‘Nina Beier’s work is as unstable as a keg of dynamite, if a whole lot quieter. The Danish artist’s sparse, pared-down offerings have included fading photographs, a wall painting that was redone daily and a sculpture recreated via a game of Chinese whispers. Her Dust Painting is literally a pile of dust-coloured pigment, which gets traipsed all over the gallery on the soles of people’s shoes. As unassuming as it first appears, her art is an elusive, restless thing, with scant regard for the beautiful picture frames that often attempt to contain it.’ — The Guardian

‘I believe my father invented Google Maps. Or at least a map of what could have eventually become Google Maps. He never fully realized this project, though. The roads of his psyche, to use a fitting metaphor, were perhaps not made for opposing traffic. People say that every map is a portrait of its maker, a picture of his knowledge, perspective, and interpretation. One thing is certain: My father loves Google Maps.

‘The philosopher Alfred Korzybski famously stated that “the map is not the territory,” supposedly meaning that one should not confuse the representation of something with the actual thing. But there is a lot to be said for confusion. These are confused works, pictures that are both map and territory. What is a poster for an exhibition of posters, or what should we call a representation of dust made of dust-colored pigment dispersed over a room? Or a work that frames the clothes the framer was wearing when he made the frames? After all, isn’t the best way to describe a story to tell one?

‘I have repeatedly come across a Lewis Carroll story about a country that, after several attempts at making an accurate map, makes a map the size of the country itself. But when using it, the citizens run into a number of problems and, following complaints from the farmers who argue that using the map would harm crops, they decide to use the country itself as its own map, a solution they conclude is nearly as good. Here, the represented almost succeeds in becoming its own image, like the story, as I just told it, is almost the same as it was the first time around.

‘When one attempts to light a sculpture fully, its shadows unfold on the floor around it. The sculpture practically appears overshadowed by the repeated figures. But if one would present the shadows as the work of art on display, would we see the sculpture as the portrayed?

‘I have found pictures of body parts belonging to giant statues. These statues are constructed in fragments and will inevitably end in fragments again. They are a puzzle and we know the pieces; even when looking at the full figure, its own reality shines through. As an image torn to pieces and reassembled, it displays the scars of its own history while competing with the story it depicts.

‘The pictures argue within and among themselves, as their surfaces struggle with their content for domination. When a published representation of a work of art is framed and presented as a work again, the weight of the frame might initially outshine its content, which again, if the reflective UV filter makes it survive long enough, might gain enough importance to be appreciated on its own terms and perhaps even be freed from its frame again.

‘The viewer will see her own image mixed in with this story, and any future photographic documentation is likely to include the reflection of its maker. Appositionally, a framed poster that has been sandblasted, obscuring the image and exposing the frame, has become a thing in itself, no longer a representation, and will never again reflect anything.’ — Nina Beier

 

_____
Further

Nina Beier @ Laura Bartlett Gallery
Nina Beier @ Standard (Oslo)
Nina Beier @ Metro Pictures
‘Of any artist working today, 35-year-old hyper-mixed-media artist Nina Beier …’
‘Artist of the week 180: Nina Beier’
‘FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS’
’25 artists to watch: Nina Beier
‘Nina Beier’s “Office Nature Nobody Pattern”’
Book: Nina Beier & Marie Lund ‘The Object Lessons’
‘Johnson Tiles lends its expertise to artist Nina Beier’
‘NINA BEIER: VALUABLES’
‘ALL THE BEST: NINA BEIER E MARIE LUND’
‘The Pedestal Problem’
Nina Beier reviewed @ Frieze Magazine

 

____
Extras


Nina Beier exhibition @ Kunsthal Charlottenborg


Exploring Nina Beier’s Exhibition at Kiasma


Live with Nina Beier


NINA BEIER, PERFORMER PERFORMING PERFORMANCE (2009/2010)

 

______
Interview

 

Let’s start with the basics—your work is so materially diverse. If someone asks you what you make, how do you answer?

Nina Beier: [laughing] Only in America do I get this question! I usually say that my work is conceptually based and takes any form except painting…but I guess that’s not even true anymore. I am wary of self-mediation though, because conceptually conceived work is already far too self-conscious. The art needs to work as a project: to read, to misinterpret, to reinterpret, that’s how you get closer to the idea of a show.

You’ve made some projects that have the possibility of being unfinished forever. How do you resolve to stay unresolved?

NB: My process is coming from a direct frustration—as artists we want to explore something that is alive, but normally in the art system the work is supposed to have a final destination, and it freezes. On the issue of staying unresolved, I guess I am not the first artist to struggle with fitting a living and changing practice into a framework that demands final answers.

So what is your process?

NB: All the things that are completely unbearable about the system, that’s what I want to work with. The artwork is autonomous despite the attempt to claim its rights. When I look at my existing work it is not uncommon that something has changed since it was made; it could be its context, itself or even me. I respect the authority of the [extant] work, but I like to believe that mine trumps it. I should have the freedom to change it. For example, I’ll change a title if I don’t think it’s fitting anymore.

