Beyond reality.

In spite of the fact that Norway is a small country, the art scene today is quite complex. Only in the last twenty years the scene has changed from being a lucid milieu with artists organized according to their media, till todays mixture. Almost everything is allowed, as long as someone is willing to watch. In addition to the traditional techniques; painting, drawing and sculpture, you will find concept- and land art, video, film and photography, documentary, text and any material you can think of. The postmodern concept of using anything that is usable for your purpose dominates the scene. In the middle of this, you can still find artists that are true to their media. Not because they are old-fashioned but because they believe in what they have to tell and the way they tell it. Morten Løberg is one of these!

Morten Løberg (born 1953) started out in the organized amateur photography movement, a milieu that combined ambitious amateurs with professional photographers wanting to work artistic. A high degree of technical perfection combined with a clear conception of form characterizes the best of this movement and has clearly given Løberg his platform. In the 1970s he joined a mixed group of photographers who started an organization for artists working with camera based art. He has for years also been active as a journalist and a critic.

In a catalogue following an exhibition in 1982 the Norwegian collector and founder of the Preus Museum of Photography asked: «How little can a picture contain and yet tell something? How sparsely can a photographer use his means?» In the images «The Bridge I» and «The Bridge II» from 20 years later we still se Loberg´s preference for concise and almost abstract motives. We se an individual and contemporary expression combined with roots to the subjective vision style that grew forth in the 1950s and 1960s. Well known photographers like the American Minor White, the German Otto Steinert and the Swede Hans Hammarskiöld are natural to mention in this connection. Løberg´s affinity to abstract form; to se the beauty in modern life and its products, also give the images a touch of New Vision. Their fascination for odd viewpoints, contrasts and texture seem also to fascinate Løberg. The two images of the cars on the bridge captivate in more ways than one. They are quite concrete, but at the same time, they give a notion of far more beyond reality. At the same time there is a tactile and abstract feeling about the images that give us the sheer enjoyment of looking.

Horten, 2003

Hanne Holm-Johnsen

Director

Norwegian Museum of Photography - Preus Museum of Photography

(Catalogue text written by former director of the Norwegian Museum of Photography - Preus Museum of Photography for the 6th. Int. Art Biennial, Sharjah Art Museum, United Arab Emirates).

- Sekretær Forbundet Frie Fotografer 1977/78.

- Viseformann/juryformann Forbundet Frie Fotografer 1978/79.

- Styreformann Forbundet Frie Fotografer 1979/80.

- Medlem av fotografjuryen, Høstutstillingen 1979.

- Styremedlem Fotografiakademiet i Vågå 1997 til 1999.

1974: Fast tilknyttet tidsskriftet Fotografi.

1981: Fast tilknyttet Dagbladet som fotografianmelder (til 1984).

1987: Fast tilknyttet Dagbladet som fotografianmelder (til 1995).

Kunstnerisk aktivitet (utvalg):

1979: Høstutstillingen, Kunstnernes Hus.

1979: ”Fotografi her og nå”, Høvikodden kunstsenter.

1980: Asker kunstforening.

1982: Preus Fotomuseum.

1983: Høstutstillingen.

1983: Vossajazz, Voss.

1984: ”Contemporary European Photography”. Benteler Galleries Inc., Houston (USA).

1992: Høstutstillingen.

1994: Østlandsutstillingen.

2000: ”Konstruksjon eller virkelighet”, Norsk museum for fotografi/Preus fotomuseum.

2001: ”Fokus”, Norsk museum for fotografi/Preus fotomuseum.

2002: ”Kunstnere fra Frysja”,Telemark fylkesgalleri, Notodden.

2003: The 6th. Int. Art Biennial, Sharjah Art Museum, De forente arabiske emirater.

2003: ”Frysjakunstnere”. Bærum kunstforening.

2003: ”Norsk gullalder”, Norsk museum for fotografi/Preus fotomuseum.

2004: Fotografiens Hus, Oslo.

2007: Nordic Light Int. Festival of Photography, Kristiansund.

2007: ”Arctic pinhole”, Galleri Svalbard, Longyearbyen.

2009: Fotografiens Hus, Oslo.

2009: Nordic Light Int. Festival of Photography, Kristiansund.

2009: Galleri BOA (Bildende kunstnere Oslo/Akershus), Oslo.

2009: Østlandsutstillingen.

2011: ”The View”, Naples Art Museum (FL). Gallery 27, Santa Barbara (CA). Palm Beach Photographic Centre (FL).

Stipend (utvalg):

1979: Statens kunstnerstipned.

1980: Norsk kulturråd.

1986: Statens kunstnerstipned.

2003: OCA/Utenriksdepartementet (Office for Contemporary Art Norway).

2003: Statens kunstnerstipend (Svalbardstipendet).

2008: Statens kunstnerstipend.

2010: Ingrid Lindbäck Langaards Stiftelses kunstnerstipend.

Innkjøpt (utvalg):

1978: Norsk kulturråd.

1980: Norsk museum for fotografi/Preus fotomuseum.

1980: Norsk kulturråd.

1981: Biblioteque Nationale, Paris.

1982: Norsk kulturråd.

1983: Norsk museum for fotografi/Preus fotomuseum.

1987: Norsk kulturråd.

2001: Norsk museum for fotografi/Preus fotomuseum.

2005: Oslo kommune.

For fullstendig CV, se www.mortenloberg.no.