Magnus Pettersen (b.1983, NO) holds a degree from the Royal Danish Art Academy in Copenhagen. In Pettersen’s first solo exhibition in the gallery titled ‘Vitality and Self-interest’ a new series of sculptures are presented which transgress the boundary between artworks and functional objects. With a formal approach, Pettersen combines various units of pigmented concrete cast with polychromatic surfaces, with other materials such as wood, steel and aluminum. The question of what arises when design is no longer bound by functionality, but also reaches for artistic aesthetic and ethical freedom, is central in Pettersen’s artistry. The exhibition title is, amongst other things, inspired by the book ’Vibrant Matter (2009) by the philosopher Jane Bennet, which explores man in relation to his surroundings and the vital force inherent in material formations.

Pettersen lives and works in Copenhagen.

Pettersen & Hein is a collaboration between Lea Hein and Magnus Pettersen. Hein is a furniture designer educated at HDK Valand, University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and Pettersen is an artist educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

What happens when design is no longer comprised by function, but longs for the aesthetic and ethical freedom of art? American artist Richard Artschwager once said, “If you sit on it, it’s a chair. If you walk around it and look at it, it’s a sculpture”. Some objects invite for different ways of living and using a space by paying homage to materials, color and form rather than functional use, thereby taking on a clear unique, bold position, the end-result often being intriguing and extraordinary. When boundaries between design and art are effaced potential for magic occurs.

Their different backgrounds and the goal of collaboration allow the duo to explore a new practice and experiment with beautiful and poetic results. The works are designs, but without the typical constraints of form and function. The aesthetic exploration free from rules and function, celebrating material, form, and color, enables them to create new sculptural forms. With their powerful works, they question the entire idea of product and art.

Sight Unseen, 2023: In His Latest Solo Exhibition, Magnus Pettersen’s Glass Orbs Evoke a Sense of Metaphysical Disturbance