Street Art

As the graffiti scene has become increasingly more sedate, kitschy and generally uninteresting as it has for the most part been taken over by bratty kids who lack the cultural understanding of the graffiti culture, Street art has emerge also in Oslo as a new scene for non conform art in the public sphere. Whether Oslo has really fostered many new street artists or if it is merely people posting pieces found on the internet hasn’t been much debated here. The high temperature in the street art discourses in New York has so fare not yet arrived in Oslo.

Gustav Vigeland

The sculptor Gustav Vigeland stroke a good deal with the Oslo City municipality in 1921. In change for donating most of his works in his will to the City of Oslo, Mr. Vigeland was given an large purpose build studio and residence, now the Vigeland Museum, and an commission to design and furnish with sculptures, one of Oslo’s largest parks, now known as ‘Vigelandsanlegget’, the Vigeland park, on Oslo’s west end. Mr. Vigelands art has been disputed, and so has Oslo’s use of public founds on this large project, but the park and its sculptures are today much enjoyed by the city’s residents, and is one of Oslo’s largest tourist attractions.

Karl Johan

Karl Johan’s Street is Oslo’s main street, and has been so since the expansion of the city in the 1830’s. The architect Hans Ditlev Franciscus von Linstow who also designed the Royal Palace made the city plan for the new West End of Oslo (then Christiania). Today statues have been erected for some of the most prominent figures in Norway’s history, both from politics and culture life along this street.


Linstow's city plan of 1838


P.A.Munch (Professor in History) (1933) by Stinius Fredriksen

A.M.Schweigaard (Professor in Jurisprudence and Economics) 1882 by P.E.Schmidt

Henrik Wergeland (Poet) 1881 by Brynjulf Bergslien

Charl Joachim Hambro (Politician) (1995) by Kjell Grette Christensen

Christian Michelsen (Politician)

W.F.K.Christie (Politician)

Temporarily Art Installations

While Public Art traditionally has been of rather permanent character, it has become increasingly more common to make temporary Art installations, as an answer to performing Art which already for a number of years has found a new scene in public spaces.


'Future Oslo' by the German group of artists eBoy, April 2007 at Oslo S

'Utendørs II' by Brynhild Slaatto, Spring of 2007

From a project made by some art students, intended to prevent young men from raping young women (‘your grandma is watching’). Winter of 2007.


'Das Feld', Installation in warehouse 51 in Bjørvika, by Stefan Schröder, February 2002


Quotes (‘truisms’) by Jenny Holzer projected on the facade of the Museum of Contemporary Art, February 2000

And than some traditional ‘temporally public art’, performing art, here ballet preformed by a modern dance troupe. Oslo S, summer of 2003.

Political Art

It is many years since any piece of Political Art cased much controversy in Norway (as Kjartan Slettemark's Vietnam Picture) but a post on Oslo’s Political Public Art are none the less justified by their sheer numbers.


'Neve og Rose' ('Fist and Rose')(1991) by Ola Enstad


A Labour Union relief.


A Peace monument (partly of stone from Hiroshima).


Labour Union monument (1958) byPer Palle Storm


A sculpture/relief, on the wall of the City Hall, commenting on the relationship between social class and prostitution. By Alfred Seland.

At the National Gallery

Around the building of the National Gallery (Nasjonalgalleriet), a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in downtown Oslo, a small but diverse collection of sculptures and art installations are on permanent display.


Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (2005) by Lars Ø. Ramberg


Mann og Kvinne (1905) by Gustav Vigeland


Vølund Smed (1873) by Stephan Sinding


Pieta (1930) by Georg Kolbe


Tårnpeter (1927) by Rolf Lunde


Sjøløve (1958) by Skule Waksvik

Graffiti Art

Some people find great interest in debating (or quarrelling) about whether Graffiti counts as art or not. Apart from conflicts between graffiti writers and property owners, as I see it, graffiti is (among other tings) mostly a technique, and as oil painting on canvas or other materials, may or may not be art. Oslo has its share of uninspired and bad/clumsy/banal graffiti, but also some more enjoyable pieces. These photos are from Brenneriveien on Oslo’s East End and the area around, where some, but not all, walls are considered (by most) to be 'legal graffiti walls'.

‘Announcement

This wall is for the time being called back as photo location for photographing culture politician’s /-workers /-characters etc.

Institute for Opposing Visual Degeneration’

Modernist Murals

Oslo has some really nice modernist murals, both abstract and figurative. Her are some of them, both indoor (all in public buildings) and outdoor.


Oslo's City Coat of Arms combined with the city’s history. At Oslo City Hall. By Alf Rolfsen.


Part of 'Edens hage' (Garden of Eden), by Arne Lindaas (1972)


From the National Library, by Per Krohg


Art Gallery fasade, 'Kunstnerforbundet' by Gunnar S. Gundersen (1950)


Life in Oslo, from Oslo City Hall, byPer Krohg

Railway Art II

While Oslo S (Oslo Central Station, pre 1981, Oslo Ø; Oslo East) has been Norway’s main railway hub since 1854, the underground railway station Nationaltheateret (the National Theater) opened as late as 1980. Most artwork at this station was commissioned for the 1999 expansion.

'Bronse' by Erwin Løffler (1979)

Terje Roalkvam (1998/1999)

Anne-Karin Furunes (1999)