You’ve been quoted as having read the theories of Walter Benjamin and Roger Caillois. Do you think of your work as theory-driven?

NB: I read, but not conscientiously, I have to admit. I use writing for inspiration and I rudely mix and match to make it fit my current thinking. But I would hate to think that my work would be an illustration of any theory.

Do you feel you are playing a game with the audience?

NB: No, a game would imply that I have a master perspective and I don’t want to claim that. My work tends to be built on some more or less logical premise, but it would be really sad if it ended there. I try to start something and there is nothing better than when it is taken on the route of over-interpretation, an attack of the mind, like the incredible places that these guys’ minds can go. It’s what any work of art would wish for.

 

___
Show

On the Uses and Disadvantages of Wet Paint (2010)

 

 

Traffic (2023)
Fibreglass elephant slide, black slate

 

 

Nina Beier with Marie Lund
History Makes a Young Man Old, 2008/2010
A crystal ball rolled on the ground from the place where it was purchased to its final destination

 

 

Tragedy (2012)
Trained dog, Persian rug

 

 

[NO EYES DRY] (2016)
Robotic Massage Chairs, Precious and Noble Metals from Electronic Waste, Dental Industry and Various Currencies

 

 

Sweat No Sweat No Sweat No Sweat No Sweat (2013)

 

 

Shelving for Unlocked Matter and Open Problems (2010)

 

 

Wallet (2014) 
turtle shell, woman/man and kid cotton underwear

 

 

Curly maroon fade pixie (2015)
Short Crop Swoopy Bangs (2015)
Layered Side-Swept Ombre (2015)
Human hair wig, painted frame, framed 64.8 x 41.9 cm

 

 

Nina Beier with Marie Lund
The Collection (2008)

 

 

The Blues (2012)
Sun-faded posters, window glass, frames

 

 

Automobile (2018)
remote control car, human hair

 

 

Nina Beier and Bob Kil
Field Trip (2023)
Continuous rows of flowers in identical pots arranged in grids, creating pathways for visitors to navigate, and ultimately hosting a choreography.

 

 

Foxtail Keychains, Choker Chain Necklaces, Teaspoons, Chain Print Fabric (2013)

 

 

Untitled (2008)
Woman’s wig, Persian rug, sheet of glass

 

 

Plunge (2015)
Broom, coins, resin and glass head

 

 

Untitled (2014)

 

 

Untitled (2014)


Untitled (2014)

 

 

Beast (2018)
two motorised rodeo bulls repeatedly perform their act of resistance

 

 

Tunnel Taken Apart (2010)

 

 

The Pockets (2012)

 

 

Women and Children (2022)

 

 

Nina Beier with Marie Lund
New Novels, New Men (Jealousy, Jalousi, La Celosia, La Gelosia, Die Jalousie oder Die Eifersucht) (2009)

 

 

Liquid Assets (2013)
plastic, 3D modeling

 

 

Allegory of Charity (2015)
ceramic cups, coffee beans, resin, wood, metal

 

 

Nina Beier with Marie Lund
The House and the Backdoor (2007)

 

 

Nina Beier with John Miller
A True Mirror (2018)

