The art at Sentralen

When Sentralen opened in 2016, five artists were commissioned to create art for the building: Vanessa Baird, Hanne Friis, Jan Christensen & Marius Dahl, Are Mokkelbost, and Camilla Løw.

They were given considerable freedom to choose which part of our 12,000-square metre building they wished to decorate and how they wanted their work to be expressed. We are proud to feature some of Norway's most renowned artists in our building, and especially that these artworks are accessible to all visitors!

Since then, artist Anette Moi has painted a mural on the bar wall of the Mynt rooftop terrace, and some of Tom Sanberg's photographs of the Dextra Musica instrument collection are hung in the elevator shaft and in the meeting rooms on the 2nd floor.

Three stained glass artworks by Are Mokkelbost add a distinctive play of light to Sentralen’s two ground-floor dining venues.

Whether you are a guest or simply passing by, you can experience three large, expansive glass paintings in the prominent windows of Sentralen's café and restaurant.

The artworks are transparent, allowing one to see through them and into Sentralen.

Are Mokkelbost (b.1976) studied at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts from 1997 to 2002. He is perhaps best known for his intricate and poetic collages, which are both highly detailed and magnificent. He uses materials from magazines and journals, but has also worked with glass and textiles. In addition to being a visual artist, Mokkelbost is also a musician and composer, playing in several bands.

Mokkelbost has exhibited in, among other cities, Antwerp, Paris, New York, Rotterdam, Oslo, Moss, and Los Angeles. His work has been acquired by institutions such as DNB, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hydro, Kunst på Arbeidsplassen, and Henie Onstad Art Center (through Kunstgaven, funded by Sparebankstiftelsen DNB).

The artwork in Vinterhagen actively utilizes the architecture of Sentralen's physical core and has a built-in functional purpose. At first glance, it might appear to be part of the staircase structure and made of the same material as the handrail. The installation follows the railing upwards, but gradually detaches itself and takes multiple, independent paths towards the ceiling. The work is titled 'The Icarus Complex' and refers to the myth of Icarus, who in Greek mythology was the son of the craftsman and artist Daedalus. Together they were to escape captivity with wings made of wax and feathers. Disregarding his father's advice to follow his indirect path, Icarus flew too close to the sun, and his wings melted, and he drowned in the sea.

“The entirety can be interpreted as an image that the shortest path to a goal in a creative process is not necessarily a straight line” - Christensen, Dahl.

Jan Christensen (b.1977) studied at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts from 1997 to 2000. He has a varied artistic practice and works across many different media and techniques, including sculpture, painting, drawing, and photography, often in large formats. Christensen has held numerous solo exhibitions both in Norway and abroad, including in New York, Berlin, Oslo, Bern, Bergen, Munich, Kristiansand, Viborg, Moss, and Drammen.

Christensen often collaborates with Marius Dahl (b.1969), and together they have delivered a long series of art projects in public and private contexts in Norway. Dahl previously lived in Istanbul for 15 years and has participated in many exhibition projects in Turkey. Galleri Ask, Åsgårdstrand (solo exhibition) and the Scholarship Exhibition 2015 at Buskerud Kunstsenter in Drammen are among the places he has exhibited in Norway.

Vanessa Baird has decorated the passage outside Gymsalen on the 4th floor.

In the room named "Galleriet", Baird has chosen to paint a mural directly onto the wall, which is approximately 10 meters long.

Vanessa Baird has painted the sea with the horizon positioned just above the windows and a sandy beach extending down toward the floor. In the water, people and lifeboats are floating. On the shore, various personal belongings have washed up; suitcases, shoes, jewellery, and mobile phones. Some people are gathered around a fire to keep warm, while a girl looks out toward the sea at those swimming toward the shore - and toward us, the viewers of the work. The mural evokes strong associations with the immense tragedy unfolding in the Mediterranean, where people risk their lives while fleeing war.

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Vanessa Baird studied at the National College of Art and Design from 1982 to 1985 and holds an MA from the Royal College of Art in London. She primarily works with drawing and painting on paper, in both small and large formats. Her works often feature bright, harmonious tones and colors, yet possess a dark and unsettling undertone within detailed, surreal fairytale worlds.

The photographer Tom Sandberg took the photographs of the instruments that are displayed in the meeting rooms on the second floor and in the elevator shaft.

The images are of a selection from Dextra Musica's instrument collection.

Dextra Musica's instrument collection is one of the world's foremost collections of string instruments.

Dextra Musica, along with Sentralen, is one of the subsidiaries of Sparebankstiftelsen DnB. The company invests in rare instruments, which are loaned to some of Norway's most renowned musicians.

You can read more about Dextra Musica here.

Tom Sandberg was a prominent Norwegian art photographer known for his black-and-white photographs, which often conveyed an intense sense of presence. His photographic work is characterized by the use of coarse-grained film and a tendency towards the abstract.

Sandberg studied photography in England in the 1970s, where he was influenced by both English and American photographic traditions. This laid the foundation for his artistic expression. He was a central figure in establishing an artistic photography community in Norway and significantly contributed to photography gaining recognition as an art form. Sandberg's photographs have been exhibited and recognized internationally, and acquired by important collections.