Olav Strømme
Olav Strømme (1909 to 1978) was a Norwegian painter from Ørsta. His work includes figurative pictures and abstract compositions, with particular interest in the material effects of the picture surface.
Education and material experiments
After training at Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole, he studied with Axel Revold at the Academy of Fine Art in the early 1930s.
From the mid-1930s, Strømme combined plastonitt, oil paint and varnish, sometimes with coloured glass. Norsk kunstnerleksikon compares the substantial surface to weathered masonry and also records a woodcut from 1934. Paintings and prints therefore require identification through their materials, as well as their subject.
Theatre pictures and later abstraction
Around 1950, theatre, ballet and opera became important subjects. During the 1950s he studied older masters including Velázquez, Rubens and Titian. His theatre pictures could be richly painted and colourful, including subjects from Maria Stuart. The 1962 exhibition at Kunstnernes Hus consolidated his position.
After 1960, his forms became highly abstracted. SNL highlights wide formats and a restricted palette of black, grey, ochre and gold tones. His treatment of the surface gives these pictures qualities beyond their subject.
Two documented museum works
Sildesteng (1938) at the National Museum is catalogued as “plastmasse” on a wooden panel, 57.5 × 76.3 × 3 cm, purchased in 1939. This material term describes the particular object; it does not itself establish the compound's chemical composition.
The same museum catalogues Thalatta with the date “(1975)”: oil on canvas, 281 × 266.5 cm. It describes dark browns, silver accents and three sections, with the right section on a separate frame. The parenthesised dating is retained without interpreting it as a precise creation date.
Fra lys til mørke at Furuset
The mural Fra lys til mørke at Furuset metro station was completed in 1978. Oslo's municipal art collection documents restoration in autumn 2023. Older biographies describing it as ruined provide historical information, rather than an updated condition report.
Original works, prints and reproductions
A photographic or printed image of a painting repeats its composition without having the painting's built-up surface. An original print is a different type of work and requires examination of printing technique, paper and any edition information. Terms such as plastonitt and plastmasse should not be replaced with a specific modern material designation without investigation.
Record dimensions, support, signature, labels and earlier ownership information. For composite surfaces, loose areas, cracks, previous interventions and changes in gloss are relevant. For paper, consider discolouration, tears and mounting. Biography, signature or a similar subject do not authenticate a particular object. Documentation must relate to the individual work.
Read more about woodcuts, modernism, artist signatures, provenance and ownership history, Axel Revold.
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