Carpets + Ceramics

This is not the first time Hernes and Been have exhibited together; the two enjoy each other’s company and complement each other well. Brita’s tapestries are bold and vibrant, and there’s something fundamentally primal in Barbro’s ceramics.

Barbro Hernes’ ceramics are dominated by earthy tones and marked by a raw originality that does not contradict the refinement of form. Her work lies on the border between the functional and the sculptural, with a clear emphasis on the latter. When the strict S-shaped dishes come alive with dynamic inner decoration, the expression of Hernes’ ceramics can best be summarized as experiential tranquillity.

Since 1993, Hernes has worked with plastic decoration on S-shaped dishes built over plaster molds, and with large boxes/chests with lids. She uses stoneware clay and decorates with slip, clay, glaze, and salt. The casting of porcelain is also an important part of her practice. Firing takes place in an oil-fired kiln at around 1300 degrees celsius.

Her fascination lies in clay as a medium of expression—from soft and pliable through the full scale of dry and hard. This spectrum offers countless possibilities—an endless source of inspiration. Clay, water, salt, natural materials, are transformed through processing back to a natural state.

Hernes was born in 1951 in Northern Norway. She completed her education at the National College of Art and Design (Statens Håndverk og Kunstindustriskole) in Oslo, receiving her diploma in 1981. Before that, she worked as an apprentice with Ivar Tandberg in Åsgårdstrand and with Margrethe von der Lippe in Oslo. From 1990 to 1993, she stayed in Zimbabwe, a study stay that has left its mark on her ceramic work.

She lives in Barkåker outside Tønsberg, where her ceramic studio was completed in 1984.

Brita Been has worked with ethnically naive expressions and drawn inspiration from the Norwegian Middle Ages. However, her latest works point toward a more modernist form. This is not to say that she has completely cut ties with folk art, but she is now more focused on the rectangle and straight lines—with inspiration drawn, among others, from Mondrian, who believed that nature’s forms could be reduced to the horizontal, the vertical, and to primary colours.

Her tapestries are bold and commanding, in a rough and strongly coloured style. The technique is traditional tapestry weaving, and the materials are linen and wool. The tapestries are meant to assert themselves as art, whether on the floor or the wall—as decoration or interior design. By opening up to such multifaceted intentions, her works challenge the traditional division between the useful and the beautiful in art. When she sits at the loom, the format and composition are already clear, what remains is the excitement and anticipation of how the expression will manifest in the materials and technique. Energy, curiosity, and joy in the work drive the weaving forward, and it’s always fascinating to cut and unroll the finished tapestry.

Brita Been was born in Moss in 1947. She was a guest student at the Bergen School of Arts and Crafts from 1972–73 and graduated from the National Teachers’ College for Arts and Crafts in Oslo from 1976–79. She has also had study stays in Finland, France, Zambia, and more. Brita Been now lives in Porsgrunn.

All exhibitions are sales exhibitions. The artists will be present during the installation week and at the exhibition opening.

Opening hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 11:00–17:00
Saturday and Sunday: 12:00–16:00
Closed on Mondays.

Text translated by Oslo Kunstforening in 2025