Many questions arise around Glen Farley’s kinetic scent sculpture Childhood. One of the most common is “where do the smells in the sculpture come from?” Behind each console of the sculpture there is a small jar containing a cotton pad immersed in an essential oil. When the foot pedal is pressed, a microprocessor instructs a pump to blow air through the jar and out to the viewer. Two of the essential oils come from a small company called Vetiver Aromatics in the US. The owner of Vetiver wrote an article about Glen Farley which you can read by clicking on the image below:
09.06.2024
Documentary film on Art in Motion 2024 released
Art in Motion 2024 ran from 20.01.24 to 10.03.24 and a documentary film, including interviews with six of the seven artists (in Norwegian), is now out on Vimeo:
04.04.2024
15 childrens’ workshops in kinetic art
The workshops were held in the educational room at Østfold kunstsenter and the target audience was children aged 6-10 years (1st to 5th grade). There was room for a maximum of 15 children in each workshop, and the workshop lasted for 40 minutes. Each child in the workshop was provided with equipment to create their own kinetic artwork. Additionally, there were shared art materials available, along with examples from previous workshops.
The educational goal of the art workshop in kinetic or moving art was for the children to become engaged and inspired through a brief break from their otherwise electronics-driven and digitized daily lives. The children were first inspired through a guided tour of the exhibition “Art in Motion 2024” at Østfold kunstsenter. Subsequently, they had the opportunity to create their own kinetic artworks under the guidance of Glen Farley and local artists and educators, Anja Bjørshol and Kristin Romberg. In addition to art, the children also learned about craftsmanship, electronics, physics, and mechanics – art with a side order of science!
Based on the reactions from the children, teachers, and schools, the educational goal was achieved well beyond expectations. After word spread about how fun and interesting the workshops were, many more requests for participation were received than there were available spaces.
The children make rotoreliefsKinetic insects make their own art“Tinguely boxes” made by the children
07.03.2024
Art in Motion 2024 – An exciting collection of a rare art form
The exhibition at Østfold Art Center in Fredrikstad, Norway runs from January 20 – March 10.
Moving or kinetic art is a rare art form in Norway, with only about 20 out of around 4000 professional artists working in this genre, and there is often only one or no kinetic artworks in a regular group exhibition. So having a group exhibition featuring only kinetic art is a unique and exciting event.
And that means there’s a lot happening at this exhibition. The movement in the works spring from various sources – from electric motors in, for example, Torgrim Torve’s Batteri (Skumring) or the viewer’s own muscle power in Trond Mikkelsen’s Grace, to the large movements of the tides in Cecilia Jonsson’s Tides. The movement in film, a fan, and much more are utilized in Roddy and Sean Bell’s A Kinetic Opera. Bente Sommerfeldt-Colberg’s two works, Hvirvel and Sammentreff, create complex movements using, among other things, magnets. Atle Selnes Nielsen’s Utgreining og forveksling complements movement with sound, and Glen Farley’s Childhood engages yet another sense – smell.
Although all the works share the aspect of movement, they present a wide range of themes and expressions. Some works reflect on different time dimensions for people of different ages, the rotation of planets in orbits, how ocean currents are influenced by the moon and the sun, and power and loyalty in the workplace. Two other works explore the sound potential of various objects and the metaphorical aspects of the artist’s relationships to objects in space. Finally, two of the works are pure love letters to childhood and the machines exploring the surface of Mars, respectively.
Kinetic art has a unique ability to engage multiple senses, explaining its great appeal to many viewers, especially (but not exclusively) children. Because of this, and the potential of kinetic art to teach children some science along the way, 15 workshops will be held for around 200 local schoolchildren here in February. The children will draw inspiration from the artworks in the exhibition through a guided tour, followed by creating their own kinetic artworks under the guidance of local artists and educators. The works they create are inspired by three pioneers in kinetic art: Jean Tinguley, Marcel Duchamp, and Alexander Calder.
24.01.2024
Art in Motion 2024!
For the fourth time in Norwegian art history, a large group exhibition of Norwegian kinetic art is being held. This time it is happening in Fredrikstad at the Østfold art center from 20.01.24-10.03.24. For the first time, 15 kinetic art workshops for children are being held during the exhibition period. More details coming soon!
