Exhibition: The forbidden Forest at the Stavanger Art Museum

Hafsten's residence at Grefsen in Oslo was home to the paintings until they were donated to the art museum in Stavanger. In the exhibition The Forbidden Forest, the space between the private and the public becomes a focal point for taking a closer look at the various artists' works and the role they play today. The exhibition emphasises that the museum is also a scenographic space where our experience of place is linked to architecture and location, as well as our own condition.

For several years, Siqueland has explored the relevance of painting through landscape painting

He has been particularly interested in the relationship between painting and geographical locations, and has investigated how the relationship with the surroundings affects the artistic process. In larger installations, this relationship is emphasised by displaying works layer upon layer. These spatial works have the gaze turned towards the viewer, who is surrounded by the painting and becomes an actor in a landscape outside themselves. Siqueland has used this type of inverted gaze to focus on the changes that occur within and outside ourselves as the landscape around us changes.

The artists in Halvdan Hafsten's collection

Several of the artists in Halvdan Hafsten's collection had a strong connection to the place where they grew up or worked as artists. Kai Fjell's (1907-89) upbringing in Lier characterised his artistic practice, where motherhood and the relationship between inner and outer space were part of his symbolic world. Harald Dal (1902-72) explored cubism in relation to nature at Nesodden, where he lived and worked. Enebakk's farming and forestry environment left its clear mark on Erling Enger's (1899-1990) circle of motifs. Thorbjørn Lie-Jørgensen's (1900-61) connection to the archipelago outside Lillesand was the starting point for many of his paintings. Ragnar Kraugerud (1909-87) drew inspiration from his childhood on the family farm at Tanum in Bærum. In several of Arne Ekeland's (1908-94) political paintings, we recognise the environment at Eidsvoll where he lived and worked. Reidar Aulie (1904-77) was interested in the fate of individuals and often painted situations from an urban space in his native Oslo. Alexander Schultz (1901-81) came close to his subjects, whether from Røa, where he lived, or in pictures from Italy and France.

Opening hours at Stavanger Art Museum: 

Monday: Closed

Tuesday: 11.00-15.00

Wednesday: 11.00-15.00

Thursday: 11.00-19.00

Friday: 11.00-15.00

Saturday: 11.00-16.00

Sunday: 11.00-16.00