Arne Malmedal
Arne Malmedal (1937 to 2018), also recorded as Arne Haavardsholm Malmedal, was a Norwegian painter, draughtsman and printmaker. Born in Molde, he died in Asker on 4 October 2018. His practice spans intaglio printmaking, drawing and sustained exploration of colour, plane and space in painting. (SNL; NKL; Kunstnerforbundet)
Background and development
Malmedal attended the National College of Art and Design from 1956 to 1960 and debuted with a print exhibition at Holst Halvorsens Kunsthandel in 1963. Alongside his own practice, he taught and worked in art mediation. Retrospectives at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Bergen Art Museum in 2003 and 2004 surveyed his oeuvre. (Galleri Riis)
Early prints include etching, drypoint and engraving. Figures gradually gave way to simplified landscape impressions and abstract structures. Painting grew more prominent from the late 1960s. Everyday objects reappeared during the 1970s, before planes, colour and space increasingly became the subject of investigation. (NKL)
Support, frame and light in painting
From the late 1980s, Malmedal explored picture and frame through fibreglass scrim, grids and substantial frame constructions. Paint rollers and distinct brushstrokes brought new surface effects to later paintings. An apparently simple colour field can therefore have a complex material structure. (Galleri Riis)
Around 2000, light became particularly important. Monochrome centres surrounded by white areas could appear both spatial and flat. A later exhibition documented oil and acrylic paintings from this period alongside monochrome egg-tempera paintings from 1995. Technique must therefore be established for each work. (Galleri Riis)
Examples in the museum collection
The National Museum’s Uten tittel from 1969 is tempera on canvas, 130 x 100 cm. Another work of that title, dated 1993 in parentheses, is tempera on canvas, 160 x 420 cm. Dates, dimensions and inventory numbers distinguish works with identical titles. (National Museum; National Museum)
Speiling, fjordsiden (1967) is recorded as etching and aquatint printed in colour, measuring 273 x 515 mm. The museum’s impression is listed as 5/15. This documented edition example does not establish the size of other print editions. (National Museum)
Papir på bord, dated 1980 in parentheses, is instead a wash drawing on paper, measuring 500 x 652 mm. The artist donated it to the museum in 2004. This record shows why a work on paper should not automatically be described as a print. (National Museum)
Records, provenance and condition
Record title, date, support, technique, dimensions and every inscription. For prints, distinguish sheet size from image size and photograph any numbering. Compare the actual print structure with catalogue information. Book reproductions, posters and original prints must each be described separately.
For paintings, examine colour fields, supports and any integral frame for tears, dents, flaking, overpainting and altered joints. Photograph surfaces in raking light. For paper, light-related changes, stains, folds, tears and mounting traces matter. Retain previous ownership, exhibition details, gallery labels and purchase information with the documentation for that specific work.
See also
Read more about artist signatures, provenance and ownership history, etching, aquatint.
