About Skjølsvik
IMPULSIVE. INQUIRING. CONTRARIAN.
EXPLORING EXPRESSION IN FIGURATIVE FORM
He is passionate about showing movement - of showing "frozen time". This is expressed in all his horse sculptures, in the sculpture by "the football player" John Arne Riise, by "the runner" Ingrid Kristiansen ... and in the sculpture "In the ski track" by Oddvar Brå ... to name a few.
BEST KNOWN AS A SCULPTOR
We encounter Skjølsvik’s sculptures all across Norway, from Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen in the north to Kilsund near Arendal in the south. They illustrate Norwegian culture, people, social life and history. Skjølsvik’s sculptural oeuvre is at once local, national and international in its scope.
SOCIAL COMMITMENT
Skjølsvik shows a wide range in both motifs and materials - both in his sculptures, drawings and in his paintings. He is concerned with church art, human challenges and destinies in life, but also the beauty of nature and the good of man.
Background
portraits
Occupation Portraits
Background
Skjølsvik is educated at the Norwegian Arts and Crafts School (1958-59), at the Central School of Arts and Crafts London (1960-61) and at the National Academy of Arts (1963-1967). In 1962 he made his debut at the Autumn Exhibition, the State Art Exhibition, where he has participated a total of 12 times. In 1986/87 he was a member of the National Jury.
In 1978 he made the medal for the Henrik Ibsen Jubileet. Knut Hamsun and Fridtjof Nansen are also reproduced by him.
Alongside his own practice, Skjølsvik has taught other artists over the years. From 1968 to 1972 he taught on the architecture programme at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). He later set up a painting school, Bjugn og Ørland malerskole, in partnership with Tone Løvset Ek.
In 1982, Skjølsvik became one of the first visual artists in Norway to show a "happening". During an exhibition at Trondhjems Kunstforening, he posed in the middle of the hall and modeled the portrait by the visual artist Kjartan Slettemark.
The finished portrait he gave the title 21.min. happening at Trondheim Art Museum. Skjølsvik has also created portrait busts by the visual artists Håkon Bleken, Odd Nerdrum and Asbjørn Høglund.
Skjølsvik works in classical tradition with inspiration from European artists such as Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet and Auguste Rodin. Sensuality, sincerity and natural fidelity are central to his art. Skjølsvik's sculptures have become landmarks in Norwegian landscapes that point to Norwegian working life, sports and history. The best known are Klippfiskkjerringa (1992) on the pier in Kristiansund, Mining worker (1999) in Longyearbyen on Svalbard, Seamen's family (2000) in Kilsund by Arendal, Emigrant memorial in Kvinesdal (2002), and John Arne Riise (2005) at Color Line Stadium in Ålesund.
Other key works include a marble sculpture of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus (1989) in Trondheim, Monument to the Jews Murdered at Auschwitz (2003) at Rosenlunden in Kristiansund and Father of the Street Children (2007) outside Oslo central station.
In 2014, Skjølsvik produced a set of stained glass windows for Nordland church in Kristiansund to mark the church’s centenary.
Skjølsvik’s horse sculptures are especially noteworthy. These include Rex Rodney (1998), portrayed at full gallop at the Forus racecourse in Stavanger, and Vesleblakken (1980), portrayed at a trot in the courtyard of the Øvre Rendalen folk museum. The latter sculpture has become a symbol: the Vesleblakken prize is awarded annually to someone who has made a significant contribution to improving the lives of others.
portraits
1962: Høglund the Sculptor sculpture, artist's collection
1964: Karl Erik Harr, Painter sculpture, artist's collection
1970: Portrait of Tone Ek painting, private collection
1978: Olea Crøger sculpture, Heddal
1979: Hans Hyllbakk sculpture, Surnadal
1981: General Otto Ruge sculpture, Elverum
1981: Portrait of Henrik Ibsen painting, artist´s collection
1980: Portrait of Odd Nerdrum painting, artist's collection
1982: Portrait of Kjartan Slettemark sculpture, artist's collection
1983: Edvard Drabløs sculpture, Sykkylven
1983: Professor Gjærevold Minister of the Environment, painting, Science Society, Oslo
1984: Ola B. Johannessen Theater Manager sculpture, Trondheim
1985: Knut Hamsun sculpture, Kjerringøy
1986: Ola Jonsen Styggpåjord sculpture, Øvre Rendalen
1987: The Runner / Ingrid Kristiansen sculpture, Ålesund and Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo
Sports College, Oslo
1990: Odd Nerdrum sculpture, artist's collection
1990: Esther Maria Bjørneboe painting, private collection
1990: Portrait of Håkon Bleken sculpture, artist's collection
1991: Major Holtemann sculpture, Stjørdal
1991: Johann Nygaardsvold sculpture, Hommelvik
1991: Olav Thon, Real-Estate Magnate sculpture, private collection
