Works
Pixel is a series of paintings which explores the similarities between the early traditions of mosaics and the visual building blocks of the digital world - pixels. The series uses references to literature, art history and video games to build a narrative language which attempts to be both ancient and new.
Pixel (Nox), 2024, 150x130cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Tor S. Ulstein/ Kunstdok
Pixel (Nox), detail.
Pixel (Nox), detail.
Pixel (Nox), detail.
Pixel (Inferno) I, 2023, 50x40cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Tor Simen Ulstein/Kunstdok
Pixel (Aeternus), 2023, 50x50cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Tor Simen Ulstein/Kunstdok
Cabinet is a collection of painted wooden cabinets. Each piece invites the viewer to be a part of its theatrical presentation. The cabinets are constructed as a painting within a painting. Both the outside and the inside are decorated with motifs and scenes which together form a story. As these pieces are meant to be opened and explored, the viewer becomes an integral part of the viewing choreography. How they open and close each door determines their experience of the cabinet and its story.
The Metamorph (Cappelen Cabinet), 2018-2024, 60x70cm (closed)/ 90x140cm (open), oil, gesso and gold leaf on wood and MDF.
Photo: Tor S. Ulstein/ Kunstdok
The Metamorph (Cappelen Cabinet), detail.
The Metamorph (Cappelen Cabinet), detail.
The Metamorph (Cappelen Cabinet), detail.
The Midnight Cabinet, 2020-2022, 110x55x55cm (closed), mixed media.
Photo: Kunstdok/Nitja Center of Contemporary Art
The Midnight Cabinet, 2020-2022, 110x55x55cm (open), mixed media.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
The Midnight Cabinet, (open), detail.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
Tchaikovsky Cabinet, 2020, 140x145cm (open), mixed media.
Photo: LNM/Jørgen Craig Lello
Tchaikovsky Cabinet, 2020, 140x195cm (open), mixed media.
Photo: LNM/ Jørgen Craig Lello
Tchaikovsky Cabinet, 2020, 140x195cm (open), mixed media.
Photo: LNM/ Jørgen Craig Lello
Lovecraft Cabinet, 2020, 120x80cm (closed), mixed media.
Photo: LNM/Jørgen Craig Lello
Lovecraft Cabinet, 2020, 120x150cm (open), mixed media.
Photo: LNM/Jørgen Craig Lello
Cabinet of Yesterday, 2019, 80x65cm (closed), mixed media.
Photo: Bjørn Johnsen
Cabinet of Yesterday, 2019, 120x115cm (open), mixed media.
Photo: Bjørn Johnsen
Cabinet (Shrine), 2017, 150x100cm/150x200cm, mixed media.
Photo: Trond A. Isaksen
Chronicle is a series of oil paintings which uses layers of decorated jigsaw puzzles to create familiar or unexpected stories. Some of the paintings focus on houses and other inhabited structures. The decor on the jigsaw layers presents themes associated with the building and different periods of its history. The combination of these layers forms a new and richer perception of a seemingly well-known structure. It also leaves the viewer with some unanswered questions, such as: what is hidden behind the pieces which are still in place?
Chronicle (Pankow), 2024, 150x200cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Tor S. Ulstein/ Kunstdok
Chronicle (Pankow), detail.
