Mellom mennesker

Exhibition locations and dates:
Stavanger Art Museum
19 January – 14 April 2024

Trondheim Art Museum
25 May – 1 September 2024

The National Museum, Oslo
10 October 2023 – 26 January 2025

Kunstsilo, Kristiansand
1 March – 1 June 2026

Among the young artists who debuted in Norway during the interwar years, one who eventually became highly respected and relevant was Else Hagen (1914–2010). She is often considered one of the first female artists in Norway to create large publicly commissioned works. Before this, however, she developed her artistic talent through painting and printmaking. She eventually prioritized works made with other materials, with the highpoint being the monumental Samfunn / Society (1960–66) in the Norwegian Parliament’s stairwell.

The exhibition Else Hagen – Mellom mennesker / Between People focused on Hagen’s artistic practice, particularly her paintings from the 1940s and ’50s and her extensive production of printed works.

A central artist in the post-war era, Hagen’s ‘figurative modernism’ emphasized form and color. She paid special attention to the formal structure and abstract elements in her paintings, while combining them with subject matter addressing personal relationships, ruptures in the nuclear family, and women’s experiences.

Her works challenged traditional ideas about family life and gender roles. The exhibition raised questions such as: Did her art contribute to feminist currents in the post-war era? These and other topics relating to Hagen’s art were discussed in a book published in conjunction with the exhibition, featuring articles by Vibece Salthe (Stavanger Art Museum), Frida Forsgren (University of Agder), Ida Grøttum (Trondheim Art Museum), and Lin Stafne-Pfisterer and Øystein Ustvedt (both from the National Museum, Oslo).

Else Hagen – Mellom mennesker / Between People was a travelling exhibition that opened at Stavanger Art Museum in January 2024. It then traveled to Trondheim Art Museum and the National Museum in Oslo, before concluding its tour at Kunstsilo in Kristiansand.

The core of the exhibition consisted of about 70 works of art, and it was adapted to suit the different venues.