Aga (Agnieszka) Klos - An exuberant artistic gem
Out of the studios at Aker gård, a Polish artist has entered Galleri EKG ready to meet a Norwegian audience. In meeting with several artists, she has now been introduced to and accepted into Norwegian visual artists.
Text and photo: May-Britt Bjørlo Henriksen mb@galleriekg.no
Starting from her studio at Åker gård in Hamar, she works in the fields of sculpture, performance, scenography and theatre. Nearly four years after she came to Norway, she is eager to perfect her Norwegian, while at the same time seeking alliances and making contacts for her artistic work.
- I probably work a little differently here than I did in Poland, where I worked a lot with metal sculpture. It requires connections. I don't know many people here who deal with metal, says Aga Klos
Being relatively new to Norway, she did not have a large environment around her when Norway went into lock down.
- Now I'm trying to find an artistic environment where I can develop. The past two years have been difficult because of the corona pandemic, but I don't let that stop me. Fortunately, I have found many people with whom I can exchange knowledge and experience. This allows me to gain an insight into how the art environment works in Norway. It is not the same as in Poland, she says.
For the time being, she does not know much about the art scene elsewhere than in Hamar.
- It's only been two years since I started learning Norwegian, then the pandemic came, and I couldn't
opportunity to talk to people, she says.
She hopes that when the time comes she can also get to know other artists and the art community in Oslo and other places in Norway.
Klos has a master's degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan in Poland from 2013, and since his studies has been a member of the artist group Brygada Pigmaliona (BxP). The Pigmalion Brigades are a group of sculpture lovers. BxP activities involve the sculpting of monumental sculptures, and monumental realizations live. Happenings. They are most often created in public spaces and occur in nature.
- I often like the word happening better than performance. It is an activity that happens in the moment, that passes. An action, says Klos.
Permanent vs. resolution
- When I was studying, I thought a lot about the meaning of sculpture. Most people think of sculptures made of marble or metal. What is important to me - sometimes I make sculptures in paper - is to take them out and walk with them. I like that. Once I made a sculpture of a woman and a balloon with helium. Afterwards I burned her. What happens in that process is quite similar to what happens in a happening. The process becomes more important than the finished sculpture. While a metal sculpture lasts, such a sculpture disappears, she says.
- Different people interpret this in different ways. It is very interesting to me when people react differently. They ask questions and come up with reactions. Sometimes it inspires other things. The interaction becomes part of the artistic process. It also happens with children. And the same actually happens in the theatre. Maybe that's why I like to work with emotions and the body and the brain all the time. The point is all the time; people in art. Everything that happens is influenced by what happens around people and me.
She has also brought sculptures she has made and walked along Mjøsa. Placed them at the water's edge. Maybe it's just her there, maybe there are people there.
- I feel very comfortable in Norway. In Poland I worked a lot with resin, plaster and clay in addition to metal. I often find that people don't think that these materials can be used in different ways. It was a very good period in my life when I worked a lot with plaster. After that I started working with theatre, and creating a lot of sets, says Klos.
She did not give in, because the scene beckoned the creative artist. Not only with scenography, but other things as well
- Now I have made contact with Hamar theatre, and we will see what can come out of it, she says.
Rumor has it that she is working on a monologue she wants to stage.
The first sentence Klos learned in Norwegian when she arrived in the country was "Things take time", and that patience is important. The energy level of the woman sitting in front of me testifies that it may be a trial for her, but she seems to have applied patience in her new artist's everyday life in a good way.
- It is perhaps one of the big differences between Norway and Poland, but it suits me, she says.
Outwardly
- I also usually hold courses at the studio, and create shows for children. When the summer comes, we'll see what I can do. I have received many questions about courses relating to anatomy and artistic constructions, so I hope I can share my knowledge, she says.
She says that she has met many people who inspire her. Coincidences in a Norwegian course with language training in a gallery in Hamar turned out to open several doors.
- I am happy that I have met Pirjo (editor-in-charge gallery owner Pirjo Mursu in Galleri EKG.) Through the Norwegian training, I have been able to come to Galleri EKG to practice Norwegian, she says.
The short time in the gallery has created an exciting development in the language. The vocabulary is impeccable, the grammar as well, so with training on pronunciation and time to help, Klos, with his well-modulated voice, becomes a fully experienced communicator in Norwegian as well.
- The most difficult thing about the language is the pronunciation. It doesn't help if you know a lot, if you can't pronounce the words, she says.
The way forward is currently characterized by some secrecy
- I have many dreams about what I will do in the future, but I can't tell you about it, says Klos.
As a sculptor, Klos focuses on both figurative sculptures and sculptures with abstract shapes in clay, plaster, ceramics, resin, concrete, metal, paper and textile. She likes to experiment with recycled materials as part of her sculptures. Her energy and enthusiasm are reflected in her work.
Klos has collaborated with RIngsakeroperaen where she has created scenography and props. She is current with the Summer Exhibition at Galleri EKG where she presents Kamelon Barcelona and Blue Fish. Both works are carried out in stoneware clay. A light clay that is fired at a high temperature. A type of clay that withstands the highest temperatures, weathers the most and becomes the hardest and most durable of all types of clay. Stoneware fuses together during firing and becomes waterproof, even without glaze. Which means they can be left out on the terrace or in the garden.