Olle Stjerne
The Bærtling Scholarship 2018
Olle Stjerne, born in 1984 in Stockholm, resides and works in Amsterdam. Stjerne has studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. He holds a bachelor’s degree in the history of ideas from Stockholm University.
Justification:
Olle Stjerne is awarded the Bærtling Scholarship 2018 for his evocative exploration of spatial relationships. Olle Bærtling himself was rooted in the constructive tradition where art forms converge to explore spatiality. For Bærtling, this spatial exploration, which he called “open form,” often found its clearest expression in painting, which constantly strives beyond its physical limitations. Olle Stjerne, on the other hand, employs sculptural elements and objects that evoke the world of construction and architecture. When Stjerne places his objects in racks and stacks them against walls, he creates conditions where the assembling into a spatial whole occurs within the viewer. It is precisely in this gesture that the two artists meet.