Havard Homstvedt
Fetishizing a relationship between the canvas, the paint, and the artist’s brushstroke that coalesces to spawn highly textured surfaces, Haavard Homstvedt fathers paintings along with prints, sculptures, and installation work, aiming to simultaneously cherish materiality and seduce the viewer. Through the influence of handicraft, which has the power to engender memories of the home, craft, and simplicity, Homstvedt imbues his work with a distinctive nostalgia—both pleasurably sentimental and ominously melancholic. His persisting enchantment with manual work and arts and crafts brings an inviting familiarity to his otherwise ambiguous and abstract oeuvre. This duality creates an “illusionistic space,” conducive to conceptual interpretation and sincere reflection, forcing the viewer to be responsible for decoding Homstvedt's hidden motives.
Homstvedt has recently displayed solo exhibitions at Galerie Anne de Villepoix in Paris, Inman Gallery in Houston, Kunstverket in Oslo, Galleri Ismene in Trondheim, Norway, Annarumma in Naples, Galleri Riis in Oslo and Stockholm, and Highlight Gallery in San Francisco. Additionally he has contributed to group exhibitions at Galleri Riis in Oslo, Castelbasso in Teramo, Italy, FRAC Auvergne in France, the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo, Anna Helwing Gallery in Los Angeles, and Feigen Contemporary in New York. He participated in a one year residency …
Fetishizing a relationship between the canvas, the paint, and the artist’s brushstroke that coalesces to spawn highly textured surfaces, Haavard Homstvedt fathers paintings along with prints, sculptures, and installation work, aiming to simultaneously cherish materiality and seduce the viewer. Through the influence of handicraft, which has the power to engender memories of the home, craft, and simplicity, Homstvedt imbues his work with a distinctive nostalgia—both pleasurably sentimental and ominously melancholic. His persisting enchantment with manual work and arts and crafts brings an inviting familiarity to his otherwise ambiguous and abstract oeuvre. This duality creates an “illusionistic space,” conducive to conceptual interpretation and sincere reflection, forcing the viewer to be responsible for decoding Homstvedt's hidden motives.
Homstvedt has recently displayed solo exhibitions at Galerie Anne de Villepoix in Paris, Inman Gallery in Houston, Kunstverket in Oslo, Galleri Ismene in Trondheim, Norway, Annarumma in Naples, Galleri Riis in Oslo and Stockholm, and Highlight Gallery in San Francisco. Additionally he has contributed to group exhibitions at Galleri Riis in Oslo, Castelbasso in Teramo, Italy, FRAC Auvergne in France, the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo, Anna Helwing Gallery in Los Angeles, and Feigen Contemporary in New York. He participated in a one year residency at the Cité International des Arts in Paris and at Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo.