The great graphic boom

Øystein Ustvedt, Corinna Höper

The decades following the Second World War were highly dramatic ones in the United States. But the cultural scene of the era flourished and showed an originality that would reverberate throughout the world, including Norway. The new exhibition at the National Museum focuses on a little-known aspect of this breakthrough: the great interest in printmaking that emerged around 1960. Many artists began to shift away from the expressionism of the New York school. Collaborations with various workshops and professional printers became important. Pop art made use of the era's popular culture and consumer goods, while minimalism reduced everything to a system of abstract, repetitive shapes. Works by twenty-three artists will be on display in four rooms. Barnett Newman's major Cantos series (1964) and Agnes Martin's On a Clear Day (1973) are important touchstones, as are Robert Rauschenberg's...