Draft:Gro Finne

Gro Finne (born February 23, 1951, in Oslo) is a Norwegian visual artist who works with painting, drawing, and printmaking. She was educated at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry and the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts.

Finne studied at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry from 1972 to 1975 and continued at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts from 1975 to 1981, specializing in painting under Ludvik Eikaas.

She spent the first 20 years of her career focusing on painting. Today, she primarily works with printmaking and drawing, maintaining a painterly identity. Gro Finne works in Oslo and is married to the visual artist Svein Mamen.

In her paintings, urban landscapes are a central theme. Park scenes often become a stage for shifting moods, with trees playing an active role in her work, brought to life through her expressive brushstrokes.

Since the 2000s, she has explored what she sees as the fundamental element of the image: the line. Portraits and the human figure are key subjects. "Her line searches for signs that mediate between nature and the individual." "In Finne's works, the furrow represents a sign of change. The line defines everything from the contour's character to giving decorative elements a dramatic, expressive, and rhythmically vital quality."

She debuted at the Autumn Exhibition in 2010 and received the Norske Grafikere Fund Award for Best Graphic Work at the Autumn Exhibition in 2016. Notable exhibitions in recent years include Tegnerforbundet in 2010 and Norske Grafikere in 2017. Internationally, her graphic works have been shown at the European Graphic Triennial (2010), Print Center in New York (2017), and Bankside Gallery in London (2018).

Finne's works are included in collections at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, the Norwegian Cultural Council, Art in the Workplace, and the Oslo City Museum.

Gro Finne has been politically active in the arts and has contributed articles and opinion pieces to the public discourse since the 1980s.

Gro Finne has written numerous articles and opinion pieces on art, artistic perspectives, and cultural politics. Selected works include:

• Dagbladet, Tuesday, July 8, 1986
• Dagbladet, Saturday, May 30, 1987
• Klassekampen, November 7, 1992
• Klassekampen, April 24, 1993
• Klassekampen, October 28, 1994
• Transportarbeideren, Issue 8, 1996
• Klassekampen, September 4, 1999
• Klassekampen, December 29, 1999
• Vi ser på Kunst, Issue 1, 2000
• Vi ser på Kunst, Issue 2, 2000
• Bølerstikka, Issues 3 and 4, 2000
• Klassekampen, December 1, 2003
• Klassekampen, February 10, 2018
• Morgenbladet, July 22, 2020
• Friheten, April 8–16, 2020
• Friheten, Issue 16, August 5, 2021

1. Harald Flor, "Dagbladet", September 30, 1981
2. Arne Durban, "Handels- og Sjøfartstidende", September 25, 1981
3. Erle Moestue Bugge, "Aftenposten", November 14, 1981
4. Hølmebakk, "Fakkelen", September 1981
5. Hølmebakk, "Klassekampen", September 22, 1986
6. Klassekampen, August 29, 1986, "Art Against Apartheid"
7. Holger Koefoed, "Malernes Oslo", 1988
8. Fjermeros, "Klassekampen", March 11, 1991
9. Sandberg, "Aftenposten", August 1, 1995
10. Eiebakke, "Morgenbladet", August 11, 1995
11. "Byminner", 1995
12. Harald Flor, "Dagbladet", August 18, 1996
13. "Varden", May 7, 1996, Illustrations
14. Grete Hald, "Varden", October 15, 1998
15. "Rødt", Issue 1, 2006, "Women Dreaming for the Future"
16. Harald Flor, catalog text, 2012, www.grofinne.no
17. Paul Grøtvedt, "Dokument", March 24, 2017

• Gro Finne's official website