Jorunn Hancke Øgstad

Jorunn Hancke Øgstad is a Norwegian artist exploring the language of abstraction through painting and sculpture. Using fabric dye, resin and plastics on unprimed canvas, the artist mimics watercolor, spray paint and print processes, often within the same work, co-opting techniques commonly found in expressionist, street and pop art practices.

Traversing historical periods in art and design, Øgstad finds inspiration everywhere from 19th century spiritual abstraction to the work of female contemporaries. Many of her works feature bleaching and blocking processes which see areas of the works become translucent, thereby letting light through the surface of the work.

Born in 1979 in Bærum, Norway, Øgstad lives and works in Oslo. Notable solo exhibitions include Downpour, Sandefjord Kunstforening; Triangel, Haugar Art Museum, Tønsberg, Norway; Nye Malerier (New Paintings), Formuesforvaltning, Oslo; a 2019 presentation at Frieze London in Regents Park and ‘Crocodile Tears’ at the Kunsthall Oslo, part of Munch on the Move, a series of exhibitions initiated by Norway’s Munch Museum.

Notable group exhibitions include Oppgjørets time (The Reckoning of Time), Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikkoden, Norway; Kunst bak Glasset, a collection exhibition at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikkoden, Norway; …And Justice for All at VI, VII, Oslo.

The artist’s works are in private collections around the world, as well as the esteemed collections of Moderna Museum, Stockholm; The City of Oslo Art Collection; Equinor Art Collection, KORO, Örebro Konsthall, Henie Onstad Art Center and Norway’s National Museum.