Interview with Natalia Goldin Lundh
How come you named the exhibition ”The Roses of Heliogabalus”?
The titel refers to the Roman emperor Heliogabalus, around 200 A.C, who was infamous for his decadent excesses. They say he drove around Europe with a ten-tonne giant gilded phallus drawn by three hundred drugged oxen, and he selected his officials by penis size.
Heliogabalus is best known for suffocating his guests to death beneath a sea of rose petals released from the ceiling during a banquet. If we look at him from an an aesthetic point of view, we see a distinctive creative talent, a kind of performance artist with grandeur. He found an outlet for his tension, unease, for strong feelings of malaise and of being at odds with rationality, social order, civilisation really. And that kind of intense internal state Heliogabalus shares with many artists, you can see it in every work in this exhibition.
How would you describe the exhibition in three words?
Striking, intense, and informed.
How does your impact as a curator shape the experience of the exhibition?
I chosed the works from the collection and added some extra works by a couple of Swedish artists to create a certain atmosphere. I also decided how and where they are presented in the room, juxtaposing extreme expressions with more subtle works. In one and the same room some works are screaming while otheres are whispering. But they all reflect the same state of un-ease.
Would you say its a controversial exhibition?
No. What I would say is that on a certain level when it comes to art, when the high quality is obvious, then the rest is always a matter of taste. I am fully aware that there are people who do not share my vision when it comes to this kind of art.
What intrigued you to exhibit this collection?
This is a kind of exhibition that I would love to go see myself, I find myself longing for this kind of intensity and quality awareness in exhibitions. So when I saw a chance to do one, I did. The collection had it all.
Is there any of the works of art that affects you especially and why?
Most of them affect me in a certain way. I either get an urge to buy them myself or I get enthusiastic about them and want to tell their story to others because I find the story so interesting. This goes for the drawing by Brian Degraw, or dito by Stefan Daniellson. There are many others.
Who do you think should visit the exhibition?
Anybody who has a remote interest in art and in their own psychology.
Do you have a favorite artwork in the collection?
About 10 of them, yes. I love the small masterpiece by Jules de Balincourt, love both paintings by Liz Markus, love Wes Langs works, love Bill Saylor.