The summer exhibition at Telemark Art Museum is a comprehensive presentation of Gunvor Nervold Antonsen. The exhibition consists of large wooden sculptures, reliefs, textile montages, paintings and a poetry collection.
In the exhibition I meg finnes du (In Me You Exist), Nervold Antonsen explores the sense of powerlessness one may feel when economic and political decisions destroy nature. Instead of despair, she chooses to look to nature’s own strength, expressed through the materiality of art. Both the exhibition and the accompanying poetry illuminate nature’s power and resilience, and the deep bond of love between humans and the natural world.
The exhibition is an extension of Det bestandige (The Enduring), shown at Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall earlier in 2026. Det bestandige encompasses a wide range of understandings of nature — from the idea of nature as steadfast and lasting, to something eternal and ever-present, stronger than humankind.
“My relationship with nature is a vital part of my life and artistic practice. It shapes how I live — being in and close to nature on nature’s own terms — but also my belief in nature and the human being as one entity, a larger ecocentric force. In my work, I try to remain conscious of creating something that, like us, is not necessarily meant to last.”
– Gunvor Nervold Antonsen
Gunvor Nervold Antonsen (b. 1974) lives and works in Rollag in Numedal. With an experimental, energetic, and rough-hewn artistic language, she explores society and existence, often rooted in personal and local references. The fundamental forces of nature — its rawness and its cycles — are in constant dialogue with Nervold Antonsen’s artistic expression.
Literary texts and performative readings are also central to her practice. She has published works in collaboration with authors, and her own poetry collections Vi er margen (2019) and I meg finnes du (2026) are published by H//O//F. Nervold Antonsen also collaborates with musicians in performances of her texts, such as Fra samtaler med (2023) and Lyset i din kropp (2024).
Nervold Antonsen was educated at Forsøksgymnaset in Oslo, Usko-Ayar Escuela de pintura Amazónica, the Bergen Academy of Art and Design, Kunsthochschule Berlin Weissensee, and the University of Oslo.
She has exhibited at venues including Kunstnernes Hus, Trondheim Kunstmuseum, Kunstnerforbundet, Kunsthall Stavanger, Lillehammer Kunstmuseum, and Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall. Her works are represented in the collections of the National Museum, KODE, Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, the Government Quarter, Norges Bank, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and she has created public artworks for several institutions. She has received numerous awards, most recently the Ingeborg and Per Palle Storm Honorary Award (2024).
The exhibition has received financial support from Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond, Kulturrådet and Ingerid, Synnøve og Elias Fegerstens stiftelse for norske bildende kunstnere.