Åse Fagervik

ARTIST

The artist Åse Marie Fagervik creates a range of stunning paintings. Alongside her exhibitions in Norway, she has also held exhibitions in New York, Paris, Palermo and Venize, and next year she’ll have an exhibition in Cannes. Last year, she started her own art gallery in Trondheim – Gallery Waterloo, where she displays her art which explores a multitude of themes related to spirituality, emotions and the human experience.

“I’m a self-taught artist, and I came to art about 11 years ago,” Åse says. “There was a lot going on in my life at the time – among other things, my mother passed away. I had an unusual, spiritual experience that was a sort of turning point for me in my life, and I went from never having painted before to painting for hours and hours at a time.”

Images / Åse Fagervik Words / Maria Vole

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She opened her own art gallery, Gallery Waterloo, located in the heart of Trondheim, in the summer of 2020. It was an unusual time to open a gallery due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it’s been a successful venture. “It’s been a difficult time for so many. I think a lot of people were relieved to be able to enter a colourful world in the midst of all the dull and grey of the pandemic,” she says. “Without art, what would society be? I think it would be quite boring. Art and music offer mental stimuli, which is important for our health and development. ”

For Åse, creating is a very intuitive process. “Inspiration can strike at any time for me. I’m inspired by the universe, by creation, the eternal, by thoughts of who we are, what we are, the power we have in ourselves - and what potential we have,” she says. “For me, the process of creating many of my pieces has been intense and deeply felt. It’s a very unique experience.”

There’s a lot of emotional depth to Åse’s pieces. These are paintings that truly tell a story. “I once read a quote by Vincent Van Gogh that really spoke to me: ‘I dream my paintings, and I paint my dream’. My style sort of came naturally to me – I started painting a lot of circle motifs without having made the conscious decision to do so. I feel as though art chose me, rather than the other way around,“ she says.

For Åse, creating is a powerful, deep experience. “Using art as therapy is wonderful – I think it can have so many benefits,” Åse says. “When you’re creating, the world sort of falls away. It’s a unique experience that I really can’t put into words.”

Many people have quite intense, personal responses to her art. “I get a lot of incredible feedback on my work, which I very much appreciate. I’ve had people thank me as they leave my gallery, telling me that they had a real, deep experience interacting with my art,” Åse says. “One lady called me from her hospital bed after she had discovered my paintings – she told me she’d had a healing experience from looking at my work, and that she just wanted me to know how big of an impact it had on her. As an artist, that’s humbling and very moving to hear.”

Alongside her paintings, Åse also creates a limited range of exclusive scarves. These light scarves are produced in a high-quality wool/silk blend, and Åse’s art is printed on them. The beautiful designs have found a lot of popularity – in fact, all of Husfliden’s shops in Trøndelag stock the scarves.

Åse is a deeply creative person, and channels her creativity in different ways. “Alongside my painting, I also write. I write a lot of poems, I’ve illustrated a book of poetry, and I’ve also considered publishing a book – who knows what the future holds? I believe that the path is created as you walk it – I live in the moment and follow my intuition.”

A bioengineer by profession and paper artist by passion, Tove screens cytology samples by day and creates paper flowers by night. She thinks of paper art as a form of mindfulness meditation, and is on a mission to spread her love for origami with the world.

When Tove learned to fold paper frogs in primary school, she never imagined that her newfound fascination with paper would later flourish into a lifelong passion for creating exquisite figures and shapes. The form and structure of origami is what initially attracted her to the art, but her natural drive to create and her desire to learn is what kept her coming back for more. When Tove is not making paper flowers in her basement, she may be found in front of a microscope at St. Olav’s University Hospital, identifying cancer cells.

Between her busy work life at the hospital and her equally busy family life with a husband and three children, Tove appreciates the way that origami allows her body to relax and her brain to reset.