ANNE KNUTSEN AND KAREN KVILTU LIDAL

Anne Knutsen

I use flatweave techniques to create monumental textiles with a minimalist visual expression. Through these means, I seek to give the woven surfaces immaterial qualities. The ephemeral, shifting and unstable aspects arise when light hits the painstakingly constructed woven material and animates its surfaces, giving viewers transitory experiences as they move about in the room. The room’s dimensions and character are important for the shaping and mounting of the textiles. I work a lot with models in order to achieve optimal interaction between the textiles and the room. Sometimes I mount them directly on the wall, almost like wallpaper, at other times a bit away from the wall, and in yet other situations, I mount them on simple free-standing constructions that give the textiles more sculptural qualities. My intention is to facilitate spatial, meditative and sensory experiences.

Anne Knutsen (b. 1956 in Bergen, Norway) lives and works in Ski, Norway. She earned a degree in 1987 from the National College of Art and Design in Oslo, and after the school became part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts, she worked there as an associate professor of textile art from 1998 to 2018. Solo exhibitions include Within White at SOFT galleri in Oslo, Reflections atKunstnerforbundet in Oslo, Støvteppe/Dust Curtain at Trondheim Kunstmuseum and RAM galleri in Oslo. Knutsen has shown her works in many group exhibitions in Norway and internationally. She has also created several works of public art, for instance at Byåsen High School in Trondheim and Romsdal High School in Molde. Knutsen`s works are in the collections of the National Museum in Oslo, the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Trondheim and Statens konstråd in Stockholm. Knutsen has curated several public commissions, some of which have been for Oslo Opera House, Nationaltheatret train station in Oslo and Rogaland Theatre in Stavanger.

Karen Kviltu Lidal 

In my practice I weave, draw and make textile sculptures and video performances that map out, trace, document and displace architecture and spaces. I’m interested in the interplay between logic and bodily experience, and it’s important to me that the execution of the projects be through craft and the work of the body. Often using my own body as a scale, I investigate built structures in urban areas, for instance how cities and their architecture relate to the human body and how they hold connections to gender, power and the social sphere.

Karen Kviltu Lidal (b. 1979 in Akershus, Norway) lives and works in Oslo and Berlin. She studied at Oslo National Academy of the Arts (master’s degree, 2008). She is currently planning a solo exhibition at Kunstnerforbundet in Oslo (fall 2022). Previous solo exhibitions include Bauen Wohnen Denken at Tegnerforbundet in Oslo, The Body and the Map at Moss kunstforening and Soft City Pieces at Window Box/Galleri Pushwagner in Oslo. She has participated in group shows at (a selection) Sørlandets kunstmuseum in Kristiansand, Alfa Gallery in Miami, Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo, Akershus kunstsenter in Lillestrøm, SOFT galleri in Oslo and the National Museum in Oslo. Lidal’s works are included in the collections of the National Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Trondheim and KODE Art Museums in Bergen.