Several large format paintings fill the walls in Hertzberg’s summer gallery.
Tove Hertzberg – Creating art in Norway for the world Located in the region of Lillesand off the southern coast of Norway, Tove Hertzberg capitalises on her proximity to water to explore one of the themes most important in her paintings – the sea. By Molly McPharlin
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Photos: Galleri Tove
Hertzberg, a Norwegian artist creating images that are simultaneously feminine, strong, and vulnerable, exhibits her work on both her online platform Galleri Tove and in her summer gallery on Brekkestø, near the inland waterways of Lillesand.
Often, Hertzberg feels that the paintings that have come to her organically are the most popular and sell immediately. “There is something about authenticity,” she muses. “I always think that when I create a work dedicated to someone very special, it will find its owner when the time is right.”
“I was born creative and have been living and working as an artist since January 2012,” says Hertzberg. “In order to create a permanent space for my art, my website, Galleri Tove, was established in March 2012. Besides exhibiting my work internationally and in my exhibition space, Galleri Tove is the place where I communicate all the work I’ve done.”
Water at the centre of her creativity
The connection between the sea and women Galleri Tove is rich in colourful paintings that delve into what it means to be female and what it means to be alive. “I work in large formats,” says Hertzberg. “What 36
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Issue 165
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April 2024
preoccupies me is the sea and women and what they have in common. I explore what is life-giving, both what is available and what is perhaps unused. I want to portray female images from the inside out and draw parallels between the sea and the woman, as well as the patient, unbalanced feminine against a masculine world.”
Swans and female images are at the centre of the painting The Swans.
Hertzberg is also interested in the interplay between the sea and light. “Every day, I go down to the beach,” she says. “I find peace and study the movements and interaction between the water and the sky. I collect water samples and create crystallographic images, inspired by Veda Austin in New Zealand and Masaru Emoto from Japan. Here, I find a voice that manifests itself in the form of ge-