Iforum

This year’s summer exhibition at the Astrup Fearnley Museum will feature significant works by Synnøve Anker Aurdal (1908 – 2000), who was one of Norway’s most prominent textile artists.

Her vast knowledge of both the Norwegian weaving tradition and the contemporary art discourse made her a true pioneer within the field. In her oeuvre, she moved from traditional craftsmanship to arts and crafts and eventually into visual art, a genre in which she has emerged as a central figure.

During her lifetime, she contributed greatly to the recognition of textiles as a form of artistic expression. Early on in her work, Anker Aurdal incorporated the non-figurative as a central element and she was crucial in the launching of modernism in Norway.

This exhibition is comprised of works that already are in the Astrup Fearnley Collection, as well as a selection on loan, which together will form a unique and seminal overview of her outstanding body of work.

Synnøve Anker Aurdal was educated at a weaving school run by sisters Karen and Ragnhild Prestgard in Lillehammer and at the Statens Kvindelige Industriskole (arts and crafts college for teachers) in Oslo from 1932 to 1934.

In 1941, she had her debut show with an exhibition at the prestigious Kunstnerforbundet. Afterwards, she created several public commissions, including Høyseteteppet (1958-61) in Håkonshallen in Bergen (with Ludvig Eikaas and Sigrun Berg) and Norway’s gift to Iceland for its 1100^th anniversary in 1974.