.
:: HearteartH. Presented at Berliner Liste - Fair for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany, and at Cel AV, Video a Konvent, Barcelona, Spain.
:: FACT & Channels 2015 Shortlist. Liverpool, England.
:: FIVA (Festival Internacional De Videoarte). Shown in the auditorium David Vinas of the Museum Book and Language, and in the Jorge Luis Borges auditorium at the National Library of Argentina. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
:: 2014
:: Nikolaj Kunsthal, Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: Bite Vilnius 2014. Vilnius, Lithuania.
:: St. Louis film festival. St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
:: 6th Cairo Video Festival. Cairo, Egypt.
:: 6th namaTREba Biennial. Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
:: 10th SIMULTAN Festival. Cetate Synagogue, Timisoara, Romania.
:: 5th Siliguri International Short Film and Documentary Contest 2014. Siliguri, West Bengal, India.
:: Aarhus Independent Pixels. Aarhus, Denmark.
:: Aarhus Filmfestival. Aarhus, Denmark.
:: 9th Streaming Festival. Online.
:: 2013
:: Fatter and Fabrikken Gallery. Copenhagen, Denmark.
:: Art, Design, and Architecture Museum, UC, Santa Barbara, USA.
:: The Wrong - New Digital Art Biennale. Paradise Hills Gallery. Melbourne, Australia.
:: 2012
:: Selected contributor to Lars von Triers art film Disaster 501 What Happened to Man?,
directed by Jenle Hallund. Premiered at Kunsthal Charlottenborg. Later
played at Tous Ecrans Festival, Switzerland and Goteborg International
Film Festival, Sweden.
Prizes and grants:
:: 2022
:: Longlisted for the 2022 Lumen Prize.
:: 2019
:: 15. Juni Fondens hæderspris (15 June Fund Honorary Award). Link.
:: 2017
:: Prize for Best Experimental Film at FROSTBITE International Indie Fest, USA.
:: 2016
:: Årets Kunstnerdrevne Udstillingssted (given to exhibition platform ORAUM) by BKF Billedkunstnernes Forbund. Link.
:: Bibliography ::
:: 2019
:: håndbog i tegning. Published by Radiato & Antipyrine Distribution. ISBN-13: 9788797113004. ISBN-10: 8797113004.
Included in the list De skønneste kunstnerbøger i 2019 written by Maria Kjær Themsen in Dagbladet Information. Link.
:: Contributions to publications ::
2020: Addenda #6 (Tidsskrift for ny litteratur). Link.
2018: OEI # 82-83: Art in the Age of Kleptomania. Link.
2016: Kulturo #41. Link.
:: Teaching ::
:: Aalborg University, Art & Technology.
:: VIA University College.
:: The Animation Workshop, Viborg (The Drawing Academy).
:: Jutland Art Academy.
:: Artist Talks ::
:: Free Lunch. VEGA, in collaboration with Art Hub Copenhagen.
:: DIAS Kunsthal.
:: Rencontres Internationales Paris. Forum des images, Paris, France.
:: Articles, interviews and other mentions ::
:: Interview: Unge Kunstnerstemmer (Kunsten.nu)
https://kunsten.nu/journal/unge-kunstnerstemmer-mark-tholander/
:: Udstilling i Kina sætter fokus på liv på jorden (Dansk Kulturinstitut)
https://www.danishculture.com/da/blog/2021/07/05/udstilling-kina/
:: Tre nyuddannede kunstnere modtager hæderspris (Kunsten.nu)
https://kunsten.nu/journal/tre-nyuddannede-kunstnere-modtager-haederspris/
:: De skønneste kunstnerbøger i 2019 (Information)
https://www.information.dk/kultur/anmeldelse/2019/12/skoenneste-kunstnerboeger-2019
:: Milliondonation styrker SMK’s samling og dansk samtidskunst (Statens Museum for Kunst)
https://www.ny-carlsbergfondet.dk/da/milliondonation-styrker-smks-samling-og-dansk-samtidskunst
:: Anmeldelse: Unge fotografer eksperimenterer med fotoets grænser (Politiken)
https://politiken.dk/kultur/kunst/art6234805/Unge-fotografer-eksperimenterer-med-fotoets-gr%C3%A6nser
:: Documentation: Leviathan (Contemporary Art Daily)
https://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/project/leviathan-at-kunsthal-aarhus-11852
:: Et tilbageblik på byrumsudstillingen Leviathan (I Do Art)
https://www.idoart.dk/blog/et-tilbageblik-paa-byrumsudstillingen-leviathan
:: Be a Pattern for the World: A Conversation Between Piscine and Bergman & Salinas (I Do Art)
https://www.idoart.dk/blog/be-a-pattern-for-the-world
:: Other ::
2019 - present: Member of Kunstnersamfundet
2018 - 2019: Board member of The Jutland Art Academy, Aarhus, Denmark.
2016 - 2022: Board member of UKK (www.ukk.dk).
2016 - 2020: Member of ORAUM (exhibition format). Denmark.
2015 - 2020: Member of Piscine. Aarhus, Denmark (www.piscine.dk).
2015 - 2017: Organizer of Theoretical Tuesdays at Rum46, Aarhus, in collaboration with Michael Roloff (www.teoretisketirsdage.net).
2011 - 2012: Co-creator of = Logn Gallery. Copenhagen, Denmark (closed in 2012).
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