ABOUT

Born in Oslo, Norway. Lives and works in London and Palermo

@ birgitteaasen

Upcoming: ‘Encounter’ 13-16 NOV 2025

PV Friday 14 Nov – FIVE YEARS, London N19 4AJ

http://www.fiveyears.org.uk/

BIRGITTE AASEN’S USE OF DIFFERENT MEDIA IS A DELIBERATE ACT TO AVOID THE RESTRICTION OF A SPECIFIC STYLE OR METHOD IN HER PRACTICE. IN HER MOST RECENT PROJECTS, HOWEVER, SHE HAS FOCUSED ON PAINTING. SHE WORKS INTUITIVELY AND THE PROCESS FROM AN IDEA TO A FINISHED WORK CAN BE AS BRIEF AND FLEETING AS THAT OF A PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER – HER PREVIOUS PROFESSION IN HER NATIVE NORWAY. ALTHOUGH SOURCE MATERIAL MAY HAVE BEEN ARCHIVED FOR YEARS, PAINTINGS ARE OFTEN EXECUTED IN A MATTER OF HOURS. TEXTS ARE SHORT AND OFTEN TWISTED VERSIONS OF OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIENCES. HER VIDEO WORKS, WITH THEIR NON-EVENTFUL AND STILL NATURE, SOMETIMES ALLUDE TO PHOTOGRAPHY.

LANDSCAPE, STILL LIFE, RELIGIOUS AND DOMESTIC SCENES ARE THEMES FREQUENTLY BORROWED FROM NORWEGIAN ROMANTIC NATIONALISM, ITALIAN BAROQUE AND FROM DUTCH STILL LIFE, FROM FOUND IMAGES OR OWN PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL. THE WORKS OFTEN EXIST AS FRAGMENTS OR RECOLLECTIONS FROM AN UPROOTED LIFE LIVED BETWEEN NORWAY, SICILY AND THE UK. A LIFE WHERE SOME THINGS WILL ALWAYS BE LACKING WHILST OTHER THINGS HAVE GRADUALLY DISAPPEARED FOR GOOD. THESE FRAGMENTS SOMETIMES BECOME EXAMINATIONS OF SENTIMENTALITY, BUT ARE NOT INTENDED AS SENTIMENTAL DOCUMENTS. SUBJECTS SUCH AS THE FEMININE, THE ABSURD, DOMESTIC ROLES AND CLASS OFTEN FORM A PART OF AASEN’S PROJECTS.

EDUCATION

2005-2008 BA Fine Art – Sculpture – Central Saint Martins College – UAL London

1991-1993 Photography – Sogn Further Education – Oslo Norway

1990 Philosophy Foundation Course – University of Oslo Norway

EXHIBITIONS

2025 Encounter, goup show – FIVE YEARS, Archway London

2024 WIP Space Group Show – Steam Works Gallery, London

2017 Painting [Now], group show – Studio One Gallery, London

2016 Intimacy//Paradise III – Fill The Gap gallery, Leytonstone, London

2015 Ordinary Moments, solo show – Sable d’Or, London

2015 Material Solace, solo show – Boulangerie Bon Matin, London

2015 HEADS, group show – Studio One Gallery, London

2014 If I had been taller I could have… solo show – Studio One Gallery, London

2013 Micro Residency 2, hosted by Departure Foundation, City of London

2012 Orchestrated, group show- Studio One/Cato Music Hall, London

2011 The Moroccan Gardens Group show, Pimlico, London

2011 Cryptic, group show, The Crypt St. Pancras Church, London

2009 Beyond Rectangles, solo show, Studio One Gallery, London

2009 Open Studios, group show, Wandsworth Art Village, London

2008 CSM 08 Degree show, Central Saint Martins College, London

2007 Take away (two), group show, My Life in Art, Broadway Market, London

2007 ASDA Group show, Tottenham Court Road, London

2004 Høstutstillingens Utvalgte Selected Artists, Sandefjord Kunstforening, Sandefjord Norway

2003 Høstutstillingen National Art Exhibition, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo Norway