Hedevig Anker
Hedevig Anker (born in Oslo in 1969) is a Norwegian visual artist working mainly with photography. Architecture, light and space recur throughout her practice. Windows, frames and doors can become almost abstract compositions, in which cropping and surface matter more than an easily recognised whole. (SNL; Kunstnerforbundet)
Background and visual language
Anker trained in art in Oslo and Bergen and holds a higher degree in art history from the University of Bergen. Her exhibitions include Perspective at Stenersenmuseet in 2010 and Randsoner at Lillehammer Art Museum in 2016. She has also taught, curated and worked with public art. (Artist’s archive)
For her 2009 exhibition at Trondhjems Kunstforening, Anker described an interest in interior details such as door panels, mouldings, corners and frames. These elements let her build space within the image itself. The houses’ histories form a backdrop, while light and boundaries shape each photograph. (Trondhjems Kunstforening)
Photographic series and techniques
The series Eidsvollsbygningen (2008) explores light moving between rooms in the historic building. The artist’s archive specifies analogue c-prints measuring 95 x 90 cm. The series appeared at Trafo in 2008 and later at Stenersenmuseet. Individual images have their own titles or numbers. (Artist’s archive)
Bjerkebæk comprises photographs of Sigrid Undset’s home made for exhibitions at Lillehammer Art Museum in 2016 and 2019. The archive specifies analogue c-prints, 95 x 90 cm for the 2016 images and 58 x 63 cm for numbers 10 to 15 from 2019. Literature, imagination and physical space meet in the series. (Artist’s archive)
For Negativmalerier (2016), Anker scratched discarded negatives and painted them with watercolour. They were then printed in the darkroom as analogue c-prints. The image was thus worked directly on the film. (Artist’s archive)
The later series Alt vil forsvinne (2025) contains seven blurred landscapes connected to a diary of her family’s flight in 1940. The photographs were exhibited at Sandefjord Kunstforening. The artist specifies analogue c-print and 70 x 67 cm for each image. (Artist’s archive)
Materials vary between projects. KORO lists Horisonter (2015), assembled from details of twelve works in the Bæreia collection, as a giclée print on aluminium, measuring 90 x 170 cm. This record documents a different production method from the analogue photographs. (KORO)
Format, editions and condition
Record the series, image number, motif date, any later production date, printing technique and dimensions. Establish whether measurements refer to the image, entire work or framing. Edition size and numbering need documentation for the particular example. The archive’s technique and format details do not establish a single edition size for every series.
Document surface marks, colour changes and damage to the photograph, mounting and backing separately. Sharp detail is not a universal quality criterion for these images. Compare the correct archive record before interpreting blur or negative alterations as damage. Keep labels, purchase receipts and information about production and previous ownership.
See also
Read more about artist signatures, provenance and ownership history.
