The nature and landscape of Southern Norway have played a vital role in shaping how people living here have built local and collective identities over the past 200 years. These identities are deeply connected to stories and myths about how the land has been used– stories tied to a landscape with distinctive features that many visitors associate with this part of the country and travel here to experience.
Artists have been central to this identity-building, continuously drawn to the land and creating images inspired by the nature and terrain found in Southern Norway. From Deep Valleys to Bare Seaside Rocks takes visitors on a visualjourneythroughthe diverse landscapes of the south—across the hills of Setesdal, down into valleys, into the forests, close to natural details and moods—before reaching the smooth rock shores, the sea, and the horizon.
The exhibition presents 66 works from Kunstsilos’ Collections/ The Sørlandssamling and Christianssands Picture Gallery by a wide range of well-known and beloved local artists. Together, these works illustrate how artists have explored different aspects of nature and landscape in Southern Norway from the mid-1800s to today.
Artists represented in the exhibition include:
Alfredo Andersen (1860–1935), Kari Christensen (1938–1997), Jahn Ekenæs (1847–1920), Marcelius Førland (1891–1978), Hjalmar Haalke (1894–1964), Sidsel Hanum (b. 1955), Olaf Hasaas (1894–1977), Håkon Henriksen (1943–2020), Thomas Hestvold (b. 1957), Olaf Isaachsen (1835–1893), Egil Finn Iveland (1903–1968), Karsten Jakobsen (1911–1985), Otto Emil Johansen (1886–1934), Tom Lid (b. 1952), Marius Martinussen (b. 1978), Amaldus Nielsen (1828–1932), Johan Martin Nielssen (1835–1912), Finn Nielssen (1908–1962), Cecilie Nissen (b. 1966), Kjell Nupen (1955–2014), Reidar Rudjord (1930–2011), Torstein Rusdal (1887–1971), Kari Stiansen (b. 1954), Rolf Syrdahl (1912–1970), Henrik Sørensen (1882–1962), Dyre Vaa (1903–1980), and Edvard Vigebo (1916–1986).