20.10.2023
Children’s workshop in kinetic art
Kinetic art is one of the most child-friendly and accessible art forms. A workshop was held over two days at Fornebupiloten outside Oslo during Kunst Rett Vest 2023 where children of all ages could create their own moving art . Over 100 children and parents took part in the workshop and everyone thought it was fun and exciting. In addition to art, the children learned about electronics, physics and mechanics – art with a free side order of science!
10.10.2023
Art on the Move
For the first time, interactive kinetic art is exhibited at the Oslo bus terminal. This offers exciting experiences for a wide audience of all ages, places of residence, levels of interest in conventional art, and cultural, social and economic backgrounds.
Unconventional art for an unconventional audience at an unconventional location.
From 30.03.23-01.07.23. The exhibition is organized by the Nitja Centre for Contemporay Art and Kunstvisitten.
Two older works Lives of Loyal Service and Baggage travelled to the Kinetic Biennial in Boynton Beach, Florida, USA.
Lives of Loyal Service was in the USA earlier at the exhibition Timeless Movements put on by the Morris Museum in New Jersey. The museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, has one of the world’s largest collections of historical automata.
31.01.2023
Exhibitions galore
Glen Farley’s kinetic sculptures have been in several exhibitions at the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, including:
Bærumsutstilling 2022
International voices at Bærum Art Association
Society of Canadian Artists Open International Online Exhibition
and Timeless Movements at the Morris Museum in New Jersey, USA.
16.05.2022
Exhibitions on both sides of the Atlantic
In addition to the Spring Exhibition in Copenhagen, Glen Farley has been accepted into five exhibitions in the first half of 2021 – in Canada, Norway and Italy by way of Austria.
“Endless Summer” was accepted into three shows in Canada: Quest for the Environment, the Society of Canadian Artists 53rd Annual Juried Exhibition and Impact 2021.
Right after that “Baggage” left for Venice, Italy and after a scary six week odyssey courtesy of UPS, arrived an hour before the opening of Another Day in Paradise, at Spasio SV – Centro espositivo San Vidal, curated by Biennale Austria.
18.08.2021
Two works accepted to Spring Exhibition in Copenhagen
More on the exhibition from its website: “Ever since the Charlottenborg Foundation was set up in 1857, the annual juried Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition has been an important setting and focal point for efforts to promote and support emerging talents within the arts, architecture, design and crafts.”
“Over the years, the Spring Exhibition has constituted the first, significant step for many young artists embarking on their artistic careers, while also often presenting new works by more established names. Throughout the history of the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition, artists who went on to win international acclaim have debuted or presented works at the exhibition… The exhibition is one of the most important open, juried exhibitions in Europe.”
Short video tour of Farley kinetic art at Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition 2021
17.03.2021
A world’s first!
What began as a response to corona-closed art exhibitions in Norway ended up as the world’s first digital exhibition of live-streamed, remote-activated kinetic art.
In the spring of 2020, when the coronavirus severely limited opportunities for the public to experience art, artist Glen Farley decided to try to partially recreate the experience of kinetic art, online. Farley focused on three critical aspects that make kinetic art unique – movement, sound, and the interaction between viewer and artwork. The first two were recreated through live streaming using high-quality web cameras and microphones, and the last by being able to activate the artwork by clicking on an online start button that started the artwork in real time. It was of course impossible to capture everything that a visitor to a physical exhibition could experience, but as a consolation many more were able to enjoy Norwegian kinetic art than at a regular physical exhibition in Norway, including many people abroad.
After six months of work, NOK80 000 of personal savings and over 300 unpaid working hours, www.kunstibevegelse.no and its English language cousin www.kineticart.no were launched in September 2020. The project operated out of loaned premises at Gyssestad Gård in Bærum and ran concurrently with the large local art exhibition Art Out West. Farley and AOW project manager Lena Hansson arranged for visitors to Gyssestad during AOW to get guided tours of the project, an offer that more than 250 accepted. The project and the AOW collaboration received media coverage in Budstikka, in AOW‘s channels, Instagram and Facebook.
