OSLO.- Forbundet Frie Fotografer, in collaboration with Fotogalleriet, announced the opening of the Spring Exhibition 2019, an exhibition aimed at showcasing the wide field of contemporary art photography in Norway.

This year's exhibition consists of 40 works by a total of 14 artists, whom all in their own unique ways and approaches to the medium allow for numerous encounters with photography. In the same sense that the photograph has challenged the notion of contemporary art since it was accepted as an art form, the exhibition reflects the same attitudes. How do we encounter photography today? As a casual snapshot on our smartphones? As a memory? As an artwork?

According to tradition, the works in the exhibition are selected based on the evaluations of an official jury. This year, the jury consisted of Kobie Nel, Kjersti Vetterstad and Sverre Strandberg. The common ground for their artistic selection rests on observations of the works’ distinct individuality, their curious nature and the use of historical photographic techniques where the past is seemingly repeated but in another moment in time.

The exhibition aims to create an open encounter with a striking range of photographic practices characterised by their techniques, themes and media; sci-fi images of imaginary futures and dystopian scenarios, anthropocene landscapes and nature, daguerreotypes and portraits that explore identity-related issues and affiliation. Through different series of works, the exhibition becomes a diverse presentation where all the artists contribute to the question of what contemporary art photography is today.

The Spring Exhibition was established in 1976 by approval of FFF’s annual general assembly. Mirroring The Autumn Exhibition, The Spring Exhibition was organised by FFF to ensure the inclusion and exposure of lens-based art practices in the contemporary art field. It is an annual group exhibition based on open submissions selected by a jury of fellow art professionals. Since 2010, The Relief Fund for Visual Artists (Bildende Kunstneres Hjelpefond) has annually announced and awarded the Art Photography Prize, Norway’s largest art photography prize, to the artist with the most significant work displayed at the exhibition.

Forbundet Frie Fotografer (FFF –The Norwegian Association of Fine Art Photography Professionals) was initiated and established by Knut Evensen and Robert Meyer in 1974, in a time when lens-based art sought to be acknowledged as an artistic medium. FFF has since then become a nationwide members association dedicated to working purposely for its members with both art politics and art education, and also mediating the importance of art photography in Norway.

Fotogalleriet is Scandinavia’s first fotohalle aimed at exhibiting photography as a critical art form. Since it was established in 1977, the institution has been devoted to exhibiting local and international lens-based art practices and analysing the rapidly expanding nature of a field unrestricted by technological and aesthetic shifts. Since 1978, Fotogalleriet has collaborated closely with FFF in the production of The Spring Exhibition.