Gunnar S. Gundersen

Gunnar S. Gundersen (1921–1983) or Gunnar S. (as he liked to be called) was a Norwegian modernist painter. When he chose his modernistic form he was quickly acknowledged as one of the leaders in the abstract art form in Norway. Gunnar S. is now regarded as one of the most significant painter of the Norwegian post-war period. Even though he never received the international acclaim he might have deserved, he became a unifying figure among his contemporaries in Norway. His work has been an inspiration for many artists in later generations.

Gunnar S. was among the young artists who attended the National Academy of Fine Art in Oslo in the years after Norway was liberated from Nazi-Germany. This generation wanted to free themselves for the traditional Norwegian figurative painting and sought inspiration from leading artists in Europe at the time. Danish artist Richard Mortensen, as well as Auguste Herbin, Serge Poliakoff and Victor Vasarely. From the 1960s and to his death in 1983 Gunnar S. developed the expression he is known for.

This expression is at first glance a rendition of flat color fields. However, through extensive knowledge of theories of visual perception Gunnar S. is able to transform the color fields into images with a unique spacial quality, what Gunnar S. himself called "inconsistent space."

External links

* [http://www.gunnars.no Website (Norwegian text)]