Gallery sights in Norway
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National Gallery
One of Oslo’s major highlights is the National Gallery. It houses the nation’s largest collection of Norwegian art, including works from the Romantic era and more‑modern works from 1800 to WWII. Some of Edvard Munch’s best-known creations are on display, including his most renowned work, The Scream. There’s also an impressive collection of European art with works by Gauguin, Picasso, El Greco and many of the impressionists: Manet, Degas, Renoir, Matisse, Cézanne and Monet.
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Gallery
Juhls’ Sølvsmie (Silver Gallery) is a wonderful building, all slopes and soft angles, designed and built by owners Regine and Frank Juhls, who first began working with the Sami half a century ago. Their highly acclaimed gallery creates traditional-style and modern silver jewellery and handicrafts, and displays the best of Scandinavian design. One wing of the gallery has a fine collection of oriental carpets and artefacts, reminders of their work in support of Afghan refugees during that blighted country’s Soviet occupation. Staff happily show you around and you’re welcome to buy items.
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Henie-Onstad Art Centre
In Høvikodden, west of the centre, lies one of Norway’s best private art collections, the Henie-Onstad Art Centre, founded in the 1960s by Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie and her husband Niels Onstad. The couple actively sought out collectible works of Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso, as well as assorted impressionist, abstract, expressionist and modern Norwegian works. When you’ve seen enough art you can head downstairs for a look at Sonja’s various skating medals and trophies. From Jernbanetorget, take any bus heading towards Sandvika and get off at Høvikodden.
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Gallery
Local artist Eva Arnesen designed the Nobel Peace Prize diploma that was awarded to Jody Williams and the campaign to ban land mines. Her gallery is about 4km south of town, opposite the Statoil petrol station. Arnesen’s paintings evoke the colours of the region from the northern lights to the bright palette of summer. The handsome pair of carved and silvered polar bears on Rådhus Plass was fashioned by her husband, woodcarver Knut Arnesen.
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Kunsthuset Kabuso
Øystese used to be little more than an adjunct to Norheimsund, but the Kunsthuset Kabuso has made it a destination in its own right. A showcase for contemporary and traditional art (it attracts artists of world renown, such as the UK’s Damien Hirst in 2007), it’s a terrific place that you just don’t expect to find in a small village on the shores of a Norwegian fjord.
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Risør Kunstpark Gallery
For the lowdown on local geology, fishing and the 275-year history of Risør, check out the Risør Museum. Ask for a loan of the explanatory booklet in English. Adjacent to the museum is the Risør Kunstpark Gallery, which displays works by artists inspired by Risør’s charm.
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National Museum of Contemporary Art
Featuring the National Gallery’s collections of post-WWII Scandinavian and international art is the National Museum of Contemporary Art. Some of the 3000-piece collection is definitely an acquired taste, but it does provide a timely reminder that Norwegian art didn’t cease with Edvard Munch.
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Galleri Svalbard
Galleri Svalbard features the Svalbard-themed works of Norwegian artist Kåre Tveter, so pure and cold they make you shiver; reproductions of early maps of Svalbard; and a 10-minute film, The Arctic Nature of Svalbard, which gives a glimpse of Svalbard’s other, winter persona.
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Galleri Cylindra
Galleri Cylindra, opposite the cruise boat jetty, displays the works of Peter Opsvik, artist and industrial designer – photography, painting and sensuously rounded works in wood were executed by master craftsman Kjellbjørn Tusvik.
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Peer Gynt Galleriet
The Peer Gynt Galleriet is a collection of fairly kitsch bas-relief wood carvings illustrating the Peer Gynt legend and fashioned by local chippy, Oddvin Parr. You may find the food at the complex’s cafeteria more to your taste.
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Stenersen Museum
Stenersen Museum contains three formerly private collections of works by Norwegian artists from 1850 to 1970. The museum and much of the art, which includes works by Munch, were a gift to the city by Rolf E Stenersen.
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Astrup Fearnley Museum
With its often steamy content, the Astrup Fearnley Museum certainly begs the question, ‘what is art?’ Don’t miss the gilded ceramic sculpture Michael Jackson and Bubbles, by Jeff Koons.
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Atelier Aino
Follow the sign directing you off the main pedestrian street to the gallery and workshop of Danish artist Aino Grib. A resident of Svalbard, she captures in her canvases the hues and tones of the Arctic seasons.
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Art Foundation
The Tromsø branch of this national contemporary art foundation makes the most of its late-19th-century premises and promotes rotating exhibitions of contemporary art.
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Children’s Art Museum
If you have a particular affinity for your friends’ refrigerator art displays, visit the Children’s Art Museum near the Frøen T-bane station.
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Gallery
This dynamic gallery mounts temporary exhibitions by contemporary Sami artists and is well worth the short journey to the limits of town.
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