Oslo
May 2013
Public sculpture park in the new cultural part of Oslo
An increasing amount of expensive buildings pop up at the top class new part of Oslo, on a former container harbour island called Tjuvholmen (=the island of thieves). The area is stuffed with not only apartments and restaurants, but also a wide selection of art galleries, with the new Astrup Fearnley art museum as the major draw. Even if the galleries are closed, or if the sun shines and you prefer to stay outside, you may get grand art experiences. Art by internationally famous artist are to be found in the public, especially in a part just outside the AF-museum.
Work by Fredrik Raddum
In the sub-sea parking space entrance is this sculpture by Norwegian artist Fredrik Raddum. I have always loved his works of questioning the relationships between man and nature. But I have never seen his work in a better placing than this. Beware you car drivers, this is a pedestrian area!
Work by unknown
This crossover reindeer/motorcycle sculpture standing in a corridor is impressive, but the author and title information was nowhere to be found.
Ugo Rondinone:Moonrise. East. November
A great eyecatcher by the entrance of the Astrup Fearnley museum, and great fun for the kids to put their hands into the mouth. This is one of the few sculptures you are actually allowed to touch in this area. You can stroke along each fingerstroke the artist has done to shape it.
Louise Bourgeois: Eyes
Two large stone balls called eyes, but might also look like some other body parts. Also a thrill for the kids to climb on, which is fortunately allowed. They are so popular though, it is a challenge photographing them without people on them. But at nighttime the eyes are there all alone, looking out to the sea and the art museum. You need to be there not to late, as the park closes at 23.
Ellsworth Kelly: Untitled (totem)
Including a view of the park and the art museum, this is one of the sculptures that just is placed on the lawn. An artpiece of a famous artist, but it could have been placed anywhere, also inside a building. You are not allowed to go close, and I am not sure if you are allowed to walk on the grass at all.
Anish Kapoor: Untitled
A wonderful marble sculpture that seems like a portal or a nest, but you will never know as it is conserved in a glass box, and you cannot go too close. The reflection in the glass projects sea views onto the sculpture.
Peter Fischli & David Weiss: Things for a house on an island
Ledged on the corner of the park, partly over water, is a bunker or a temporary shack in concrete. You may peek through the window in the door to find various items. There seems to be some kind of workers staying there, but what they build or work on is up to your imagination to guess. The building is intentionally placed on the corner of the pier, not allowing us to pass on one side. But all curious people would walk around to the other side, and this is done by awkwardly walking over a constructed hill.
Peter Fischli & David Weiss: Things for a house on an island
Franz West: Spalt
The public area at Tjuvholmen even has its own beach, with a sculpture on it. A very intuitive object to sit on, climb on or hang your clothes on. But according to earlier pictures, one part is removed, and one is fenced in. These sculptures obviously were not meant to be touched, and should thus be placed somewhere else than on a public beach.
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All in all the public areas at Tjuvholmen are a limited but very inspiring with a breathtaking list of artists displayed by their works. In this way a broad specter of inhabitants and visitors that never set their feet in an art venue might have great art experiences. But you cannot expect people to act like in a gallery when they are in a park. Sculptures in the public must stand being climbed on, being spilled icecream on, and sat on by seagulls. Some of the works are communicating very well to the public and their environment, others are not. Anyhow, the sculpture park is well worth a visit, and the area might well become the most famous in Oslo, compared to the Opera and Vigelandsparken.
