Viking-Venus-Art-Catalog

THE LIVING ROOM | DECK 1
WORKS BY NORWEGIAN CRAFT ARTISTS
The Nordic countries are renowned for their mastery of designing and fabricating a variety of simple yet elegant home furnishings. Whether a chair or a ceramic
vase, handmade or machine made, Scandinavian artisans and designers long believed that well-crafted, affordable and aesthetically pleasing objects could enhance
the quality of everyday life.
While many designers in continental Europe and the United States took a more austere, machine-inspired approach to modernism, Scandinavian designers imbued
their furnishings and craft ware with warmth. Many pieces were influenced by nature and made with organic materials. The general public welcomed this less
severe, more palatable approach, and the demand for Scandinavian-designed items soared, particularly in the late 1940s and 1950s.
In the 1970s, Norwegian craft artists experienced a complete breakthrough as the perception of handicrafts changed dramatically in the Scandinavian countries.
At this point, it was fully accepted that it was possible to use traditional craft materials, such as metal, glass, ceramics and textiles, as an artistic expression without
taking utility into account. In many cases, the “object” could be demonstrably useless, both in its form and in the assembly of different materials. There is no doubt
that this changing reaction to the requirement of utility was a clear liberation within the field of handicrafts.
Norwegian handicrafts have in recent years gained a renewed interest from both the art scene and the general public. Glass and ceramic arts in particular have
become increasingly popular, and an idea-based craftsmanship has gained more traction. Once a somewhat undefined phenomenon in the borderland between
art and design, Norwegian crafts are today closely linked to visual art. While most young artists educated in the various arts are less comfortable defining their
artistic practices within a particular direction, they are able to work with a wide range of materials, as well as different types of techniques and expressions. More
established craft artists, on the other hand, have seen it as natural to organize themselves around a specific tradition and discipline, many specializing in a particular
technique and receiving great recognition for this. These parallel conditions have contributed to the creation of an exciting dynamic between the definable and the
fluid within the field. As a result, the interest in handicrafts as collectible objects has soared in recent years.
Represented in The Living Room (Deck 1) and the Atrium (Deck 2) of Viking Venus is a collection of glass art, ceramics and more by recognized Norwegian craft
artists. On display are examples of various artworks by Aron Irving Li, Vidar Koksvik, Anette Krogstad, Bjarne Nielsen, Karen Klim and Kari Mølstad, to mention a few.
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