Sidsel Westbø
Sidsel Westbø (born in Skien in 1943) is a Norwegian printmaker, painter and draughtswoman. Her works explore how simple forms, fields of colour and repetition can create space and movement. Nature informs even apparently strict geometric pictures.
Training and a focus on printmaking
Westbø attended Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole from 1962 to 1966, then Statens Kunstakademi from 1966 to 1970. Her teachers included Reidar Aulie and Halvdan Ljøsne, and she worked in Arne Malmedal's printmaking class. Printmaking became a central field in her artistic practice.
Optical art and nature's rhythms
Store norske leksikon associates her strict geometric forms with optical art. Colours and forms influence one another and can create an experience of space within a flat composition. This offers a useful approach to her early screenprints, but does not cover her entire production.
In her own presentation at Kunstnerforbundet, Westbø describes impressions of nature organised through rhythm and repetition. Horizontal and vertical elements form spatial arrangements. This geometric order can therefore be read alongside poetic and sensory content, rather than as a purely mathematical exercise.
Screenprints from the 1970s
Blå sylinder from 1973 is catalogued by the National Museum as a colour screenprint on paper, 451 × 451 mm. The museum purchased the sheet in 1999. This later acquisition does not make the print a work from 1999. The stated technique must be preserved even if an on-screen reproduction resembles a painting.
Roterende gult kvadrat from 1975 is also a colour screenprint on paper, 407 × 402 mm. The museum record states 23/34 in its edition field. This entry applies to the specific impression. It cannot automatically supply the numbering for other prints featuring squares or document all the artist's editions.
Relief printing and drypoint
Norske Grafikere describes how Westbø combines relief printing and drypoint work. The strict structure thereby acquires a more sensitive quality of line. It is important to preserve the distinction between techniques: describing the artist generally as a screenprinter does not turn a relief print or drypoint into a screenprint.
Reflekser i vann I from 1985 is a relief print on paper, 520 × 500 mm. The National Museum's edition field states /12, and the museum purchased the work in 1986. The catalogue provides a reference for this work; comparisons should also check the Roman numeral in the title and any variants.
Ekko 1 is catalogued with the date 2008 and is drypoint on wove paper, 594 × 764 mm. The museum record states 12 impressions and acquisition in 2020. These details document a later work and the need to distinguish the print's date from the collection's acquisition.
A practice spanning several decades
Kunstnerforbundet's CV documents a print exhibition at Nasjonalgalleriet in 1999 and a solo exhibition at Kunstverket Galleri in 2019. Together with the dated works, this demonstrates a long working history. A description limited to optical screenprints of the 1970s would therefore be too narrow.
Editions, signatures and condition
When identifying a work, record image size and sheet size separately. Note technique, paper, numbering, signature, title and inscriptions, and investigate any printer's or publisher's marks. A series may comprise different compositions, while an edition may contain several impressions of the same motif. Use the documentation for the specific work.
Distinguish original prints from photographic or digital reproductions. A reproduced signature is different from a handwritten one, and neither alone authenticates a sheet. Preserve labels, receipts and earlier ownership information. Describe fading, moisture damage, folds, tears, adhesive residues and mounting traces specifically.
Read more about artist signatures, provenance and ownership history.
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