By the time the project ended at the end of November, the works of art had been activated more than 3 500 times and the pages on the website had been viewed more than 4 500 times. In addition, several visitors had left positive comments to which the participating artists replied.
The combination of the technology used was completely new to the artists and never used before in the world for this purpose. After several technical and logistical challenges were solved, the solution worked excellently. Hopefully this platform can be used again by an art institution as a supplement to a future physical exhibition with kinetic art.
The participating artists were: Andrea Bakketun Roddy Bell Serina Erfjord Glen Farley Trond Kasper Mikkelsen Bente Sommerfeldt-Colberg Torgrim Torve Kristoffer Myskja (video only) Atle Selnes Nielsen (video only)
13.12.2020
World premiere of “Still Life”
The interactive, computer-driven, kinetic sculpture “Still Life” has its world premiere in the Society of Canadian Artist’s annual juried online exhibition from now until June 15, 2020. In these corona times online exhibitions are one of the only ways to exhibit and experience art. Unfortunately they were unable to include a link to a short film of the sculpture so here it is.
24.03.2020
“Baggage” to exhibit at Overzealous 2020
The travelling kinetic sculpture “Baggage” is one of over 400 applicants to be accepted to the exhibition Overzealous 2020 in Toronto. Because of the covid-19 virus turning the world upside down, the show has been postponed until September.
15.03.2020
Glen Farley now member of Society of Canadian Artists
The prestigious Society of Canadian Artists began in 1957 and is committed to “promoting excellence in traditional forms of artistic expression, and by encouraging acceptance and growth of contemporary and experimental forms of visual art.” Farley was accepted as a member after exhibiting in all three of SCA’s last annual international juried exhibitions in Toronto.
21.02.2020
Seniors also like art that moves
It seems that many elderly people also like kinetic art, or at least that is the impression left after Glen Farley’s art was exhibited in 11 senior centres outside Oslo in 2019.
Three art pieces, eSerfs, Up North and Red State / Blue State were activated in total over 600 times during the rotating exhibition which also featured Farley holding an artist talk at most of the locations.
21.02.2020
Farley art accepted to SCA exhibition 3rd year in a row
Glen Farley was accepted to the prestigious Society of Canadian Artists annual international juried exhibition in Toronto during August. This is the third year in a row he has been accepted, this time with two works, “Red State/Blue State” and “Baggage”.
“Red State / Blue State”
Friends and family
“Baggage”
30.09.2019
Bærum Exhibition 2019
All the artists accepted to the exhibition
“Reach” was accepted to the annual Bærum Municipal Exhibition and Glen Farley held the opening speech in his new role as board member of Visual Artists in Bærum.
“Reach” at exhibition
Opening speech
30.09.2019
Glen Farley interviewed in Murze Art Magazine
There is a feature interview of Glen Farley in Murze Art Magazine’s issue on social art.
The article can be read here
06.06.2019
Two works accepted to SCA online show
Both “Grandma’s Time” and “eSerfs” were accepted into the Society of Canadian Artist’s annual juried online exhibition this year. Online exhibitions provide opportunities for artworks that would be prohibitively expensive or too fragile to ship across the pond. Links below:
Glen Farley’s kinetic sculptures will travel to 11 senior centres in Bærum Municipality during 2019.
The initiative is called The Cultural Walking Stick and aims to bring art experiences to seniors who may be unable to visit galleries and art centres on their own.
11.01.2019
Kinetic art on curriculum at UiO
Three kinetic sculptures, “Reach”, “eSerfs” and “Surveillance” are installed at the Department of Informatics (IFI) at the University of Oslo as part of a Master’s level course in the ethics of information technology. They will augment the course in the areas of social media, inequity and privacy respectively.
16.11.2018
Art at the Fringe
Two kinetic sculptures, “eSerfs” and “Reach” were chosen to be exhibited at the headquarters of the Stockholm Fringe Festival in September.
14.10.2018
Abandoned in a shipping container
What better place for the kinetic installation “Abandoned” than a shipping container? The work, which deals with the mountains of e-waste building up in developing countries and the lost memories that accompany them, was accepted to this year’s “Art Out West” regional art exhibition, this year in Drammen.