1992: Industrialist Olav "Laffen" Sunde sculpture, private collection
1994: Jon Leirfal, Member og Parliament sculpture, Hegra district
1996: Fredrikke Marie Qvam sculpture, Steinkjær
1999: Oddvar Brå sculpture, Hølonna, Melhus district
2000: Jens and Petrine Ekornes sculpture, Sykkylven
2000: Miss Coucheron sculpture, private collection
2005: Jon Arne Riise Color Line Stadium, Ålesund
2005: Fridtjof Nansen sculpture, artist's collection
Occupation Portraits
1979: Shoemaker sculpture, Trondheim
1980: Fiddler sculpture, artist's collection
1982: The Farmhand Bringing the Horses to the Stable relief, Ørland
1986: The Net Fishers sculpture, Ålesund
1990: Walking Man / Janitor sculpture, Trondheim
1990: Herring Girl sculpture, Ålesund
1992: Salt Cod Woman sculpture, Kristiansund
1997: Fisherman’s Wife with Children sculpture, Fosnavåg
1998: Rider on Horseback sculpture, private collection
1999: Miner sculpture, Longyearbyen
2000: The Seafarer’s Family sculpture, Kilsund
2000: Rookie Sailor sculpture, Hareid
2005: Arctic Seafarer’s Wife sculpture, Ishavsmuseet Aarvak, Brandal
2006: Gunnar the Church Builder sculpture, Tingvoll
2007: Sawmill Worker sculpture, Lillestrøm
2007: Fisherman-Farmer sculpture, Ulsteinvik
2007: Angvikingen sculpture, Angvik
2007: Sawmill Worker / Sawmill and Wood Worker sculptures, Angvik
2007: Nothoinn sculpture, Bjugn
2007: Father of the Street Children sculpture, Oslo Central Station, Oslo
Tore Bjørn Skjølsvik’s works can be found in the National Museum in Oslo, Trondheim Kunstmuseum and the Norwegian embassy in Rome. He has had many solo exhibitions, has participated in various group exhibitions, and has been awarded numerous scholarships and art prizes.
PERMANENT ART CONSTITUTIONS
As one of the few Norwegian artists, Skjølsvik has collected parts of his art in two art museums bearing his name.
In the fall of 2010, "Gallery Tore Bjørn Skjølsvik" opened at the Cultural Center in Angvik Gamle Handelssted outside Molde and in the spring of 2019 TBS Gallery opened in Oslo. Both museum galleries show a wide selection of his art.
ANNIVERSARY MEDAL
1978: Henrik Ibsen relief in platinum, silver and bronze. Norwegian Coin Cabinet, Oslo
SECOND WORLD WAR MEMORIALS
1997: Cissi Klein sculpture in collaboration with Tone Ek, Trondheim
2003: Monument to the Jews Murdered at Auschwitz sculpture, Rosenlunden, Kristiansund
RELIGIOUS MOTIFS AND CHURCH ART
1951: Jesus with the Robbers painting Tingvoll
1972: Calvary painting, Tingvoll
1972: Holy Communion in Nes Church painting, private collection
1973: Christ Speaks painting, Tingvoll
1985: Saint Swithun sculpture, Stavanger
1989: The Mary Sculpture originally in St. Olav's church, Trondheim
1989: Nidaros Cathedral painting, private collection
1991: Church Interior painting, Tingvoll
1992: Tingvoll church etching, Tingvoll
1996: Cathedral Interior painting, Trondheim
1998: The Pilgrim sculpture in collaboration with Liv Bergh, Tønsberg
2000: Oslo Cathedral painting, Church City Mission, Oslo
2000: "The New Jerusalem", sculpture, Spjelkavik Church, Ålesund
2001: Spring Day in Tingvoll Church painting, private collection
2003: The Great Hand sculpture, Church City Mission, Oslo
2014: The Easter Message stained glass, Nordlandet church, Kristiansund
IN EUROPE
1963: The Boy sculpture, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Rome
1982: Mother and Child sculpture, Valjevo, Serbia
HORSES
1975: Vesleblakken sculpture, Rendalen
1980: "Vesleblakken", sculpture National Museum, Oslo.
1987: Over a Hurdel sculpture, private collection
1977: Horse and Foal sculpture, Sunndalsøra
1985: Horse and Rider sculpture, Tingvoll
1990: Rearing Horse and On Rearing Horseback sculpture, private collection
1998: Rex Rodney sculpture, Stavanger
NORWEGIAN HISTORY
2002: Emigrants Monument sculpture, Kvinesdal
LANDSCAPES
1979: Ravnkloa painting, Bjugn
1981: Sunshine after the Rain painting, Ørland
1993: View from Botngård – Bjugn painting, private collection
1986: Kristiansund Harbour painting, private collection
1994: Boathouses in Snow ink wash, graphics, Trondheim
1997: View from Nidelven painting, VY, Trondheim
1999: View from Tingvoll towards Angvik painting, private collection
2000: Outdoor Restaurant painting, private collection
2000: My Mother’s Childhood Home painting, private collection
2000: View from a Porch painting, private collection
2001: Brosundet Ålesund painting, private collection
2001: Wiev from Eikeland near Arendal painting, private collection
2001: By Akerselven I painting, private collection
2002: In the Garden painting, private collection
2002: View from Ravnkloa painting, private collection
2004: By Akerselven II" painting, private collection
2004: View from Store Buskeskjær I painting, private collection
2007: Square in Prague painting, private collection
2008: View from Store Buskeskjær II painting, private ownership
2009: The Vegetable Market painting, private collection
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