Chronicle (Orangery), 70x60cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Tor S. Ulstein/ Kunstdok
Chronicle (Locust), 2024, 50x60cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Tor S. Ulstein/ Kunstdok
Chronicle (Submarine), 2023, 130x170cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Tor S. Ulstein/ Kunstdok
Chronicle (Swan King), 2022, 150x120cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Istvan Virag/ Kunstdok
Chronicle (Castle) II, 2022, 150x120cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
Chronicle (Castle) II, detail.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
Chronicle (Bridge), 2021, 130x160cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Kunstdok/ Istvan Virag
Chronicle (Cuckoo), 2020, 150x130cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Istvan Virag
Chronicle (Leviathan), 2019, 180x100cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Istvan Virag
Chronicle (Leviathan) (detail), 2019, 180x100cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Istvan Virag
Chronicle (Købmagergade), 2018, 150x130cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Bjørn Johnsen
Chronicle (Købmagergade) (detail), 2018, 150x130cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Bjørn Johnsen
Chronicle (Gingerbread), 2019, 50x50cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Bjørn Johnsen
Chronicle II, 2017, 120x150cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Trond A. Isaksen
Chronicle III, 2017, 120x130cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Trond A. Isaksen
Chronicle III, 2017, 90x100cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Trond A. Isaksen
Dwellers is a series of oil paintings which revolves around the history of mining and the search for precious metals and minerals. Both historically and today mining has been considered a dangerous undertaking. Dwellers utilize these contrasts to create a beautiful yet uncanny world. As the Tafel-series, these paintings also incorporate excerpts from literature, in this case novels and poems on mining, which is hidden as text in relief under the paint.
Prism II, 2022, 120x165cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas.
Text in relief under the paint from the novel King Coal by Upton Sinclair.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
Prism II, detail.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
Prism II, detail.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
Native, 2015, 250x770cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the country song Sully’s Pail by Tom Paxton.
Photo: Galleri Brandstrup
Native (detail), 2015, 250x770cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the country song Sully’s Pail by Tom Paxton.
Photo: Galleri Brandstrup
Native (detail), 2015, 250x770cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the country song Sully’s Pail by Tom Paxton.
Photo: Galleri Brandstrup
Prism I, 2011, 120x130cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the novel Germinal by Émile Zola.
Photo: Istvan Virag
Prism I (detail), 2011, 120x130cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the novel Germinal by Émile Zola.
Photo: Istvan Virag
This series of oil paintings presents a surreal world of porcelain and horror stories. Each piece is a painted still life with porcelain objects. By the first glance it may seem perfect, and bourgeois. But if you look closer, some of the objects are cracked and the painting hides hidden messages. The series uses literary references from horror and science fiction novels, which are presented as text in relief hidden under the paint. Only when the viewer studies the painting’s surface will they be able to read the story. References to the text may also be found in the shadows and the décor of each porcelain object.
Banquet (Anemone), 2024, 50x150cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas.
Text in Norwegian from the collection of essays Minder og Meninger written by Gerhard Munthe. Photo: Tor S. Ulstein/ Kunstdok
Banquet (Anemone), detail.
Doll (Baldr), 2024, 50x50cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas.
Text in Old Norse from from the Poetic Edda. Photo: Tor S. Ulstein
Banquet (Circular Ruins), 2023, 100x90cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas.
Text from the short story The Circular Ruins by Jorge Luis Borges. Photo: Tor S. Ulstein/ Kunstdok
Banquet (Underworld), 2021, 120x160cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the novel Niels Klim’s Underground Travels by Ludvig Holberg.
Photo: Eivind Senneset
Banquet (Cobalt), 2018, 150x130cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the entry for Cobalt, Encyclopædia Britannica.
Photo: Bjørn Johnsen
Banquet (Cobalt) (detail), 2018, 150x130cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the entry for Cobalt, Encyclopædia Britannica.
Photo: Bjørn Johnsen
Banquet (Tablets) III, 2017, 180x150cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas.
Text from the comic book Krønike by Bjørn Båsen.
Photo: Trond A. Isaksen
Taffel (Stand) I, 2016, 130x170cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from from the novel The Stand by Stephen King.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
Banquet (Wonderland) III, 2011, 150x130cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
Photo: Ansel Olson
Banquet (Wonderland) III (detail), 2011, 150x130cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
Photo: Ansel Olson
Banquet (Frankenstein) VI, 2008, 120x150cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas.
Text from the novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley.
Photo: Istvan Virag
Banquet (Deconstructed) VII, 2009, 150x200cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the novel The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell.
Photo: Istvan Virag
Banquet (Deconstructed) VII (detail), 2009, 150x200cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the novel The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell.
Photo: Istvan Virag
Banquet (Deconstructed) IV, 2009, 120x140cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas.
Text from the novel The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell.
Photo: Blomqvist Kunsthandel
This section presents standalone pieces made in the period from 2007 to 2017. One of these is The Saga Frieze, a ten meter long contemporary history painting. The Frieze uses elements from video games to tell the story of the Napoleonic wars and it’s effect on the Norwegian constitution and the nation’s road to independence.
Carousel I, 2024, 50x50cm, oil on canvas.
Carosel I - is a "turnable" painting which can be viewed from four different angles. Photo: Tor S. Ulstein/ Kunstdok
Carousel I, detail.
Carousel I, detail.
Carousel I, detail.
The Saga Frieze, 2013-2022, 110x980cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
The Saga Frieze, 2013-2022, 110x980cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Kunstdok/Nitja Center for Contemporary Art
The Saga Frieze, detail.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
The Saga Frieze, detail.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
The Saga Frieze, detail.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
The Saga Frieze, detail.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
The Saga Frieze, detail.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
The Saga Frieze, detail.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
The Saga Frieze, detail.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
Pyramid, 2017, 180x100cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Trond A. Isaksen
Remnants of an Unsuccessful Escape, 2009, 110x150cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Sverre Gullesen
The Little Pink Bridge Revisited, 2007, 130x150cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: Blomqvist Kunsthandel
Art history and the theatrical gives these sculptures a life of their own. Since they are made of historical materials and techniques, they give the impression of being from another time, with its own set of rules. They range from textile art to sculptural paintings and furniture. Some might look like they have a specific function while others are purely enigmatic. But they all have one thing in common: the handmade element and their tactile quality. This ties the pieces into a historical tradition centred around the object as something precious.
Seat of Impossible Ease, 2010-2022, 140x150x90cm, textile, gold leaf and Italian gesso on MDF.
Photo: Kunstdok/Nitja Center for Contemporary Art
Seat of Impossible Ease, 2010-2022, 140x150x90cm, textile, gold leaf and Italian gesso on MDF.
Photo: Kunstdok/Nitja Center for Contemporary Art
Arctic Cabinet, 2020, 160x135x65cm, wood. The piece inside the cabinet is Store Norske made by the artist Lars Korff Lofthus.
Photo: KORO/Ingun A. Mæhlum
Midas Triptych, 2010, 110x330cm, mixed media.
Photo: Istvan Virag
Midas Triptych (detail), 2010, 110x330cm, mixed media.
Photo: Istvan Virag
Black Widow, 2009, 40x50x30cm, textile.
Photo: Istvan Virag
Tabernacle Remnants, 2009, 310x200x200cm, mixed media.
Photo: Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum
Woods in Wood, 2009, 70x45x50cm, mixed media.
Photo: Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum
Laconic Lydia, 2008, 160x60x50cm, mixed media.
Photo: Galleri Brandstrup
Chambre Macabre, 2008, 150x300x70cm, mixed media.
Photo: LNM
Combat des Animaux, 2007, 140x130x120cm, mixed media.
Photo: Bjørn Jørgensen (Arctic Photo)
Drawing and printmaking.
Leviathan, 2024, 104x61cm, silkscreen print on paper, edition 25.
Photo: Tor S. Ulstein/ Kunstdok
Fable (Wonderland), 2023, 63x56cm, silkscreen print on paper, edition 50.
Photo: Christian Tunge/ QB Gallery
Fable (Gingerbread), 2023, 34x34cm, silkscreen print on paper, edition 75.
Photo: Christian Tunge/ QB Gallery
Chronicle (Castle), 2022, 67x55cm, silkscreen print on paper, edition 75.
Photo: Istvan Virag/ Kunstdok
Tafel (Cobalt), 2022, 63x55cm, silkscreen print on paper, edition 75.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
Chronicle (Mermaid), 2022, 63x59cm, silkscreen print on paper, edition 65.
Photo: Kunstdok/Istvan Virag
Chronicle (Copenhagen), 2021, 50x58cm, silkscreen print on paper, edition 75.
Photo: Christian von Hanno
Little Fool, 2010, 100x70cm, lithograph on paper, edition 50. Text from the film The Great Gatsby (1974).
Photo: Bjørn Johnsen
Aquarium, 2010, 100x70cm, lithograph on paper, edition 50. Text from the film The Great Gatsby (1974).
Photo: Bjørn Johnsen
Chandeliers, 2011, 100x70cm, mixed media on paper. Text from the film The Great Gatsby (1974).
Photo: Bjørn Johnsen
The installations and site-specific work have a lot in common with my sculptures. They present both the tactile element and the theatrical in larger scale. Where the sculpture can be described as a single piece of furniture, the installation is a fully furnished room. Some gives the impression of having just witnessed a crime or altercation, which taints the façade the luxurious materials would otherwise convey.
Mirrorscape, 2013, 300x250x200cm, mixed media.
Photo: Haugar Kunstmuseum
Mirrorscape, 2013, 300x250x300cm, mixed media.
Photo: Haugar Kunstmuseum
The Green Room, 2009, 150x150x100cm, mixed media.
Photo: Bjørn Båsen
A Delicate Slumber, 2007, 150x150x200cm, mixed media.
Photo: Anders Valde
A Delicate Slumber (detail), 2007, 150x150x200cm, mixed media.
Photo: Anders Valde
Black Linka, 2004, 200x200x170cm, mixed media.
Photo: Bjørn Båsen
Black Linka (detail), 2004, 200x200x170cm, mixed media.
Photo: Bjørn Båsen
Black Linka (detail), 2004, 200x200x170cm, mixed media.
Photo: Bjørn Båsen
This section presents different public art and site specific projects:
Work: Cerulean Grove, Year: 2024 Site: QB Gallery, Oslo
Work: Banquet (Underworld)
Year: 2021
Client: University of Bergen, Norway.
Coordinators: Siri Meyer and Åse Tveitnes
Works: Arctic Cabinet and Chronicle X (Tromsø)
Year: 2020
Client: ILP - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø.
Coordinator: KORO - Kunst i Offentlig Rom
Curators: André Gali and Bjørn Hatterud
Work: Native
Year: 2015
Client: Krona - Culture and Science Centre in Kongsberg, Norway.
Coordinator: Galleri Brandstrup
Cerulean Grove, 2024, 280x980cm, mixed media, site specific wall painting on show during the exhibition Mirrorscape at QB Gallery, Oslo.
Photo: Tor S. Ulstein
Cerulean Grove, detail.
Cerulean Grove, detail.
Cerulean Grove, detail.
Banquet (Underworld), 2021, 120x160cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the novel Niels Klim’s Underground Travels by Ludvig Holberg.
Photo: Eivind Senneset
Banquet (Underworld), installation view at Lønningen Mansion, University of Bergen.
Photo: Eivind Senneset
Arctic Cabinet, 2020, 160x135x65cm, wood. The piece inside the cabinet is Store Norske made by the artist Lars Korff Lofthus.
Photo: KORO/Ingun A. Mæhlum
Chronicle X (Tromsø), 2020, 120x170cm, oil on canvas.
Photo: KORO/ Ingun A. Mæhlum
Arctic Cabinet and Chronicle X (Tromsø), installation view at ILP, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø.
Photo: KORO/Ingun A. Mæhlum
Native, 2015, 250x770cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the country song Sully’s Pail by Tom Paxton.
Photo: Galleri Brandstrup
Native (detail), 2015, 250x770cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the country song Sully’s Pail by Tom Paxton.
Photo: Galleri Brandstrup
Native (detail), 2015, 250x770cm, oil and modeling paste on canvas. Text from the country song Sully’s Pail by Tom Paxton.
Photo: Galleri Brandstrup
Native, installation view at Krona senter for kultur og Kunnskap, Kongsberg, Norway.
Photo: Bjørn Båsen
