Oslo – an art capital

When in the bustling city centre, you are never far from a museum or gallery that can offer silence and room for contemplation. 

No part of all of this is static, however. Although the larger art museums have permanent exhibitions, there is always a new, temporary and unique exhibition about to open, so don’t miss out! 

Edvard Munch

What most likely comes to mind when the Norwegian art scene is mentioned, is Edvard Munch (1863-1944). Today he is known as one of the most important modernist painters. He continually experimented with painting, print making, drawing, sculpture, photography and film.

His impact throughout the world has been so great that his legacy alone is reason enough to visit Oslo, a city where he spent a large part of his life.

A museum worthy of Munch's greatness

In 2021, an entire museum dedicated to his life and art, MUNCH, opened in a grand new building on the waterfront in the Bjørvika area. Several of his most spectacular art works, such as The Scream (1893) and Madonna (1894) are exhibited there.

As you enter the building, a feeling of walking inside a big mall will likely strike you as you walk towards the counter to buy your ticket. Perhaps this is to highlight the urbanism and modernization that flourished in Munch’s days.

The mall-like feeling disappears, however, as you step into the exhibition rooms, even as the modernization of society is extended through some of Munch’s motifs, reflecting the society he lived in.

MUNCH also contains temporary exhibitions with contemporary art from established artists as well as from newcomers, drawing lines between the past and the present.

The full Munch experience

After your visit at the museum, complete your Munch experience with a visit to his art studio at Ekely. This is where he had his outside studio. The indoors winter studio is run by a foundation and has limited opening hours to the public, still functioning as studios for artists today.

Pushwagner’s social commentary

Terje Brofos (1940-2018), better known as Hariton Pushwagner, was another famous artist from Oslo who used his art to comment on society.

His art falls under pop art, which is connected to popular culture, such as comics, labelled goods and other sign-based materials. In many of his works, such as the graphic novel Soft City (2008), he had a satirical attitude towards capitalism in modern city life. When we are surrounded by the urbanism of Oslo, his art really makes us reflect on how the modernisation affects us.

Many of his motifs include clear lines and bright colours and are mostly figurative. Munch also commented on society in some of his works, and often used visible contours and bright colours, but his artwork is clearly distinguishable from Pushwagner’s in style and in choice of motif.

Pushwagner, in contrast to Munch, was an artist of our own time. Born four years before Munch passed away, he himself passed away in 2018. His art portrays how modern society has developed into one that is increasingly characterised by living situations in apartment buildings, a capitalist work sector and less individualism. In most of Pushwagner’s works, every individual looks alike, and all follow the norms set by society.

The antiquity and Queen Maud’s dresses

With Munch being such a prominent artist in Norwegian art history, he is not only represented in MUNCH. Many of his works are also to be found in the National Museum, Norway’s largest art collection, and the largest museum in all the Nordic countries to boot.

Covered in slate walls, the museum houses both older and more modern art, as well as contemporary art and design pieces.

The museum takes you on a journey through ancient times until today; a little bit of a lot. The three floors contain everything from copies of Greek antique sculptures, medieval art, modern art, to Queen Maud’s dresses.

Maud – Queen of Norway and of fashion

As a former British princess, Queen Maud (1869-1938) became Queen of Norway in 1905 when Norway’s union with Sweden was dissolved. The National Museum’s collection contains several of Queen Maud’s garments. With an exquisite taste in dresses and a waist of only 46 cm, her dresses truly stand out, and are an important part of fashion history and of Norway’s cultural history.

Treasures at the National Museum

In addition to Munch, the National Museum displays countless other important Norwegian artists. A national romantic painting made by Norway’s most prominent folk life painter Adolph Tidemand (1814-1876), and landscapist Hans Gude (1825-1903), is displayed at the museum. Bridal Procession on the Hardangerfjord (1848) is iconic for Norway’s art scene and is typical of Norwegian national romantic art, with a bridal procession taking place in splendid Norwegian nature.

