We are excited to announce that Digital Balke / Devine North will come to Kunsthall Svalbard in Longyearbyen in May 2017!

In 2014 Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum presented a large exhibition of paintings by the romantic artist Peder Balke (1804–1887), which also had great success at The National Gallery in London. As an extension of this exhibition we created a digital video work focusing on his landscape paintings from Northern Norway. Accompanying the images is a sound piece composed by the electronica musician Gaute Barlindhaug, creating a dialogue with Balke's motives. The aim is both to reinforce and to contrast Balke's dramatic interpretation of the northern landscapes. Balke's style of painting has been seen as a link between the romantic tradition and modernism. Thus, it shares a common feature with contemporary electronic music in exploring new ways of artistic expressions.

To showcase traditional paintings in a digital format challenges many of our conceptions of art exhibitions, especially when it comes to our idea of the original artwork. On the other hand, digital technology enables extensive multiplications of pictures, reaching out to a larger audience. Balke's paintings will be showed on three video screens, displaying both the images in their entirety and details revealing the painter’s techniques. One of the screens also displays some quotes from Peder Balke's autobiography. Editing by Tor Åge Vorren.