About the artist Odd Harrong

Norwegian visual artist from Kirkenes in Finnmark. Born in 1913 - died in 1981. Odd Harrong traveled to Oslo and studied at the State School of Crafts and Art in the late 1930s.

  • In 1939 - successful debut in the Oslo Art Society
  • In 1940 - 2 graphic images accepted for the State Autumn Exhibition

Harrong also had exhibitions in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Copenhagen. This is how he became known as an artist and his art was consistently very well received. Harrong is primarily known for his woodcuts. The style is flat with stylized figures that have a close connection to the living and realistic. He depicted reindeer herding and the life and work of the Sami. His close knowledge of the Sami way of life means that the motifs mainly convey the essentials that lie in the environment and nature. Other motifs were taken from the fishermen's arduous existence. He also depicted weather conditions and the northern lights, all set in a Finnmark landscape.

Harrong had exhibitions along the coast of Norway for more than 20 years, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. He traveled with Hurtigruten, north in the spring and south in the fall. He regularly went ashore, not only in the larger places, but also in the small and remote ones, where art exhibitions were a rare occurrence. Odd Harrong's graphic prints from woodcuts have been sold to various institutions and private individuals at home and abroad.

Self-portrait

Harrong drew this self-portrait for my father.

Lillevik Art

Vibeke Lillevik

I am from Kjøllefjord in Finnmark. My father visited Odd Harrong's sales exhibition in Kjøllefjord in 1981. He liked the pictures so much that he bought the rights to 10 different motifs from Odd Harrong himself. I now have this right. 9 of the motifs are from woodcuts and one is a linoleum print. The prints are produced from scanned original prints.

40 years later, I have the pleasure of making the beautiful images available again. They give a warm feeling of "home", of being at home in the north.

Coast, northern lights, sea, plains, fishing and the Sami people who live side by side in Finnmark.

I feel proud to be able to bring this forward. Proud to make Odd Harrong's art available to a larger audience and new generations.

To the gallery