GjenboerMartin Sæther
Press release
The work of Martin Sæther has its starting point in humble materials that are so ubiquitous in Oslo homes, architecture and interiors, they are often overlooked: vestiges of vintage wallpapers, patterned and ornamented domestic items like decorated toilet paper and paper party napkins.
Often his works revisit relics from the history of Norwegian design, leftover in apartments from previous owners, and sometimes unwanted. It is from this concept that the exhibition gets its title. “Gjenboer” is an archaic term, referring to the presence or absence of sightlines either into or out of neighboring apartments and homes, and the use of this term is restricted almost exclusively to housing advertisements.
Building on previous exhibitions, Sæther’s exhibition at VI, VII groups several kinds of works together, including 4 paintings cast in paper pulp that resemble “strietapet,” a wallpaper first introduced to Norway in the 1950s, and which came to fill almost every home over the next two decades. A plaster cast is also included of an imagined fixture (Untitled, 2022) as well as several works on paper constructed from vintage paper napkins so popular that enthusiasts have built entire collections around them.
Martin Sæther (b. 1986, NO) lives and works in Oslo. He is a graduate from Oslo’s National Academy of Fine Art. Recent exhibitions include Min Strie, Femtensesse, Oslo; Rute, Oppland Kunstener, Lillehammer, Post, De- stiny’s Atelier and a solo exhibition at UKS, Oslo.
Forthcoming exhibitions include “Jeg kaller det kunst” at Norway’s National Museum (Nasjonalmuseet), curated by Randi Godø and Geir Haraldseth.
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Martin Sæther, Untitled, 2022
Collage on handmade apper, artist frame
32 × 30 × 3.5 cm (12 ⅝ × 11 ¾ × 1 ⅜ inches)
Collage on handmade apper, artist frame
32 × 30 × 3.5 cm (12 ⅝ × 11 ¾ × 1 ⅜ inches)
Martin Sæther, Untitled, 2022
Acrylic plaster and pigment
18 × 22.5 × 3 cm (7 ⅛ × 8 ⅞ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Acrylic plaster and pigment
18 × 22.5 × 3 cm (7 ⅛ × 8 ⅞ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Martin Sæther, Strie #4, 2022
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
155 × 110 × 3 cm (61 × 43 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
155 × 110 × 3 cm (61 × 43 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Martin Sæther, Strie #4, 2022
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
155 × 110 × 3 cm (61 × 43 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches) (61 × 43 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
155 × 110 × 3 cm (61 × 43 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches) (61 × 43 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Martin Sæther, Untitled, 2022
Acrylic plaster and pigment
40 × 49 × 3 cm (15 ¾ × 19 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Acrylic plaster and pigment
40 × 49 × 3 cm (15 ¾ × 19 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Martin Sæther, Untitled, 2022
Acrylic plaster and pigment
40 × 49 × 3 cm (15 ¾ × 19 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches) (15 ¾ × 19 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Acrylic plaster and pigment
40 × 49 × 3 cm (15 ¾ × 19 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches) (15 ¾ × 19 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Martin Sæther, Strie #5, 2022
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
134 × 95 × 3 cm (52 ¾ × 37 ⅜ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
134 × 95 × 3 cm (52 ¾ × 37 ⅜ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Martin Sæther, Flowers #1, 2022
Collage on handmade apper, artist frame
22 × 31 × 3 cm (8 ⅝ × 12 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Collage on handmade apper, artist frame
22 × 31 × 3 cm (8 ⅝ × 12 ¼ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Martin Sæther, Strie #6, 2022
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
62 × 77 × 3 cm (24 ⅜ × 30 ⅜ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
62 × 77 × 3 cm (24 ⅜ × 30 ⅜ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Martin Sæther, Strie #7, 2022
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
105 × 91 × 3 cm (41 ⅜ × 35 ⅞ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
105 × 91 × 3 cm (41 ⅜ × 35 ⅞ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Martin Sæther, Untitled, 2022
Collage on handmade paper
67 × 34 cm (26 ⅜ × 13 ⅜ inches)
Collage on handmade paper
67 × 34 cm (26 ⅜ × 13 ⅜ inches)
Martin Sæther, Flowers #2, 2022
Collage on handmade paper, artist frame
51 × 63 × 3.5 cm (20 ⅛ × 24 ¾ × 1 ⅜ inches)
Collage on handmade paper, artist frame
51 × 63 × 3.5 cm (20 ⅛ × 24 ¾ × 1 ⅜ inches)
Martin Sæther, Strie #8, 2022
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
130 × 85 × 3 cm (51 ⅛ × 33 ½ × 1 ⅛ inches)
Acrylic paint and paper on canvas
130 × 85 × 3 cm (51 ⅛ × 33 ½ × 1 ⅛ inches)
