Art History Lectures Spring 2026
Thursday 22 January: 17:00–18:50
NB: DAY AND TIME DIFFER FROM USUAL
The Restless Art of Ludvig Karsten
The lecturer is Signe Marie Endresen, PhD, Chief Curator at the Munch Museum, Oslo. Endresen has curated the exhibition Restless, featuring more than 70 paintings by Karsten, on display at the Munch Museum until 15 March 2026. She will shed light on various aspects of Karsten’s work and examine his artistic development in relation to modernism.
Thursday 19 February: 18:00–20:00
Where We Meet
The curator duo and art historians Pauline Koffi Vandet and Ida Højgaard Thjømøe will lecture on historical perspectives on art in public space and contemporary trends.
In the first part, Pauline Koffi Vandet takes an art-historical look at public art in a Norwegian context: how it has carried memory, identity and power, and how governance, anniversaries and political priorities shape visibility.
In the second part, Ida Højgaard Thjømøe presents Where We Meet – Art in Public Space, Stavanger municipality’s largest-ever investment in public art.
Thursday 26 February: 18:00 (after the Annual Meeting starting at 17:00)
An Evening in Hell with Trond Borgen: On Salvation with Ola Tjørhom
Lecturers are art critic and author Trond Borgen and theologian and art collector Ola Tjørhom. They explore medieval views of Hell and Heaven as both physical places and spiritual states.
Borgen will present images depicting the torments of Hell, often used as fear-based propaganda by the Church.
Tjørhom will, through works by Hans Sture Larsson (1910–75), a Swedish artist linked to Skåne modernism, present Jesus as a poor Palestinian rather than the blond European figure common in Western culture.
Welcome!
About the timings
The lecture on 22 January takes place on the same day as a subscription concert at Stavanger Concert Hall. To allow attendance at both, the lecture starts at 17:00 instead of 18:00.
The lectures on 19 and 26 February start at 18:00 and consist of two 45-minute sessions with a 15-minute break.
Registration
Those wishing to secure a place at all three lectures are invited to purchase a combined ticket. Single tickets may be available if places remain.
Price
The total price for all lectures is NOK 600 for members and NOK 700 for non-members.
If available, single lecture tickets cost NOK 250 for members of the Kunstvenneforeningen and NOK 300 for non-members.