Black and Blue

In the exhibition “Seven Rooms and a Garden”, the work of American artist and filmmaker Rashid Johnson is in conversation, confrontation, and sometimes collusion with the collection of Moderna Museet.

Inspired by Louis Armstrong’s 1929 recording of the song “(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue”, originally written by Fats Waller, Harry Brooks and Andy Razaf, Johnson has created a special chair in one of the rooms of the exhibition to which musicians from different genres are invited to freely interact with the exhibition space.

On Friday 13 September, Lovisa Huledal and John Martling performs in the exhibition.

The specific exhibition space is characterised by abstract art – not the static kind but abstractions full of movement, gestures and colour. There are paintings by Rashid Johnson himself, but also a 1962 painting by South African Ernest Mancoba. In addition to both artists being inspired by music, Johnson points out that many abstract artists over the years have transferred rhythm and improvisation to the canvases, often inspired by jazz music.

Friday 13 September

Lovisa Huledal

Lovisa Huledal, mezzo-soprano, is born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. After her studies in Sweden, Germany and Italy she mainly works in Sweden as a freelance singer within opera, lied and sacred music.

Since her opera debut in 2022 she has perfomed several roles ranging from early baroque to contemporary music, working with Folkoperan, Opera på Skäret, Vadstena-Akademien, Skånska operan and with the free opera group Den Andra Operan.

For the season of 2023/24 she was part of Folkoperan’s Young Talent Programme where she was engaged in several productions, thereamong the acclaimed production of “Tidens Larm” where she is the song soloist and in the ensemble of “Vita Hästen” (Im weissen Rößl). This season she makes her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera as Mercedes in “Carmen” and she also returns to Folkoperan as Andra dam in “The magic flute”.

John Martling

John Martling is from Stockholm and began his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and then continued at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Switzerland. He plays baroque and renaissance lute, archlute and theorbo and has a specialization in vocal music from the renaissance.

Today he is a highly valued soloist and accompanist, and works regularly with baroque orchestras in Sweden and internationally as well as in various smaller ensembles. John also plays contemporary music and arranges music from other genres for lute and also sings himself.

John and Lovisa often appear together as a duo where they perform a repertoire that ranges from the 16th century to opera, folk music and contemporary music.