Can’t See the Forest

This year the main exhibition takes you to the forest. The old pulp mill’s halls are filled to capacity with works depicting conifer and deciduous trees, shrubs and other vegetation. Inside this wilderness you can find animals, shape-shifting creatures, mythical beings and traces of diverse human activities. The forest and humanity are closely linked.

We meet solitary artists alone amongst the trees, traditional crafts, folklore and mythological motifs, abandoned log cabins and stave churches where nature and foreboding organic forms have gained the upper hand. For generations, we humans have gathered inspiration for myths, sagas and fairy tales from amongst the forest’s trees, or we have used the forest for hunting and foraging, exercise and contemplation – as a free space, a place of refuge and an escape route. The forest has the ability to bring out the animalistic and wild side of humans, the violence, death anxiety and lack of control.

The forest in Norway is often planned, planted and cultivated. At its best, however, it is a bustling ecosystem where trees, plants, fungus, animals and birds live side-by-side. The forest is the nature we humans have taken control of, shaped and climbed out of. At the same time, it continues to shape us, and it will apparently never stop fascinating and inspiring artists.

Represented in the exhibition are 76 artists, mostly from Norway, with ages spanning 140 years. Works that otherwise are rarely seen in the same space now stand side-by-side – from classic figurative paintings, traditional wool tapestries and woodcarvings to noise music, game aesthetics and an installation about cruising and sex between men.

Can’t See the Forest is a wilderness of artworks. Get lost in it!

Participating artists:

• Ada Bae Nilsen
• Adin Mušić
• Amin Olve Klungseth
• Amund Gravdal
• Amund Ulvestad
• Andreas Lian
• Andreas Skjelde
• Anna Asplind
• Anna Reivilä
• Anne Kampmann
• Anne-Lise Knoff
• Asbjørg Bjørnvold
• Astri Tonoian
• Bella Fasmer
• Bendik Riis
• Bjørn Mortensen
• Bror Ida Lennartsson
• Camilla Edström Ödemark
• Christer Karlstad
• Christian Blandhoel
• Dan Schein
• David Hancock
• Edvard Munch
• Eirik Falckner
• Erling Enger
• Espen Pedersen
• Fin Serck-Hanssen
• Grete Neseblod
• Grunde Isaksætre
• Gustav Wentzel
• Harald Lunde Helgesen
• Helga Bu
• Herman Haugland Gislerud
• Ida Montgomery Emblemsvåg
• Ingrid Torvund
• Janicke Schønning
• Javier Barrios
• Jennie Bringaker
• Jiska Huizing
• Joachim Cossais
• Johanna Hoffsten
• Jonas Daatland
• Jonas Mailand
• Kaare Ruud
• Kristian Øverland Dahl
• KVAE & BARK
• Leon Lindgren
• Linda Soh Trengereid
• Linn-Mari Staalnacke
• Lisbeth Andreassen Chumak
• Liv Mildrid Gjernes
• Live Skaar Skogesal
• Maja Ja Jansen
• Marcel Alcalá
• Marianne Wiig Storaas
• Mattias Härenstam
• Morten Juvet
• Ole Boger
• Per Berntsen
• Pernille With Madsen
• Pål Mikael Sterk-Hansen
• Roderick Hietbrink
• Sebastian Rusten
• Sigri Welhaven
• Siri Skjerve
• Sofie Berntsen
• Sverre Malling
• Tom Kosmo
• Tommy Høvik
• Tone Bjordam
• Trond Einar Solberg Indsetviken
• Ulf Nilsen
• Vanna Bowles
• William Heimdal
• Zama Cebsile Mwandla

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Exhibition opens 2 May 2026. Welcome!

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Photo on top of page: Detail from Live Skaar Skogesal, Eg drøymer meg burt, 2024 (Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen)