When the American gallerist Esperanza Rosales came to Oslo in 2011 to write an article about the Norwegian capital’s art scene, she fell head over heels in love with the city. The gallerist just established her own gallery in the capital. Learn more about the American gallerist is Oslo supporting young Norwegian artists.
She left her position as leader of Gallery Dépendance in Brussels and Gallery VI, VII (or Sixes and Sevens) in Oslo was founded in 2012. Prior to opening the gallery in Oslo, Rosales lived in London, Brussels, Rotterdam, Frankfurt and Berlin, and draws on those international connections and experiences in developing her gallery program. The name VI, VII comes from a British idiom describing a state of recklessness, confusion, or disarray, embodying the spirit of risk and the refusal of conventions that guides the gallery’s program.

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The story of how Esperanza Rosales ended up as a gallerist in Norway is rich and exciting. Rosales has a solid background in the contemporary art world, which she has been an active part of in various ways over the past two decades, first as an art student in her hometown of New York in the late 1990s, and then as a freelance art critic, gallerist and art advisor. She has also been an active artist herself.
Rosala says that she received many warnings from friends and acquaintances. They thought it was crazy to open a new gallery in such an expensive city.

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However, over the past five years, VI, VII has exhibited the work of over 50 international artists, and currently represents 14 emerging artists, most under the age of 35.
The international art gallery represents 17 artists, five of whom are Norwegian, and regularly participates in international art fairs. VI, VII is known for promoting young and promising artists from home and abroad. Rosales lives and breathes art and is passionate about lowering the threshold for people to enter the gallery.
The gallery has hosted the first Norwegian solo shows for many international artists, including Eloise Hawser, Lars Laumann, Jochen Schmith, James Hoff, Benjamin Crotty, Mark van Yetter, and Amy Yao, and recently presented American sculptor Eva LeWitt’s first European gallery exhibition.

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The gallery is based in the Oslo Bay where great attention is paid to detail. Here you will find stunning architecture, greenery and a sense of openness, which is both welcoming and inviting. Oslo Bay has the energetic aspects of a city center with a rare and unbeatable access to the water, but it is also a neighborhood. This mix of housing, business and access to the outdoors as well as training activities have been shown to work very well.
“The most important thing for me”, says Esperanza Rosales, “is that the gallery should not have a very local focus. I want to support the artists over a longer period of time and create an understanding of, and a context for, their work for a wide audience.”
American Gallerist in Oslo Supporting Young Norwegian Artists, written by Tor Kjolberg