Admir Batlak
Admir Batlak works with textiles, sculpture and clothing. Central to his work is experimentation with craftsmanship and the development of new textiles. Through a wealth of techniques and references to fashion, history, social movements and mainstream culture, Batlak creates complex expressions that observe the present, and explore questions of taste, ideals and identity.
In several projects over the last year, notably his solo exhibition “In the Kink” at MUNCH in 2023, he develops new materials and construction methods in order to explore textile’s monumental potential.
Batlak (b. 1982, Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina) lives and works in Oslo. He is a trained fashion designer from the Istituto Marangoni in Milan (2006). In recent years, he has worked primarily with visual art and has shown his work at Soft, Oslo (2022); The Sculpture Triennale, Sculptors Association, Oslo (2021); NoPlace, Oslo (2020); Galleri Riis, Oslo (2019); Kunsthall Stavanger (2018); and Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo (2017). He is represented in the collections of The National Museum in Oslo, Kode in Bergen, Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum in Trondheim and Stavanger Art Museum. In 2020 he won the Norwegian Art Association’s debutant prize at Høstutstillingen (Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo). In 2023 he was the third artist in the SOLO OSLO exhibition series at MUNCH, Oslo.
Biography
Born 1982 in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lives and works in Oslo, Norway
EDUCATION
2002 – 2006 Fashion Design, Istituto Marangoni – Milano, Italy
ARTISTIC PRACTICE
2013 – Admir Batlak
2007 – 2010 Batlak og Selvig
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Every Frill is an Edge, Galleri Riis, Oslo
2023 In the Kink, Solo Oslo III, MUNCH, Oslo
2023 Market Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden
2023 Bodø Kunstforening, Bodø, Norway
2023 Fourth Stint, Khåk Kunsthall, Ålesund, Norway
2022 Fake a Patina, DealBreak a Vibe, SOFT galleri, Oslo
2022 Flying in the Sun, Loving in the Vain, Skiens Kunstforening, Skien, Norway
2020 Claim Your Superior Bone (w/ Ingrid Eggen), NoPlace, Oslo
2020 Tears Look Good On You, Salgshallen, Oslo
2019 A New Tomorrow, Galleri Riis, Oslo
2016 All Woofs Appreciated, Galleri Riis, Oslo
2015 Make Yourself Desirable, Galleri Riis, Oslo
2015 Forhøst (w/ Ingrid Eggen), 1857, Oslo
2014 Teriører (w/ Ingrid Eggen) – One Night Only Gallery, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo
2008 The Canvas Trilogy, Galleri Riis, Oslo
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Fight Cage VII, Knipsu, Bergen
2024 Bebo, Wergelandshaugen, Eidsvoll
2022 Synthesis, MELK, Oslo, Norway
2021 Skulpturtriennalen, Norsk Billedhoggerforening, Oslo
2020 Høstutstillingen 2020, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo
2020 En samling blir til / A Collection in the Making, Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo
2018 Immortal Youth, Galleri Riis, Oslo
2018 Ode til en Vaskeklut, Hymne til en Tiger, Kunsthall Stavanger
2017 Det Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, Trondheim
2017 Omformulerte Forekomster, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo
2016 Decorations, Gym Ila, Oslo
2015 Pattern Drill – Hacienda, Zürich
2009 Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall, Arendal
2009 Tendenser, Galleri F15, Moss
FASHION SHOWS AND LIVE INSTALLATIONS
2018 Waves (Goodbye), Galleri Slursula, Oslo
2018 Moments (Memories), Galleri Riis, Oslo
2017 Déjà Vu (You Again), Galleri Riis, Oslo
2017 AW17, The Munch Museum, Oslo
2016 SS17, Sentralen, Oslo
2016 AW16, The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, Oslo
2014 SS15, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo
2013 SS14, Galleri Riis, Oslo
2010 SS11, Galleri Riis, Oslo
2009 SS10, København Rådhus, Copenhagen
2008 SPRINGSUMMERSEX2009, Galleri Riis, Oslo
2008 and as things fell apart, nobody paid much attention, Posthallen, Oslo
2007 Sophomore (Drop-out), Oslo Kongressenter
2007 Argumentour, DogA, Oslo
COMMISSIONS
2018 Cezinando, Øyafestivalen, Oslo
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo
Stavanger Kunstmuseum (Jan Groth’s Collection)
Det Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum (Norwegian Craft Acquisition Fund)
Buskerud Kunstsenter (Den kulturelle skolesekken i Buskerud)
KODE, Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum