The Artist- Inghild Karlsen

Inghild Karlsen's sculpture in Øksnes reflects her interest in the dialogue between Nordic culture and contemporary art. She focuses on the interaction created by using traditional materials and shapes, yet translating them to a visual expression relevant to our time and our lives.



Inghild Karlsen has a background in textile art. One distinct aspect of her artistic career has been to translate this traditional expression to contemporary art. In so doing, she helps transfer something that has historically been confined to a female cultural sphere to the traditional realm of visual art.



The sculpture at Øksnes was created through a dialogue between a private group of art aficionados in the municipality and the artist. Inghild Karlsen was born and raised in Tromsø, and she has a strong connection to the cultural community in Northern Norway.



She has also incorporated Northern Norwegian culture as a specific element in her visual expression. This is evident in her major projects in Norway and Italy, as well as last year, when she participated in the Sao Paulo Biennale in Brazil.



Inghild Karlsen uses a lot of different expressions in her artworks. He works with sculptures, performance art and video art, and she has also been actively involved in creating performances where music, theatre, images, language and dance converge in the spirit of the Gesamtkunstwerk, a tradition dating back to the baroque period, but which has been central in a lot of contemporary art. 

Inghild Karlsen has had solo exhibitions in Norway since 1979. She has also exhibited in Germany, Denmark, the United States, Japan and Poland. In addition, she has participated in group exhibitions in the Nordic countries, United States, Italy, Germany and Poland.