Inauguration two parallel now

We are very happy to invite you to the inauguration of the work Two Parallel Now (Två parallella nu) by Swedish artist Meta Isæus-Berlin. This work is permanently installed in the SSE Atrium in the main building, through a generous donation from the artist, The Bonnier family and Larry Leksell. The seminar will feature two of the most prominent people of SSE -  professor Micael Dahlén and professor and president of SSE, Lars Strannegård.

The work is a double room installation that was originally made in 2003, but is now site-specifically modified for the Stockholm School of Economics.

It was created was during a stressful time the artist’s life. As a mother with small children, professor of art at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm and with a burgeoning international career as an artist, the mental pressure was immense. The work Two parallel now became a physical, mental model that transformed the dualistic nature of human mental life into sculpture.

In the first room everything is in chaos; hanging wallpaper, broken furniture and fragile clothes made of thin paper. In the second room, as an exact copy of the first, except it is made only with the semi-transparent fabric organza. It is solemn and minimalist, a ghostlike representation of the natural disorder of real life

Meta Isæus-Berlin is a Swedish artist, educated in Royal Institute of Arts in Stockholm, mostly known for her elaborate installations and expressive paintings. In 2006 she had a large mid-career retrospective at Liljevalchs Konsthall in Stockholm, where she showed both paintings and installations. She has exhibited works around the world among them, the Venice and Istanbul biennials, in South Africa, Melbourne, Australia and Sweden.

Micael Dahlén is a world-renowned researcher and professor in the Department of Marketing and Strategy at SSE. He has published several books and scientific articles, among them are Kaosologi (Volante, 2016), Monster (Volante, 2011) and Nextopia (Volante, 2009). In 2015 he exhibited an art project at Avesta Art and in 2014 he published his first novel Livet på Mars. He regularly appears on Tv, radio and podcasts commenting about anything from behavioural economics to alternative fitness methods.

Lars Strannegård is the President of Stockholm School of Economics and has been Professor of Business Administration and holds the Bo Rydin and SCA Chair in Business Administration and Leadership. In addition, he has served as Vice President of Stockholm School of Economics since 2012 and has also been a visiting scholar at Stanford University and professor at Uppsala University. Lars Strannegård is also a member of the SSE Art Initiative Advisory board and has for a long time promoted of the inclusion of art and humanities in business, finance and economics education