14.10.2018
“eSerfs” in two new exhibitions
“eSerfs” was accepted to the Bærum Exhibition 2018 in the Bærum Art Centre at the old Fornebu Airport in May and to an exhibition at the Bærum Municipal Offices in Sandvika in October.
Bærum Kunsthall
Bærum Kunsthall
Sandvika
14.10.2018
“Lives of Loyal Service” at SCA’s 50th International Exhibition
LOLS was accepted to the Society of Canadian Artists’ prestigious annual juried exhibition at the Papermill Gallery in Toronto from July 24th to August 19th, 2018.
In addition to a varied and interesting selection of international art it was a great opportunity to meet friends and family in Canada.
06.08.2018
“Up North” selected for Spring Depot 2018
Spring Depot 2018 is a collection of smaller scale works selected by an international jury of young people aged between 16-20, mostly with immigrant backgounds, collaborating with the Tenthaus Artist Collective. The artists then met the young people in the gallery, where the young people unwrapped, and chose the placing of the work to make an interesting exhibition with its own unity.
“Surveillance” has been accepted to the Society of Canadian Artist’s 2018 International Juried Online Exhibition.
The exhibition can be viewed from March 15 at http://shop.societyofcanadianartists.com/
22.02.2018
6000 guests file past “Up North” and “Reach” at Nuit Blanche in Toronto!
Nuit Blanche 2017 in Toronto was a huge success with over a million visitors in the streets, 6000 of them saw two kinetic sculptures by Glen Farley at the iconic Redhead Gallery.
05.10.2017
Two works accepted to Nuit Blanche exhibition in Toronto!
Both “Reach” and “Up North” have been accepted to the exhibition “Who Are You?” at the Red Head Gallery in Toronto in conjunction with Nuit Blanche 2017. The dates are September 27 – October 1, 2017.
“Reach” was accepted to the Annual 50/50 Juried Exhibition at the Queen Gallery in Toronto from August 6th to 18th.
21.08.2017
Society of Canadian Artists chooses “Up North” for 49th Annual International Juried Exhibition
SCA chose “Up North” for its annual juried exhibition, this year held at the Paper Mill Gallery in Toronto from September 7th to 18th. The Opening was at 7pm on the 7th!
This is the first time Glen Farley has been accepted to an SCA exhibition!
24.07.2017
The refugees of “Up North” have been to New York
“Up North” was accepted into Small Works 2017 curated by Bill Carroll, at:
Trestle Gallery
850 3rd Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11232
USA
The Opening Reception was on Thursday, July 6th, 7-9pm and the exhibition ran until July 27th
Glen Farley has been named one of “the 10 most promising entries to the Social Art Award 2017” by the jury of The Institute for Art and Innovation, an independent, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization based in Berlin, Germany.
Norway’s second exhibition ever of kinetic art by artists based in Norway was held in the center of Oslo in February. Over 300 people visited the exhibition and many wrote positive comments in the guestbook. The exhibition also was awarded both an Art and Culture Grant from the City of Oslo and a Norwegian Government Exhibition Grant. More information about the exhibition can be found here (in Norwegian): http://kunstibevegelse.no
Here are some pictures from the opening of “Art in Motion 2017”
23.05.2017
“Art in Motion” returns, this time in Oslo
The second ever exhibition in Norway that focuses solely on kinetic art made by artists living in Norway is opening on February 2nd, 2017 at 6:00 pm at Galleri BOA in the centre of Oslo. Five of the six artists from the original “Art in Motion” exhibition in 2015 are back and two new artists have been added.
The exhibition has been awarded the prestigious Norwegian Government Exhibition Grant from Arts Council Norway
Artists in the exhibition are Andrea Bakketun, Glen Farley, Bjørn Melbye Gulliksen, Cecilia Jonsson, Christopher Myskja, Atle Selnes Nielsen and Bente Sommerfeldt-Colberg. Four of seven are creating new works just for this exhibition. A few of the works are shown below.
The exhibition runs from February 2nd to 19th, open Thursdays to Sundays from noon until 4 pm.
