The gateway to the university: Per Krohg's "Atom in Space"
Per Krohg's monumental decoration in the UiO physics building creates a grand visual narrative in a complex space.
Photos: UiO Kunstsamlingen
Krohg also made the building's windows part of the art work. For the stained glass, he was assisted by painter and glass artist Borgar Hauglid.
From Pompeii to iPhones: Mari Slaattelid's "Painting for Auditorium 4"
"Painting for Auditorium 4" was made specifically for Domus Academica, one of UiO's original neoclassical buildings at the University Square in downtown Oslo.?
The intense red color in the painting refers to Pompeian murals. The findings from the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the latter half of the 18th century inspired neoclassical interiors, including that of Domus Academica.?
In the middle of the frieze is a female face – Sappho – also from the cities by Vesuvius. Holding a stylus thoughtfully to her mouth, she builds a connection to students of today.
"When I have chosen painting as a medium and Pompeii as a pretext, the dating itself becomes a topic. The students have other accesses to the time they live in as they leave the auditorium and turn on their mobile phones."
– Mari Slaatelid
Art and informatics rendezvous: B?rd Breivik's "Equations in Stainless Steel"
"Equations in Stainless Steel" consists of four monumental floor-to-ceiling steel reliefs distributed around the building where UiO's computer scientists are housed. They are shaped using 3D techniques.
Breivik wanted a concrete relationship between the reliefs and the fields of study in the building, and collaborated with students and staff at the Department of Informatics.
The works embody topics such as diffraction, the Doppler effect and fractal geometry.
Enlightenment and contemporary matters: Torbj?rn Kvasb?'s "Stacks"
In 2022, UiO's downtown building Domus Bibliotheca was transformed from the library of the Faculty of Law into the university's new arena for debate and research dissemination.
Upon the completion of the restoration, the University of Oslo's art collection and the artists' association Kuntnerforbundet collaborated on developing art works for the building.
The interior's neoclassical design points back in time to ideals that promoted knowledge and reason. The new art unfolding within this architecture, such as?Torbj?rn Kvasb?'s "Stacks", can be seen in relation to the thoughts of the past, but at the same time serve as a springboard to contemporary social matters.
A wall of scrutinising gazes: Kjell Torriset's "836 Eyes"
The sloping west wall of the UiO University Library is covered with?836 black-painted panels mounted over three floors.?Each panel has a small, unique eye in the center.?
With this motif, artist Kjell Torriset aims to emphasise the central role and function of the eye in our visual cultural history and the experience of visual art.?
"I chose the eye because it is at the center of the entire act of seeing, the very instrument we observe with. The eye observing the eye. The eye holds a strong, central place in our visual cultural history, and rich literary corpus."
– Kjell Torriset
Repetition in Time and Space: Olav Christopher Jenssen's "Lack of Memory II"
At first glance, the work Lack of Memory II in the vestibule of Helga Eng's House may appear like a gray, smoothed wall.?
Foto: Thomas Tveter/UiO Kunstsamlingen / Amalie Skevik
In three places in the work, the artist has inserted the names of his wife, eldest daughter and eldest son.
The title Lack of Memory?suggests an association with the absence or loss of memory. It forms a concept of time and space, going back again and again in search of something?– or perhaps someone.
A hidden tapestry: Hannah Ryggen's "Troll Wall"
"The Troll Wall" ('Trollveggen') is an over seven-metre-long tapestry made specifically for the university's council hall, a space with limited access.
In the center of the tapestry is the sower: At once a biblical motif and a symbol of the university teacher sowing seeds among the young.?Some fall on rocky ground, others in good soil.
The sower in the middle is flanked by artists. Further out on each side are what Ryggen herself called "skyscrapers". Inside these, she've placed political figures who talk and talk, which leads to nothing besides more weapons.?The outer fields symbolise transience and loneliness.
See also
The art in the University Aula
The University of Oslo's most monumental art space: Edvard Munch's?world-renowned paintings tell stories about the university and the sciences.
More from UiO's art collection
?