Carl Kostyál is delighted to present ‘Between Hand & Mouth’, the third solo exhibition by Georg Nordmark (b. 1994, Gothenburg, Sweden) with the gallery, and the artist’s first solo exhibition at Hospitalet in Stockholm.
In ‘Between Hand & Mouth’, Georg Nordmark presents a group of sculptures that resist being seen as separate, self-contained objects. Instead, they appear as carefully arranged situations—setups that hold a moment between impulse and satisfaction. Drawing on methods from animal handling and behavioural enrichment, the exhibition looks at systems that control access and response. What emerges is a focused reflection on how behaviour is shaped by design, and how such frameworks organise both need and reaction.
Nordmark’s works remain clearly connected to their original forms, even as their functions are subtly shifted. In ‘Tartan Touch (Food Aggression Temperament Training)’, a prosthetic hand is placed between the body and food, creating a small but decisive distance. The clean, clinical surface of a stainless-steel feeding bowl contrasts with the soft, familiar feel of a tartan sleeve. This suggestion of domestic comfort sits uneasily alongside the more disciplinary tone of the work’s title. Within this contrast, there is a sense of inevitability—a quiet warning not to “bite the hand that feeds.”
Across his work, Nordmark draws on existing systems designed for feeding, training, and stimulation. These devices remain recognisable but no longer serve their original purpose. Instead, they define situations where interaction is both enabled and restricted. These arrangements are not neutral: they shape the terms of engagement while also limiting what is possible.
The exhibition’s title, drawn from the phrase “many a slip between hand and lip,” places the project in the uncertain space between intention and outcome. It also points to the process of making art, which often involves negotiation and dependency, and rarely unfolds exactly as planned.
This idea connects to the concept of “enrichment,” where stimuli are introduced to make controlled environments more bearable. While this may appear to be a form of care, it depends on prior restriction, replacing open conditions with pre-designed experiences. In Nordmark’s installation, enrichment becomes an ambiguous tool: it eases absence while also reinforcing the structures that produce it.
Presented at Hospitalet, a former psychiatric institution, these concerns extend beyond the animal world. The management of repetitive behaviour, stress, and self-harm recalls earlier approaches to mental health. The site is not simply a backdrop, but an active context in which histories of care and control remain closely linked.
A subtle autobiographical layer runs through the work. The artist’s early experience of domestication—through sheep kept by his father—forms an underlying point of reference. His father’s lived experience of bipolar disorder also brought a close awareness of mental instability. Without forming a direct narrative, these elements place the work within overlapping systems of dependency and behavioural control across both human and animal life.
A note of dry, pointed humour runs throughout. The language of “stimuli,” borrowed from behavioural science, echoes how exhibitions are often described as spaces for engagement or enrichment. By using this terminology, Nordmark turns attention back onto the exhibition itself, suggesting that art can also guide behaviour, shaping attention and response within set limits.
Georg Nordmark, ‘Between Hand & Mouth’, Exhibition Text
Georg Nordmark first exhibited with Carl Kostyál at Art Cologne, Germany (2022), followed by a duo presentation with Harrison Pearce at Chart Art Fair, Copenhagen (2023). Most recently, he exhibited with the gallery at MARKET Art Fair in the group exhibition ‘For Pete’s Sake 2.0’ (2025). His work has also been included in several curated group exhibitions at Hospitalet, Stockholm, including Gullringsbo Konstsamling, Vol. 1 (2022), Vol. 2 (2023), and Vol. 3 (2025).