No Music Left

Cavalo (Rio de Janeiro) and Papai Contemporary (Oslo) are pleased to present ‘No Music Left,’ the first solo exhibition outside Norway by artist Aksel Ree. Opening its doors on January 25th, the exhibition delves into the contrasts between the human body and nature, innocence and maturity, creation and death, particularly through the period in the artist’s childhood following the passing of his father, a classical piano player.

Ree navigates the challenges of his youth through the creation of poetic sculptures and installations, delving into the cycles of grief and regrowth after his father’s absence and the family trauma that followed. In the show, the artist presents new series of works including the titular installation—an arrangement of piano pedals suspended from the gallery’s ceiling, complemented by a sculpted severed left foot. In addition, Aksel introduces Interlude (Umbilical and Floral Motifs I and II),a set of marble wall-pieces with Art Nouveau-like floral motifs adorning the belly button scar. 

‘No Music Left’ narrates the delicate process of making amends with the past and making peace with unresolved questions. Those answers may come in simple acts of looking at things in a different perspective. In When I look upside down on a graveyard, it may be observed on a photo projected on the wall with an inverted image. It is an obelisk-shaped gravestone surrounded by trees. The artist repositions this example of phallic architecture into a downward-pointing dagger or stalactite, mirroring this symbol of masculinity and making it face the ground.