An Exhilarating Experience for a Young Mind — The Henie Onstad collection

The Henie Onstad has invited Norwegian artist Elise Storsveen (1969- ) to curate a presentation of the Museum’s Collection. She immediately thought of using the exhibition to point out the lack of a permanent presentation of contemporary art in Norway. This absence has made it difficult for new generations of Norwegian artists to orient themselves within and identify with their close history. Hence, the main emphasis in the exhibition is placed on the two generations of artists preceding Storsveen’s own.

The exhibition is two-fold. The first part, mainly presents Nordic visual arts from 1950 to the present, inclusive of painting, sculpture, photography, and drawing. This selection includes abstract work and the socially oriented pieces of younger generations. The second component, comprises printed works such as posters, graphics and artist’s books, with some of the material on show for the first time.

Through her way of curating the exhibition Storsveen challenges the ways the museum has understood, interpreted, and defined the Henie Onstad collection.

The exhibition presents about 250 works by 100 of artists from the collection.

Installation shot: Øystein Thorvaldsen.