Page 42 - Studio International - March 1965

1
years in Sweden provide a clue 7 But the Norwegian
nature in his paintings is darker and more mysterious
than the geniality of the Swede's. His most extended
works to date are the internal and external murals for the
Norsk Hydro building. One interior wall (illustrated) is
of pure painting. but on the others he has incorporated
sand-blasting to make a fascinating texture of paint and
concrete. The support for mural decoration in Norway
today is nearly as great as twelve years ago when. as
Revold noted. it was second only to that of Mexico.
The majority of artists discussed in this article have
undertaken some. and my impression is that the best of
these are more likely to be of international interest than
those of the previous generation. Most are charac­
terized by a lively interest in new materials. Sigurd
Winge·s symbolic frieze at the Oslo Handelsgymnasium
is a terra-cotta mosaic. partly painted with plastic
colours. Carl Nesjar (b 1920). has an approach more
similar to Weidemann. both in his atmospheric abstract
designs and in his use of composite materials and tech­
niques like sand-blasting.
Gunnar S. Gundersen (b 1920). seems. with Weide­
mann. to be one of the two major painters of his
generation. However. his main sympathies are com-

2

3
pletely non-figurative. Compare his statement: 'In my
opinion pure colours and shapes are most effective. The
less one operates within a framework of external
attributes. the greater the clarity and tension·. with
Weidemann's 'I shall make an abstraction of the forest
ground in Norway·. Where Weidemann is rough.
Gundersen is polished; where Weidemann seems to feel
1 his way through the paint to his ideas. Gundersen is
Knut Rumohr
Composiuon. 1963 precise. balancing his well-considered forms with dis­
Wood engraving 17¼ x i¾ in. criminating sensibility. His work has a distinctly inter­
Norwegian Embassy, London
2 national look. and it is no sur(:irise to hear that he has
Jakob Weidemann been taking part in exhibitions abroad since 1952.
Mural for Norsk Hydro building,
1959/60 Nevertheless, Gundersen has also continued. at least
3 x 8 metres until quite recently. to paint watercolours of delicate
3
Trond Botnen northern nature. perhaps as a relaxation from his major
Heroes, 1963
4 paintings.
Ludvig Eikaas Among older men. artists such as Alexander Schultz
Oslo
Etching 50 :-: 50 cm. (b.1901 ). and Erling Enger (b.1899). still maintain their
122