Per Inge Bjørlo
Per Inge Bjørlo (born 1952 in Spjelkavik) is a Norwegian visual artist working in drawing, printmaking, painting, sculpture and installation. Forceful encounters with materials and bodily experiences connect the different parts of his work.
From printmaking to spatial works
He studied at Bergen's School of Arts and Crafts from 1974 to 1977 and at Statens Kunstakademi from 1977 to 1981, where Ludvig Eikaas taught. This training is an important part of the background to his later work with entire rooms.
The linocuts often feature strong contrasts between black and white. In 1984, Bjørlo showed his black rubber room at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter. The rubber's smell and physical presence made the encounter more than visual contemplation. The room began the Indre rom series.
Monumental linocuts formed part of the 1984 installation. KORO documents three of these works later reunited at Campus Ringerike in Hønefoss: Ein kunstners reise, Blikk and Ritt. The prints can therefore have individual identities while also forming part of a larger installation.
Industry, steel and human experience
Industrial collaboration is part of the execution. Viti describes work with Deform AB on large steel sculptures. Alexis (1998) at Oslo Airport comprises six sculptures in acid-washed stainless steel, sandblasted with olivine sand. The industrial material relates to the personal and human themes in his work.
Indre følger ytre in Rødøy is dated 2006 to 2010 and was erected in 2010. Skulpturlandskap Nordland records steel and dimensions of height 153, depth 143 and width 209 cm. The coastal landscape and placement shape the experience; these are not dimensions for a general sculpture model.
Livsløpet as a space to enter
Indre rom VI, Livsløpet was made for Ekebergparken and unveiled in 2013. Its custodian records stainless steel and 750 × 400 × 370 cm. Visitors can enter and experience the work through touch, sight and sound. Mental space takes a concrete bodily form.
Bjørlo's works allow viewers' own memories and reactions to meet the artist's experiences. Titles such as Indre rom must nevertheless be read alongside room number, year and documentation. The series is not one unchanged object moved between exhibition venues.
Prints, sculpture and documentation
When examining a print, record the printing technique, paper, image and sheet dimensions, inscriptions and any copy number. A large black-and-white image is not automatically a linocut. A reproduction of a print must be distinguished from an impression belonging to a documented artist's edition.
For a sculpture or installation, the assessment should include material specifications, production documentation, dimensions, components, installation instructions and ownership history. Industrial collaboration in making a work does not make every similar industrial component a Bjørlo artwork. Nor do biography, title and signature independently guarantee authenticity.
Assess condition according to the material. For paper, fading, discolouration and fastenings matter. For metal, consider surface treatment, corrosion, distortion and alterations. An outdoor work, a studio model and a documentary photograph are different objects and should not receive the same description without evidence.
Read more about artist signatures, provenance and ownership history, Ludvig Eikaas.
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