Brit Fuglevaag
Brit Fuglevaag is a Norwegian textile artist, born in Kirkenes in 1939. The National Museum records her name as Brit Haldis Fuglevaag.
From tapestry to textile sculpture
She studied at the National College of Art and Design in Oslo from 1959 to 1963 and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw from 1963 to 1964. The tapestry Komposisjon appeared at the Autumn Exhibition in 1965. Huldra (1970), in sisal, is documented in the Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum collection.
Kunstnernes Hus describes a development that began before her stay in Poland, including tapestry training with Jan Groth in Denmark in 1960. International contemporary art and experiments with surface, relief and space subsequently became important. Her textiles could confront viewers as independent forms, with sections extending from the wall.
Fuglevaag grew up in Trondheim. Alongside making art, she taught at SHKS, led textile teaching and became a professor of textiles. Her CV also records extensive work in artists' organisations and public bodies. Her career therefore encompasses her own works, teaching and advocacy for textile art.
Materials and documented works
Form I (1970) provides a museum example of her spatial exploration of materials. The National Museum specifies spindle technique and sisal, measuring 250 cm high, 250 cm wide and 18 cm deep. It classifies the work as a textile, inventory number MS-02562-1988.
Søndeled, dated between 1979 and 1980, has a different character. The museum describes linen warp, weft and effects in various wool yarns, tapestry weaving, free technique and hand sewing. Measuring 182 x 307 cm, it shows how weave structure, stitching and material effects can coexist in a tapestry.
For Drøm (2021), the National Museum's technique field lists wool, sisal, plastic and paper. Binding and hand knotting are among the recorded techniques. The work documents continued use of mixed materials and shows that a tapestry need not have an even, closed surface.
The 2021 exhibition Ull, lin, sisal, plast og papir highlighted found rope, packaging and newspaper. Kunstnerforbundet connects this reuse of materials with environmental engagement. The materials' earlier lives contribute to the works alongside colour, structure and technical treatment.
Artist, designer and producing workshop
The name Brit Fuglevaag Warsinski also appears in the literature. During the 1960s she designed pile rug patterns for Sellgren & Co. and curtains for Haldens Bomuldsspinneri & Væveri. Such design commissions should be distinguished from her independent artworks.
A textile made to a Fuglevaag pattern should identify both its designer and its documented manufacturer or weaver. Pattern similarity alone does not establish who made an individual example. A sketch, factory label and finished artwork represent different stages of production. A photograph or print of a textile artwork must also be identified as a reproduction.
Signature, provenance and condition
The auction catalogue for Sommernattsdrøm (1988) records the initials BF at the lower right and the name, date and title on the reverse. This documents the signing of one work and does not establish a rule for her entire output.
When identifying a work, examine the signature area together with the textile's complete construction, dimensions and reverse. Earlier installation and exhibition photographs are particularly useful for spatial works: they may show the original positions of loose threads, projecting forms and openings. A condition report should distinguish documented material loss, later changes to hanging arrangements and elements of the original design. Describe packaging, plastic and found rope precisely where identifiable, without presenting an uncertain fibre identification as fact.
For a work lacking secure documentation, earlier ownership, gallery receipts, exhibition labels and contemporary photographs provide useful starting points. Whether an object is an individual work, a variation in a series or an execution of a pattern must be established for that particular object.
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Sources
- The National Museum: Brit Haldis Fuglevaag
- Store norske leksikon: Brit Fuglevaag
- Office for Contemporary Art Norway: Unwoven World, biography and checklist
- Kunstnernes Hus: retrospective exhibition, 1983
- Kunstnerforbundet: Brit Fuglevaag, CV
- The National Museum: Form I, 1970
- The National Museum: Søndeled, between 1979 and 1980
- The National Museum: Drøm, 2021
- Kunstnerforbundet: Ull, lin, sisal, plast og papir, 2021
- Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner: Sommernattsdrøm, 1988, signature information