Fairy tales at the museum

The Norwegian nature and culture have also inspired the Norwegian folktale painter Theodor Kittelsen (1857-1914). The Water Sprite (1904), The Forest Troll (1906) and The Black Death (1894-1896) are his most outstanding artworks. The mystical aspect of the characters and the surroundings inspired by fairy tales, stories, magic and nature make his paintings unique and allow the spectator to imagine their own continuation of the story behind the motif.

In The National Museum, there is a whole room dedicated to fairy tales, an important part of Norwegian cultural heritage. Exhibited there are works by Kittelsen and other artists who have played a role in illustrating Norwegian fairy tales.

Nature and the human made

Let’s go back to talking about the contemporary art reflecting or criticising our society. This is where the Astrup Fearnley Museum plays an essential role in Oslo’s art scene.

Astrup Fearnley – contemporary art with a view

Its exhibitions draw connections to older art history through contemporary art, and several of the exhibitions have offered new interpretations of old art works that we all know and love.

The museum consists of two buildings mere meters apart from one another. One of the buildings presents exhibitions with a rotating selection from the Astrup Fearnley Collection, while the other building shows newer productions from artists from all around the world.

Not only is the museum the perfect place to soak in contemporary art, one room also boasts a panorama view of the Oslofjord. The museum brings the art closer to the life that happens outside the walls, and underlines the art as a process of the society we live in. The museum gives you a tight connection between art, nature and urbanity – without being an open-air museum.

Kistefos – The pulp mill that became an art experience

Just as the Astrup Fearnley Museum connects nature and urbanity to a certain degree, there is another art experience just an hour's drive from Oslo, that takes this even further. The connection between nature, art and urbanity is even clearer at the Kistefos Museum.

In 1996, Christen Sveaas transformed his grandfather’s 1889 pulp mill into a museum. The original industrial machinery which used to manufacture paper is still on display.

The famous gallery The Twist can be found at Kistefos. This gallery doubles as a bridge over the Randselva river, and as a piece of art to be enjoyed both from the outside and the inside.

Surrounding all of this is a sculpture park with contemporary sculptures, including artists such as Marc Quinn and Fernando Botero.

Modern architecture and sculptures meet industrial equipment, tying together the modern and human-made and the uncontrollable and everlasting surrounding nature.

A contrast to the “white cube”

Galleri Fineart at Tjuvholmen is a gallery that always succeeds at showing its uniqueness through its original exhibitions.

This commercial gallery is Norway’s largest gallery with contemporary art from Norway and abroad. They put on new exhibitions every few weeks, making the most of their numerous rooms with exciting curating opportunities.

This is nothing like a «white cube» gallery, and the art and the venue become one whole. The exhibition rooms are filled with either print art, photography, originals in oil and acrylic, drawings, arts and craft, sculptures, jewellery or books.

Life and death inside a mausoleum

Sculptor Gustav Vigeland’s less famous brother, Emanuel Vigeland (1875-1948) is the creator of one of Oslo’s hidden gems: The Emanuel Vigeland Museum.

The museum is Emanuel’s own mausoleum and consists of a barrel-vaulted room with dim lighting and frescoes covering the walls and the ceiling. Once inside, you’ll have to walk carefully while your eyes adjust to the darkness.

But what about Gustav?

Rest assured, we haven't forgotten about our sculptures! Oslo's art scene also includes countless sculptures, both stand-alone and in sculpture parks. One of Oslo's most famous attractions, in fact, is the Vigeland Sculpture Park, where you can see more than 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland.

While you’re waiting for your eyes to register the motifs, your other senses play just as important of a role. Notice, for instance, how the sound of your shoes barely moving creates an echo and makes the room seem endless.

Observe the fresco painting VITA, or Life, and you will little by little discover dramatic scenes conveying human life from conception to death. The architecture and the fresco are tightly connected in this mausoleum, leaving you with a feeling of being inside the artwork.

