Klavs Weiss

I was born in 1956 in Sönderborg Denmark near the German border. I made my first art installation in 1960 on the carpet in my parent’s living room – since I learned both to cut in lino and embroidery on cardboard. I had my first show of graphics when I was 15 years old at the nearest high school – one of the worst experiences when I was young. After this I spend a year blowing glass in different places, and in 78 I was educated a ceramist at the design school in Kolding and woke up at the countryside in my own workshop with a big wood fired kiln for stoneware, a cow, two goats, several hens and a dozen cheep – always working in my vegetable garden, eternally whisking away the annoying flies using my one meter long pigtail. In 85 I moved up here to the west coast and established my own workshop and studio for printmaking, within the idea just to go deep into my own expressions and extend my possibilities by studying the techniques. In 99 my stock building was full, my workshop exemplarily equipped, many of my works had passed different censor committees, my hair had fallen of… the only fun and relaxing thing was to catch herrings in the spring, and cleave my firewood in the wintertime, art went in many ways just to be a sour and heavy duty, because ‘artist’ was written on my visit card, the problem was that there were no artists here to talk and discuss the life, attitudes and work with. In the autumn I got the chance to invite an artist to have an exhibition in an old living house in the village Bövlingbjerg – I could use the house for free, the address was Tangsögade 4, add ‘a’ in the front and ‘exhibition’ in the back of the adress, and you have in Danish ‘En Tangsögade 4 Udstilling’ – ET4U. Things changed, soon the Art Bar appeared, we renovated the little apartment above the small showrooms so that artists having a show at ET4U could live there, improved the showrooms and also started up IB Cube Gallery together with a group of Japanese artists. In 2008 this project comprises 5 galleries, one in Ichinomiya, Japan, one in Jarnac, France, one in Portree, Scotland, one in Cairo, Egypt and the one here in Bøvlingbjerg, and the name was changed to ‘one³venue’. In 2002 I got married with my lovely Karen, she is a magnificent pillar in my life as wife, and a sculptor creating peculiar sculptures and installations made of mostly cardboard and textiles, in addition to the great work she is doing at the writing table of ET4U. We established a studio to Karen here in Nees, and in these spring days 2009 we try to finish our new palace, a rebuilding of and extension to our living house and a new chalet. At present ET4U is in a period of transition, We left the continuous exhibition concept in the gallery in December 08, and hopefully we are settled in a work-men’s hut on wheels later this summer – ready to challenge specific destinations around in the reservation with new art projects. All this means that a lot of my time is spent trying to keep life in art – activities and exchanges here in one of the most remote districts in Denmark, but at the same time it gives me a lot of possibilities – inspirations, contacts etc. etc. – and you can say that this project is a part of my own ongoing artwork, which has also changed through the last years to be more process orientated, in spite of it still often has its source in the idea of printmaking. Always in suspense what art will bring to me when I’m starting up again ….. But I think that my hair is lost for ever.