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** Steeqhen, I don’t think there’s any question that nicotine is nice for the brain. It’s just whether you’re willing to sacrifice the lungs. Yeah, Homes’s characters in that period of his novels are just iconography basically. ** Charalampos, Hey there. I would be shocked if whoever reprints ‘Shy’ uses the original cover, both because such things almost never happen and because, for me at least, that cover is kind of blah. I personally would read ‘Jack the Modernist’ first. I’ve had many, many writing ideas that I was never able to pull off, if that helps. Some seemingly good ideas are just way stations. Hi back from clouded over, more chilly than not Paris. ** James Bennett, Cool, ‘Slow Death’ is really fun, I think. Happy that your respite is resplendent. Great about the open mic gig. The writer scene that Adem is involved in is full of very cool people, or at least the ones I know of or have met. His ex-bf Alex, who’s also involved in the press, is a good friend of mine and really great and very talented. I’m about to start Kate’s book, and I’m super looking forward to that. Your assessment of ‘Nocturnes for the King of Naples’ makes a lot of sense. Ed ‘flexing his acquired old-world sophistication to impress people’ is a problem in much of his writing, I think. I’m good, still mostly working on film stuff. Paris is hanging on to springtime, weatherise, which is a joy for a heat-hater like myself. Love back, me. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Yeah, that was really sweet. Absolutely, 100% on queer filmmakers wanting to keep reiterating identity struggles and triumphs. Same with gay fiction writers. There’s a never-ending smallish, devoted audience for that, obviously, and more power to them, but I don’t quite get why people get so stuck on that first act of self-recognition and empowerment. Life is personal and rich. I want to laugh like a dog munching in her sleep. Hmmmmm. Love wondering if he would totally freak out if he took LSD and looked in an owl’s eyes, G. ** Misanthrope, Not so entirely weird. You’re the James Joyce of the Style Guide. ** Alistair, Hi. Well, should commenting here daily provide any internal positivity whatsoever to you know it’s nothing but a pleasure for me. The Backxwash album is pretty solid. Thanks! ** scunnard, Hi, pal. Okay, excellent, let me pass that along. Everyone, The following italicised chunk of text might look dauntingly long, but don’t skimp on your reading of it because it announces something exciting that you might well be very interested in. It’s from scunnard, and here he goes: ‘Here’s the blurb for Soft Territories I’ve been putting together. If anyone here is interested in being part of it, that’d be great, maybe just have them mention they’re from here in their application text in case I don’t recognize the name. This showcase will be the first installment/show of the project. // We’re launching a new ongoing series—Soft Territories—through Pup and Tiger, a queer-run art space in Canterbury, UK. This evolving project offers a platform for interviews, showcases, and creative conversations with artists. It focuses on queer and underrepresented voices. // The term Soft Territories evokes spaces that are porous, shifting, and open to redefinition. We want to explore how artists shape or inhabit these spaces. They might do this through memory, identity, practice, resistance, care, or play. In a world that urgently needs this kind of work, these creative acts matter deeply. // Through this series, we invite you to explore the edges and overlaps—imagined geographies, creative rituals, experimental forms, and the spaces we build to survive and thrive. These are the kinds of spaces where we can reimagine the world we want to live in. How to apply: https://pupandtiger.co.uk/soft-territories/‘. Thanks, J! ** _Black_Acrylic, That era of Stewart Homes’ work where he was sort of turning Richard Allen skinhead books into transgressive blasts is very good. There are about five of them, I think. I don’t know that Kevin Sampson book, I’ll check it out. Thanks, Ben. ** Carsten, It’s been a rough year for great lit. A lustrous self-off for the great Alice there, sir. As a fan, I feel soothed. Of course I rushed out to see the ‘Four Nights of a Dreamer’ restoration as soon as they screened it here, and, wow, night and day after having to watch that muddy, scratchy copy for decades. Thanks! ** Sypha, Hi. I didn’t know about that substack. I certainly take issue with a bunch of the Neo-Decadent screeds, but I’m always interested. And I’ll go see what you have to say. Everyone, Sypha aka the fine fiction scribe James Champagne is interviewed over on a new substack called Neo-Passéism put together be the Neo-Decadent writer gang, and go have a gander here. ** pancakeIan, Hi. Same era as ‘Trainspotting’ but much less colloquial. The Ring Cycle seemed like one of those gigantic, important things that I thought I would be aesthetically remiss if I didn’t experience it. Like reading ‘Finnegan’s Wake’. Although I doggedly refuse to read Proust. That’s where I draw the line. Thanks for reading ‘Ugly Man’. ‘The Ash Gray Proclamation’ is the title of a great song by my great artist/musical hero Robert Pollard, best known for his band Guided by Voices. Why I chose it for that, I don’t know, it just felt intuitively right. I liked the combination of ‘ash gray’ and ‘proclamation. I’m not sure I could parse its literal relationship to the story. I hope that lack of helpfulness stops the gnawing. ** HaRpEr //, Hey. Yeah, I mean, really, there is nothing more gratifying than when an artist you admire turns out to admire your work, even second hand like that. It really is kind of the ultimate reward. It always shocks me. There’s a point with readings where you just have to get pragmatic about it and imagine that fate is a real thing and just try to be curious about how it’ll go kind of objectively. Not all that easy to do, of course. Sorry about the job rejections. I guess just try to keep in mind how subjective and impersonal those decisions almost always are. ** Steve, Yes, I still read Stewart’s books. He has a new book about the fascist yoga cult that I haven’t read yet. His son, oh, I forgot he had a son. That film didn’t exactly infiltrate me. Enjoy the Muratova films! ** julian, I think you won’t be sorry to have read ‘Autoportrait’. I feel pretty confident in guessing that. Yeah, just reserve part of your brain as a hothouse and keep imagining what you want to write and letting it evolve however it does until you have the place and wherewithal to spill it. That’s what I do, at least. The working it out mentally is almost the most important part maybe. It’s so helpful, obviously, to have writer/artist comrades around you. So that sounds great. No, the Xiu Xiu thing was our only music video. After the mess of that, I think we’re kind of wary of making something that we can’t completely control ourselves again. ‘RT’ is currently submitted to two festivals in Chicago, so, if one of them takes it, that’ll happen. If not, we want to show the film there — Zac went to university in Chicago — so we’ll figure something. We’d love to show the film in San Diego, but I don’t think we know how or where we could do that. If you know/hear of any possibly receptive venue there, let me know. And I’ll do a search. The film is still very early on its life. ** Okay. I filled my non-existent yet accessible galerie with a show by the wonderful Nina Beier today that I recommend you check out, duh. See you tomorrow.