Bakketun, Sunrise Sunset Simulator
Selnes Nielsen, Backup I
Myskja, Chatter
Gulliksen, Lysbildemaskin Stål
19.01.2017
Yet another juried exhibition in Canada!
“Up North” has been accepted as one of around 20 artworks out of over 300 submissions to ART SPACE at the Canadian National Exhibition, juried by the Toronto West Arts Collaborative.
With approximately 1.5 million visitors each year, the CNE is Canada’s largest annual fair and the fifth largest in North America (Source: Wikipedia) Hopefully a good number of these people will visit the Arts and Crafts Building to take in this exhibition.
31.07.2016
Simultaneous exhibitions in Sandvika and Dikemark
“Secrets II” will be exhibited from August 17 to September 25 in the lobby of the Bærum Municipal Centre while “Grandma’s Time” will be shown during “Art Out West” from September 10 to September 25 in an abandoned psychiatric institution at Dikemark, Asker. There are over 60 rooms in this building from the turn of the century and all will be filled with artworks and installations.
Bærum Kommunegården
Dikemark
Dikemark
Dikemark
30.06.2016
Glen Farley accepted to his first Canadian exhibition
Glen Farley has been accepted to his first exhibition in his “home (for many years) and native land” Canada. The exhibition is the annual “Emerging Sculptors” curated by the Sculptors Society of Canada. The opening is on August 11 in Toronto. The work selected by the jury is “Surveillance.”
Update: “Surveillance” won first prize!
30.06.2016
“Up North” accepted to Biennale Austria Contemporary 2016
The kinetic sculpture “Up North” dealing with the refugee crisis in Europe continues its world tour, this time in Vienna from September 26 – October 9, 2016 at Biennale Austria Contemporary 2016 being held at the Ausstellungsraum, Gumpendorfer Strasse 23.
This kinetic sculpture dealing with the refugee crisis in Europe continues its world tour. It was now one of two artworks chosen from the “Fortress” exhibition in California, USA, to join works from 10 other venues at the UAMO – Urban Art and Media Organisation’s main exhibition at the Einstein Cultural Centre in Munich, Germany. The exhibition opened 29 April and also featured music, performance, video links and several other events. Glen Farley attended along with the curators and the other selected artist from The Hatchery Art Spaces in California.
Einstein Cultural Centre
Curators and artists representing California
Up North
Up North closeup
Guest filming Up North
Entertainment
Multimedia
Street art festival same weekend
Anne-Siri and Glen in front of Johannes Brechter’s street art
26.04.2016
“In Between” juried exhibition in Bærum
Glen Farley’s kinetic sculpture “Just Going Through the Motions” was front and center at the opening of “In Between” in the Bærum Art Center at the end of 2015. The art center is located on the site of the former Fornebu airport. The exhibition was the last of six exhibitions for Farley’s art in 2015, and the first after he became a member of The Association of Visual Artists in Bærum late in the year.
Head of Culture in Bærum Municipality Berit Inger Øen opens “In Between” on 19 November 2016
14 artists exhibited 19 works at the exhibition”In Between” at the Bærum Art Center (Photo: Kristine Nytrøen, Budstikka)
25.02.2016
“Up North” goes down south
The kinetic sculpture “Up North” addresses the current migrant and refugee crisis in Europe. It was chosen for the international exhibition “Fortress” at The Hatchery Art Spaces in Badger, California, USA. The venue is in the foothills of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and the exhibition ran from 6-8 November 2015. The exhibition was one of 10 being held in cities around the world organized by UAMO – the Urban Art and Media Organisation, based in Munich, Germany.
Update: When returning from the US, the artwork was stopped by Norwegian Customs for almost two weeks as they demanded proof that it was actually Norwegian. The artist had to submit documentation about himself , the artwork and the trip out of the country. It is ironic that a work of art about refugees had difficulty getting back into the country.
24.02.2016
Full membership in three professional artist associations!
Glen Farley has been granted full membership in The Association of Norwegian Sculptors (NBF) after a year as an associate member. Membership is granted based on education, artist activity and quality of artworks. Membership opens up more possibilities for exhibitions, grants and commissions and most importantly, professional development. NBF (Brief intro in English)
As a result of this membership, Glen has also become a member of the Norwegian Visual Artists Association and his local organization, The Association of Visual Artists in Baerum.
