Nina Beier and Torbjørn Rødland: "Sam & Sara"
NINA BEIER AND TORBJØRN RØDLAND
"SAM & SARA"
13.08.2026-19.09.2026 / PREVIEW: THURSDAY 13.08.2026 / 17:00-20:00
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STANDARD (OSLO) is proud to present the exhibition "Sam & Sara", bringing together works by Nina Beier and Torbjørn Rødland. Having been friends and fellow artist of the gallery roster for years, this is the first time that their works are subject to a two-artist exhibition.
There is a scene in the movie "Superbad" (2007), in which the shy high-school student Evan (played by Michael Cera) is trying to impress his crush Becca (played by Martha MacIsaac) by offering to buy them alcohol for a party that evening. Equally awkward Becca thanks him and asks him to get a bottle of Goldschläger - a grain spirit that is flavoured with cinnamon, herbs, and spices. However, the most important ingredients for Goldschläger, and indeed what is the source for its name, are tiny gold flakes that are mixed into the drink. "The girly one", she offers as an excuse for her choice. Nervously, not knowing what to say or when to say it, Evan babbles on top: "Classy!"
It may not be gold all that glitters, but each bottle of Goldschläger comes with 1.3 milligram of 24 karat gold flakes. Further more, it comes with a proud claim to a heritage of "Goldwasser style" liqueurs having been produced in Poland since the early 1600s. "Classy", to some extent, but such a compliment would be more apt for the initial use of edible gold in ancient Egypt, where it was applied in food as well as medicine to restore and rejuvenate the body. Cleopatra supposedly even took baths in gold, as the noble metal was believed to have divine powers. While it seemed the ultimate expression of luxury, it was also an attempt at mental and spiritual purification. To become a goddess, feast on what the gods have provided!
Or, rather, as initially stated by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826): "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are." The French lawyer, politician and author provided the aphorism that turned into an idiom in his collection of gastronomic essays, titled: The Physiology of Taste [Physiologie du goût] in 1825. It would only be logical that to pursue beauty, one must eat what is beautiful: from the neatly arranged flowers on the first of twenty dishes during vegetable season at the restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, to the ice cream cone with gold leaf wrapped around the milky white scoop of vanilla iceat the Hakuichi Museum in Kanazawa.
Contrary to the belief of the Egyptians, gold has no nutritional value. However, it has to be as pure as 23-24 karat in order to be safe to eat. That is a higher grade of purity than jewellery. "The ice cream is really milky" the young Japanese woman takes a break from her eating to report "The gold doesn't taste anything, but since it costs 500 Yen, I want to be sure that I enjoy every bit of this". She turns to the camera, gigglingly, girly and totally classy.
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Nina Beier (b. 1975, Århus, Denmark) lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. Recent solo exhibitions include "Old Friends", Times, New York (2026); "Real Estate", Bozar, Brussels (2025); "Casts", Museo Tamayo, Mexico City (2024); "Ø (Island)", Gl. Holtegaard (Baroque Garden), Copenhagen (2024); "Parts", Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki (2024); and "Auto", CAPC, Bordeaux (2024). Throughout the course of this exhibition, Beier's works can also be seen in the exhibition "The Populace" - together with John Miller - at ARoS Kunstmuseum in Århus, Denmark.
Torbjørn Rødland (b.1970, Harfsfjord) lives and works in New York and Los Angeles, USA. Recent solo exhibitions include "Songs for the Sun", Yuz Museum, Shanghai (2025); "Oh My God You Guys", Le Consortium, Dijon (2023); "Bible Eye", The Contemporary Austin, Austin (2021); "Fifth Honeymoon", Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm; Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki; and Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen (2019-2018). This month also sees the launch of his book Dim Revelations - The 2013 Journal, published by Objektiv Press, Oslo.
For further information please visit our webpage: www.standardoslo.no or contact Eivind Furnesvik at eivind@standardoslo.no or +47 917 07 429 / +47 22 60 13 10. STANDARD (OSLO) is open Wednesday-Friday: 12.00-17.00/ Saturday: 12.00-16.00. Sunday and Monday: Closed. Tuesday: Open by appointment.
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Current and upcoming exhibitions:
Nina Beier and Torbjørn Rødland
"Sam & Sara"
13.08.2026-19.09.2026
"The feeling of five o'clock moving into five thirty."
01.10.2026-07.11.2026
Suleman Aqeel Khilji
Art Basel Paris / Galleries Section / Booth 0.C9
Mathew Cerletty and Judith Hopf
12.11.2026-19.12.2026
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