What do these words mean, and to whom are they addressed? Gallery owner Randi Thommessen has adapted these terms from the Norwegian National Museum’s new public-management-aligned core values for the exhibition at LNM (The Norwegian Association of Painters).

Before becoming director at LNM (The Norwegian Association of Painters), Randi Thommessen served as a curator at Trondheim Kunstmuseum from 2015 to 2019. From 2007 to 2012, she founded and ran LAUTOM Contemporary, an artist-run space in Oslo. Thommessen holds an MA in Curatorial Practice from the Bergen Academy of Art and Design and has a background in fine art from Central Saint Martins in London.

“I studied art at Central Saint Martins in London and for a long time thought I would become a painter. But I didn’t like the solitude of the studio,” she says. “Producing art wasn’t that important to me, so I eventually realized I wasn’t meant to be an artist.”

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The LNM Exhibition critically examines what today’s museums stand for. It features works by artists Clara Claussen, Wenche Gulbransen, Victor Lind, Joel Billekvist, and Øystein Aasan that question who is recognized, what kind of curiosity is invoked, and who is included in the community.

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The exhibition runs through June 21. The next exhibition at LNM will feature the Bergen-based artist Anthony Morton from Durban, South Africa. It runs from August 6 through September 6.

Exhibition in Oslo: Recognition, Curiosity, and Community, Tor Kjolberg reports. All images © LNM. Feature image (top): Wall, by Wenche Gulbrandsen.