24.02.2016
Kinetic sculptures “Abandoned” and “Surveillance” go to University
The two kinetic sculptures “Abandoned” and “Surveillance” were exhibited in the lobby of the Institute for Informatics (IFI) at the University of Oslo for a month this fall. The exhibition was written up in the University’s online newpaper (in Norwegian.) The artworks were used as inspiration for Masters students taking the course entitled, “Science, technology, society and ethics” taught by Associate Professor Maja van der Velden. Exhibiting at IFI was a homecoming of sorts for the artist with his education and background in computer science.
22.10.2015
“Art in Motion” exhibition a big success!
The group exhibition “Art in Motion” was a great success, from the 150 guests at the opening, through the positive press coverage and all the curious and thoughtful students who took guided tours, right to the closing ceremony marked by a lecture from art historian Øivind Storm Bjerke and stand-up comedy from Henrik Farley no less. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making this dream come true! Hopefully other cities in Norway will get to experience something like this for themselves.
“Art Out West” exhibition at Henie Onstad art center
Henie Onstad art center
Glen Farley was accepted to the juried exhibition “Art Out West” at Henie Onstad kunstsenter from 3-20 September 2015. This annual event is the largest regional showcase for artists in Norway and covers the municipalities to the west of Oslo. The host city this year is Bærum where Glen lives, so it was even more fun to be accepted this time around. All artists in the exhibition open their studios for this event and at Glen’s studio there will be a children’s workshop in kinetic art held on 12, 13, 19 and 20 September.
The exhibition “Art in Motion” has been awarded two prestigious grants, the Norwegian Government Exhibition Grant and an Arts Council Norway Project Grant. The grants will cover most of the costs of mounting the exhibition.
26.05.2015
“Art in Motion” – it’s official!
The first ever exhibition in Norway that focuses solely on kinetic art made by Norwegian artists is coming to the Trafo Art Center in Asker from 22 August – 20 September, 2015!
Artists in the exhibition are Glen Farley, Serina Erfjord, Cecilia Jonsson, Christopher Myskja, Atle Selnes Nielsen and Bente Sommerfeldt-Colberg. Although all the artists create kinetic art, they represent different generations and regions, have very different artistic expressions and highlight different themes.
A separate complementary project under development is a kinetic art workshop for children and young people. Some of the artists will assist participants to create small moving sculptures. Here they can learn about art, handicrafts, electronics and mechanics, and most importantly, how to express themselves through art.
More information will be published here in the near future, but in the meantime here are some examples of works from those participating in the exhibition.
“Secrets II”, a collaboration between Glen Farley, Sarah Rosenbaum and Mats Claesson, was accepted to the Østlandsutstilling 2014. Of over 900 submitted works, 52 were accepted for exhibition in Hamar and out of these, 21 were chosen to exhibit in Drammen and 32 in Frederikstad. “Secrets II” will be shown in all three venues!
Glen Farley has been granted associate membership in The Association of Norwegian Sculptors (NBF.) This is the first step in the process of becoming a full member. Membership is granted based on education, artist activity and quality of artworks. NBF (Brief intro in English)
02.06.2014
Kunst Rett Vest at the Trafo Gallery
Glen Farley was accepted to the juried exhibition “Kunst Rett Vest” at the Trafo Gallery in Asker, Norway from October 9-21 2012. This annual event is the largest regional showcase for artists in Norway and was opened by, among others, Magne Furuholmen, artist and member of the band A-ha.
In addition to the exhibition, all the featured artists opened their studios to the public during two weekends. Glen showed works in progress and 65 visitors of all ages experimented with kinetic sculpture.
Glen is visited in his atelier by his friend and inspiration, visual artist Lavasir Nordrum (www.lavasir.no)
“Research” was exhibited as part of the Norwegian Sculpture Biennial 2011: Man and Machine, at the Vigeland Museum in Oslo, October 27th 2011-February 5th 2012.
The first ever exhibition in Norway that focuses solely on kinetic art made by Norwegian artists is coming to the Trafo Art Center in Asker from 22 August – 20 September, 2015!
