Hall 2
The exhibition in Hall 2 explores how words, memories, and experiences can be transformed into materiality. Materials are fundamental to Borgny Svalastog’s artistic practice, serving as meaning-generating elements on par with language and narrative.
The exhibition “Go, and you shall arrive” consists of new textile based works that are connected in a cohesive installation. Each color, shape, and motif bears traces of a life lived, while simultaneously connecting to broader narratives within art history, cultural history, and religion. The works emerge from personal experiences, but they also point toward universal themes such as belonging, care, faith, loss, and community.
While the narrative voice is that of the artist, the works create a space where the audience may recognize their own memories and experiences. The exhibition explores how an individual is shaped through their encounters with the community, and examines the experiences, compromises, and sacrifices that underpin our lives.
Borgny Svalastog (b. 1943) is a key artist within Telemark Art Museum’s collection, where she is represented by monotypes, embroidery, textiles, sculpture, and installations. Her 2021 solo exhibition, “All Flesh Is Like Grass,” served as a major presentation of her artistic practice, featuring works spanning from 1984 to 2020. In this instance, Svalastog’s work is presented in Hall 2 as part of the exhibition “Go, and you shall arrive.”
The first gallery space within Hall 2 also features Theodor Kittelsen’s Svelgfoss series.
Borgny Farstad Svalastog (b. 1943) is a Norwegian visual artist who studied at Vestlandets Kunstakademi (1988–89). She works with a wide range of media, including drawing, textiles, printmaking, pastel, sculpture, and installation.
Svalastog is perhaps best known for her textiles and embroidery; she has created numerous episcopal copes and ecclesiastical textiles for more than 40 churches. She has produced large-scale artistic commissions, and her work has been bought by various museums and collections, including Lillehammer Art Museum, Kunstsilo (Sørlandets Kunstmuseum), and Arts Council Norway.
Borgny Svalastog has been appointed a Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav.