Frescoes and contemporary art

If the mausoleum left you with a feeling of wanting more of Emanuel’s artistry, make the National Library the next point in your itinerary. The building’s foyer and staircase are decorated with frescoes by Emanuel, as well by Axel Revold (1887-1962) and Per Krohg (1889-1965). More of Per Krohg’s art is also to be found in the art deco hotel Sommerro and on the ceiling at Kunstnernes Hus, both close to the Royal Palace.

A house for artists

Kunstnernes Hus (literally “The Artists’ House) is a neoclassical and functionalist building from 1930 with a ceiling mural by Per Krohg over the staircase up to the exhibition rooms. Here you can see contemporary art, both national and international.

Since its opening in 1930, Kunstnernes Hus has exhibited Picasso, Andy Warhol, Palestinian art, Cindy Sherman, Tino Sehgal, and much more.

Visit Kunstnernes hus in the autumn, and you will get the chance to see the yearly exhibition Høstutstillingen. The artworks exhibited at Høstutstillingen are juried based on free submission, and thus the exhibition showcases a vast number of artists. As such, the exhibitions are unpredictable and exciting with numerous expressions and mediums.

An art collection befitting a star

The Henie Onstad Art Centre, established by world-famous figure skater Sonja Henie and her ship owner husband Niels Onstad, also heavily connects art and architecture. It is a 15 minutes’ car ride away from Oslo, and exhibits modern and contemporary art.

The artistic experience at Henie Onstad very clearly begins before you even enter the building. Once inside, you’ll discover temporary exhibitions varying in style and medium. Three exhibitions, however, are permanent:

• A room filled by the renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s artwork Hymn of Life.
• The collection exhibition based on Kurt Schwitters and the avantgarde
• The Sonja Henie room

Art in the streets

Some might think that good art belongs in indoor spaces of a certain grandeur. But Oslo is full of hidden outdoor gems. There are, of course, plenty of sculptures, both in and outside of parks. The hidden gems we are talking about, however, are merged with the city, and were created by people who, for a long time, were not considered artists.

A new type of canvas – the exterior of a building – makes room for street art. Today, street art is often a slightly more hidden than public sculptures, which just makes it that much more exciting to discover.

Over the last few decades, graffiti has become more accepted as an art form. The stigma has faded to some degree, and artists are allowed to freely cover some walls with art without it being painted over.

Brenneriveien has several graffiti pieces with different styles and colours, and the area around is filled with more street art. You might have to ask for directions or make it a treasure hunt.

Giving new life to horse stables

Some of the more traditional art is also to be found in surprising places. One such surprising place is the villa, the sculpture-filled garden and the former horse stables which today constitute TBS Gallery.

TBS stands for Tore Bjørn Skjølsvik (1939-), the artist whose paintings, sculptures, and drawings are exhibited at TBS Gallery.

The sculptures represent famous Norwegian characters and imposing equestrian sculptures.

Skjølsvik’s expression is a modernisation of the well-known equestrian motif; the sculptures are rough, with visible finger work, unlike the smooth sculptures from ancient Greece and the Renaissance. They call to mind the  fragmented expression and short brush strokes of impressionism.

TBS Gallery also exhibits drawings and paintings by artists who have been forgotten about and didn’t get the praise that Skjølsvik thinks they should have.

The queen who turned stables into a gallery

Believe it or not, TBS Gallery is not Oslo’s only horse stables turned art gallery. The former Royal Stables are now known as The Queen Sonja Art Stable. Its previous exhibitions include Sàmi art, Tone Vigeland (Emanuel Vigeland’s granddaughter) and a collaborative exhibition with the National Museum, which included works by Theodor Kittelsen.

The interiors are mostly influenced by Queen Maud, and the stables’ renovation were inspired by the Royal Mews, the stables at Buckingham Palace.

Written by Maren Høgberg