ERIK WESSEL
Reflections from a varied arts career

Generally, I say about my works that I am trying to give them wide room for interpretation. This is not hindered by the fact that many of my works have concrete associations at their base, or that beneath the work a picture may bring up associations I hadn’t thought about at its formation. This is a well-known phenomenon for many artists of my generation, and surely for many younger ones as well.
Click on the pictures to see them enlarged.
From 7 May 2022, 70 of my works will be exhibited in the Vestfossen Art Laboratory.
I agreed with artistic director Morten Viskum to show the breadth of my production, and I brought pictures from as far back as 1963.The exhibition mainly consists of large-format photos with a varied range of motifs, although the main focus is interiors and "corrida de toros" - bullfighting. The title of the exhibition is "OPPLØPSSIDE". The title has a reference to my previous exhibition "SISTE INDRE" in Vanntårnet at Nesodden, a circular room. Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium is a great place to exhibit, with a top professional staff.
On 12 May - the week after the opening at Vestfossen - the exhibition opened
"UPPER CUT" in gallery KB Contemporary in Oslo. These are pictures I took - with Gunnar Frydenlund as assistant - at a professional boxing match in Jordalhallen in Oslo on 1 April. The exhibition is curated by Knut Blomstrøm, the gallery's owner and sovereign boss. My relationship with boxing is – like my relationship with bullfighting – characterized by ambivalence. But both themes have extensive history as an artistic motif.
My last exhibition of 2020 was a viewing of 40 graphic works at Galleri Vanntårnet in Nesodden. It was so sweet for once to be able to only display graphic works! Over time, all of my old judgements against computer graphics have vanished. Whether some people think I should limit my work to lithographs, etching, or serigraphy does not bother me. The key matter is to show expression. Period!