New works by Munch at Avinor Oslo Airport

-We entered into an agreement with the Munch Museum because we wanted to bring works by one of our country’s most famous artists to the general public. We keep our display of works by Edvard Munch topical by presenting new original works each year. Bearing in mind that the theme of one of this year’s works is love, we thought it would be appropriate to mark the changeover with a wedding, says Øyvind Hasaas, director of Oslo Airport.

Until April last year, the Munch Museum had never exhibited an original work by Munch outside the confines of the museum. This changed with the signing of a 10-year agreement between Avinor and the Munch Museum concerning the display of original works by Edvard Munch at Oslo Airport.

-We are very happy with this partnership, which really contributes to our vision and ambition to enrich the lives of people worldwide with Munch’s art, says Stein Olav Henrichsen, director of the Munch Museum.

The two works that have just gone on display at Oslo Airport are the painting Two Women on the Beach (1933–35) and one of Munch’s original lithographic printing stones with the motif On the Waves of Love (1896).

On the Waves of Love shows a man and a woman, apparently floating out at sea. The woman’s hair blends into the waves, blurring the distinction between humans and nature. She is the more powerful of the two figures, her expression is calm and she seems happy in the waves’ embrace. The man appears to be clinging to her face, and is engulfed in her hair in a way that renders him almost invisible. Women and the sea recur frequently in Munch’s art, often expressing his ambivalent attitude to love.

Two Women on the Beach is a powerful expression of longing, death and loneliness. Here Munch has painted his younger sister Inger in a white dress, standing beside the family matriarch, Aunt Karen, who took care of the family after the death of Munch’s mother. In this painting, the older women resembles the figure of Death, while the younger woman gazes yearningly towards the future.

The works on display are replaced with different original works every one to two years and form part of Oslo Airport’s ambitious art programme. A specially designed display cabinet has been installed in the new international concourse, making the works easily accessible for both domestic and international passengers.

Celebrating love with a wedding

Since the theme of one of the artworks is love, and to celebrate both art and love, we invited, in partnership with Avinor, a couple to marry in front of the works on Valentine’s Day. The lucky couple were Tonje Elise Dalbein Jensen (37) and Halvard Kulseth (42), both from Holter. The couple were married by the airport chaplain, Torbjørn Olsen. In addition to the wedding ceremony, the couple will receive NOK 10,000 to put towards their honeymoon and an exclusive VIP tour of the Munch Museum.

For further information and images, please contact:

Liv-Randi R. Holann, communications consultant.

E. liv-randi.holann@munchmuseet.no T: +47 92 69 68 25

Joachim Wester Andersen, communications manager, Oslo Airport
E: jwa@avinor.no T: +47 41 00 44 55