From London to Trondheim
London
Gullvåg studied and worked in London from 1983-84. Here the “London school of Painting”, in particular, painters such as Kitaj, Hockney and Auerbach, fascinated him. During this period he entered into a deeper pictorial room. In other words, he turned away from exploring the pictorial surface (a preoccupation of his academy years) and opened up the picture’s possibility for depicting space. Central works from London:
The National Portraits This is his first pictorial cycle; the theme is a paraphrase over portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, London. A characteristic painting is
King and Cow, triptych (collection of the artist).
The Journey (Lillehammer Art Museum)
Meeting (collection of the artist)
Chronicle (Rogaland Art Museum)
Trondheim
After his time in London, Gullvåg’s paintings become more pastos; the surface is modelled with paint, such that portions of the motif appear in relief, something that gives them an extra depth and redoubles the play of light and shade. This three-dimensional effect is also emphasized in several works where the artist has fastened objects onto the pictorial plane. A striking example is
Trophy (1985), a work whose upper edge is rounded off with a fox fur. Although the fur is soft and beautiful to look at, it heightens the motif’s macabre mood. The work is a swarming, strange juxtaposition engendering many different associations, mainly in the direction of alarm and terror.
The theme of childhood is shelved for a while; instead the portrait character is emphasized. We also find a number of representations of people with animals as attributes, such as Horseman/Ride rand Nest.
In 1985 Gullvåg was represented in the exhibition ”Kunst in Norwegen Heute” (Art in Norway Today), Museum Ludwig in Aachen. The exhibition travelled further to London, Amsterdam and other cities. The same year he participated in the exhibition “Kunst i Norden, Scandinavian Art 1945-80”, Sveaborg in Helsinki, Finland.
1985/86 was an intense and productive period, which included his first large exhibition at Trondhjem Art Society (now Trondheim Art Museum) in 1985. Here he mostly presented pictures from his time in London. What is more, in the exhibition room he completed a portrait of the Trønder-painter Lars Tiller. In early spring1986 he painted an entire exhibition, shown later that same spring at Gallery Dobloug.
Central motifs:
Self Portrait with Mallard (private collection)
Mirror (collection of the artist)
Horseman and Nest (National Gallery)
Trophy, 1985 (Bergen Art Museum)
About Being a Duck (collection of the artist)
Lars Tiller on Horseback, triptych (National Museum)
Scene with Boy and Dog (Trondheim Art Museum)