A Desired Coincidence
Text: Jarle Strømodden, curator

A long time ago, Comte de Lautréamont wrote about “(...) the unexpected encounter between a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating table.” The point of the statement was to highlight the unexpected and surprising as an essential part of Surrealism as a movement.

There is nothing surrealistic about either Emily Gernild’s (1985) paintings or Sonja Ferlov Mancoba’s (1911–1984) sculptures, but for the viewer, the encounter between these two artists may be perceived as something unexpected. Gernild finds a close kinship in Ferlov Mancoba’s life and work, and as an artist, it is about finding inspiration in unexpected encounters.

The exhibition title was chosen by Gernild herself, who found resonance in the relational grounding of Ferlov Mancoba’s works. It is taken from the exhibition catalogue Sonja Ferlov Mancoba. Mask and Face (Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, 2019). In it, Karen Kurczynski writes: “In other words, she offers a feminist aesthetic – not necessarily because she is a woman, but because her art challenges authoritarian and oppressive forms through a bodily, open, and relational approach.”

Gernild emphasizes that Ferlov Mancoba’s sculptures present both a feminine and masculine strength and sensuality. This is a duality that also characterizes modern humanity. A specific example she mentions is the sculpture Bird with Young (1935), which is about the parent-child relationship, and not specifically the mother-child relationship.

Ferlov Mancoba was a pioneer in both interwar and postwar sculpture. In fact, we can say she was a pioneering artist. It is, at least in our time, not necessary to gender every action. Ferlov Mancoba’s sculptures are not interesting because she was a woman. They were – and are – interesting because they were groundbreaking within modernist sculpture.

Ferlov Mancoba has worked with the mask theme in various forms, inspired by the mask traditions of the African continent. Gernild incorporates this element into several paintings, including Blue Corner (2025), through different forms of abstraction. Looking more closely at the colors in several of the paintings, we can find traces of the Vigeland Museum, and the flowers are reflected in the rose garden in The Vigeland Park.

Gernild’s paintings exhibit what may appear as a visual restlessness. We do not immediately find a focal point for the eye – but it comes. It is only a matter of time and patience. In each painting, there are areas of fragments and dissolved forms, but eventually, a visual whole emerges, tied together by color, line, and form.

Both Gernild and Ferlov Mancoba are modernists with a strong foundation in their respective modes of expression. This is evident in the interplay between surface, space, and volume – both in painting and sculpture.

Both artists move effortlessly between the visual and the intellectual. The visual is the surface – which can sometimes be sufficient. The intellectual reveals itself when the art and the artist consciously – and effortlessly – relate to tradition and give the work an added dimension. This is what creates good art.