Kåre Tveter’s Svalbard exhibition in the gallery.
Gallery of the Month, Norway
The painter of light At Kåre Tveter Galleri Lyshuset in Skarnes, you are invited to see the country’s largest collection of artwork by the great Norwegian painter. In addition, the cosy gallery, which is located in the farmhouse of the former farm Korsmo Søndre, also hosts exhibitions with selected artists and events throughout the year. By Ingrid Opstad | Photos: Kåre Tveter Galleri Lyshuset
Kåre Tveter is often referred to as the painter of light, which is a result of his fascination with capturing the light in his art. The great Norwegian artist was born in 1922 in Sør-Odal and had his debut as a painter in 1957. “Tveter did not use many or strong colours; he was rather at the other end of the scale and utilised muted and soft hues. His technique was characterised by the light, and by that I mean he diluted the watercolours and the oil paint to show the light, or sometimes the absence of light, in his work,” says Cato Bekkevold, member of Galleri Lyshusets Venneforening and leader of Sør-Odal Kunstforening. By doing so, Tveter managed to portray 94 | Issue 127 | August 2019
light in a very special way, connecting his motifs with both something godly and at the same time something highly material and rational.
Capturing winter landscapes and misty scenery In relation to artistic themes, the painter was concerned with capturing the beautiful winter landscapes in the eastern part of Norway and Finnskogen (Forest of the Finns). Another topic he was drawn to was the month of August, with its colours and the misty scenery that often characterises this period of the year. “From the mid-‘80s, when he first visited Svalbard, his fascination for
the place also became a very important part of his art,” Bekkevold explains. “I would say Tveter is perhaps the only Norwegian artist who has managed to portray the large, desolate and lonely Arctic landscape and its ever-changing light in all seasons.” However, the paintings are not locationspecific, but instead the artist dictates the mood and conveys what the light means in relation to the place. As Tveter said himself: “the landscape is a skeleton on which I hang the light”.
The Norwegian painter Kåre Tveter. Photo: Morten Krogvold