Oslo 2014 –19

Ed. OsloBiennalen, text(s) by Karen Irvine, graphic design by Johannes Hucht

Oliver Godow describes his project about Oslo as a kind of “field study,” which he carried out on the various trips he took to the Norwegian capital over a period of five years. He started with the changes that swept through downtown Oslo. Along with the huge construction site for the new National Museum, other new buildings being planned for the Munch Museum and the Deichman Library comprise an urban area of nearly one kilometer that has no equal anywhere else in Europe. Godow is interested in shapes and colors, light and lucidity, posters, corners, bus stops. His photographs are cool, minimalist, poetic, and created without any digital retouching. They simply stand for themselves. He has already produced a number of series of this kind, in which he reduces topography and figures to mere surface effects, portraying cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt, Rotterdam, Winterthur, and Zurich.

Oliver Godow (*1968, Lübeck, Germany) obtained an MFA from the Glasgow School of Art. He is the recipient of numerous prizes and grant from a variety of sponsors, such as the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen IFA Stuttgart, the City of Munich and the Villa Waldberta Grant, and the Kulturstiftung Winterthur. He divides his time among Berlin, Stuttgart, and London.

Felleshus der Nordischen Botschaften, Berlin
Autumn 2019