Florida CraftArt – 2018
St. Petersburg, USA
Lightheaded, New Directions in fine Craft Lighting
Cast Away
International Craft Biennale – 2013
Korea
Someting Old, Something New
Dog Stone
Honorable Mention from The 8th International Craft Competition
Arte Laguna Prize – 2012
Nappe Arsenale Nord, Venice, Italy
Warriors
Selected among the 110 finalist for the prize
Exhibition
Birgit Oestergaard participating in international exhibitions, competitions and events and her art has been selected among the best works from around the world to appear in prestigious exhibitions in Europe and abroad. This part of the artistic work adds new insights, inspiration for new forms of expression and materials and forms the basis for the continuous work for own artistic development. Most of the artist’s production has a conceptual basis and refers to the time and the universal circumstances in which it is made and, as such, the artistic production represents a modern practice.
Conceptual art or stories from everyday life?
Birgit works in themes and uses handmade parts in building up rather large pieces often completed with light. The works seem like seductive beauty revelations with hidden stories, and as such, her artistic expression raises questions to conventional notions of realism. Her artistic work is inspired by everyday life and influenced by an underlying critique of modern communication and political systems that seem to overlook the most obvious such as the distribution of common goods and reducing social and economic inequalities. Aggression from culturally and economically excluded groups is not necessarily rooted in the radicalization but radicalization may be the only possible identity of excluded groups in modern multicultural societies. “My inspiration is everywhere – a text, a ray of light, a rock by the sea,” she says.
Material awareness or feticist?
The artistic expression evolves from the artist’s extensive knowledge of materials and long-standing fascination with their inherent beauty and individual opportunities – be it discarded objects, various industrially produced textiles and high-tech electrical equipment. Birgit Østergaard’s artistic expression develops in circles and patterns based on her extensive material knowledge. An almost tactile interest is the basis for the lifelong fascination of a stone’s surface, weight and color of sand, rusty iron, anodized copper, old fishing tackle, dead branches – all objects that make her stop and touch.