Brightly painted rocks emulating succulent summer fruits stand like sentinels on the steps leading up to the building, ushering the audience inside. In the galleries, sprawling charcoal drawings and richly-hued graphics blend with surprising ease, covering the walls from floor to ceiling while hand painted tables and ceramic dinnerware sit scattered around the exhibition space, creating an all encompassing sensory experience. The sketches portray remixed versions of landscapes and figures depicted in the paintings of Norwegian artist Lars Hertervig, reproduced here by Party directly onto the walls of the kunsthall. The interwoven designs lead viewers through the entirety of the kunsthall and in this way, the exhibition not only serves as an homage to Hetervig, but also to the rich history and physicality of the building itself.

In a recent interview with Kunsthall Stavanger, Party elaborates on his background, connection to graffiti culture, and his unique approach to figuration.

“I never had a strong interest in reality. I always thought that the films, books, and paintings that I was looking at touched me more than the real things around me. So when it comes to representing things in a painting I try to make them exist only in the picture; they don’t have a direct connection to reality. The connection they have with reality is the simple description. Like a yellow circle is the simple description of the sun.” -Nicolas Party

To read the full interview, visit the Kunsthall Stavanger blog, here.

For more details about the exhibition and for opening hours, visit the Landscape exhibition page, here.

Maria Moseng reviewed the exhibition for Stavanger Aftenbladet, saying that the installation is “visually interesting and spread out with a sensitivity to the rooms that never feels overly-designed.” [Eng. translation] For the full text, visit the Aftenbladet website, here