Arne Rygg

Faith, hope, and love – Arne Rygg often operates with big words in his art. These concepts are familiar and important, but they can also seem trite and banal. Rygg employs the effects of ads and billboards, and his works may just as likely be found in the city streets, the mountains, or the woods. At Oslo Central Station, he replaced Clear Channel’s advertisements with mirrors that doubled the surroundings and reflected the people passing by. The work also played on the name “Clear Channel”, a channel that is perhaps not as clear as it sounds.  
In 2019 Rygg placed signs out in the woods in Skjolden, on the path that leads to the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein’s cabin. Resembling homemade trail markers with directional arrows, the signs include single words like “Them” and “Us”. In that work, Rygg embarked on a philosophical journey. For the exhibition, the artist has created two signs that comment on how the quality of art is assessed, whether treasured (uvurderlig) or dismissively measured (vurderlig) – a process that is also taking place in the exhibition itself. GH