Editions
This series of commissioned limited editions is by artists who have a connection to Artica either as a resident or collaborator. By buying one of Artica’s editions, you will receive a unique work of art that is not available elsewhere. All profits from the sale go directly to supporting Artica’s residents, public programme and projects.
AK Dolven, NOW (2021)
Edition of 25 +2ap
2,500 NOK
Medium: drypoint with Svalbard coal, sound
Ink: © AK arctic black produced by Aksel Ree and AK Dolven
Print Size: 29 x 21 cm
Assistance by Master printmaker Ellen Edminson
Sound piece: 6:39 min
Voice - AK Dolven
Voice curator - Trond Armand Larsen
Recording - TAL Studio Oslo
Edit - Aksel Ree and AK Dolven
60 million years are meeting in our time, here, NOW
We are pleased to announce that Norwegian artist AK Dolven has created a unique limited edition for Artica Svalbard. The edition entitled NOW, features a drypoint print and sound piece. The print has been made using an ink developed by the artist and her studio assistant, Aksel Ree. After ongoing tests in the Lofoten and Oslo studio, they managed to produce an ink from Svalbard coal that was suitable for dry-point printmaking.
The 60-million-year-old coal is hard, almost like rock, which means you need a fine balance of ground coal mixed with a transparent ink that is then combined with oil. This mix is worked over for a long time, using a pigment-mortar, to make just the right consistency and graining. The character of the ink creates a presence of coal particles on the paper’s surface meaning each print is different.
Alongside the print, Dolven has created a new sound work which features her own voice, often used throughout her practice, expressing the word NOW. The presence of the voice is muscular yet vulnerable, slow and meditative, creating a sense of unease.
The edition comes in a specially designed coffee black presentation box made from recycled card and the sound piece is presented on a USB drive.
A K Dolven in the studio in Oslo (2021)
About the Artist
AK Dolven lives and works in Oslo and Lofoten, Norway. Dolven’s practice involves a variety of media; painting, photography, performance, installation, film and sound. Recurring themes in her production are the representation of natural forces and their resonance with human sensibilities. Her work alternates between the monumental and the minimal, the universal and the intimate. Interpersonal relations and interactions are central to her practice, and many of her performance-based works involve collaborations with other people. In April 2025 Dolven will present her first retrospective exhibition at the Nasjonalmuseet in Oslo. The exhibition will be curated by Ann Gallagher.
AK Dolven has exhibited extensively internationally at a wide range of institutions and galleries including: Kunsthalle Bern; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin; IKON Gallery, Birmingham; Platform China, Beijing; The National Museum of Art, Oslo; KIASMA, Helsinki; CCC Tours, France and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
Her work is included in collections such as The Art Institute of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Arts Council Collection, Hoffmann Collection, KIASMA, La Gaia Collection, Goetz Collection, Fundacion Salamanca Ciudad de Cultura, Kunsthalle Bern, Küpferstichkabinett, Leipzig Collection of Contemporary Galleries, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Malmö Museum, National Museum, Norway, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark.