Cover picture © Credits to Flickr/@markheybo
Cover picture © Credits to Flickr/@markheybo

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The shocking street art of Oslo

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The street art scene is Oslo is wide and quite underground. Here and there you'll discover some galleries of street art popping up occasionally. We’re going to have a look at the pure street scene where no galleries are needed! This is the shocking street art going on in Oslo.

In Greece, you can find street art in Exarchia. In Barcelona, there’s a beautiful street art scene. Probably the most notorious in Europe!

I am humbled by the destructive and creative nature in us all. This is what keeps me painting

Quote taken from Veryprivategallery.com - Faith47 

Picture © credits to Wikimedia/Shamsia Hassani
Picture © credits to Wikimedia/Shamsia Hassani

What Norway is known for

Maybe you wouldn’t think of Oslo as the great street art place that it is. In Norway, there’s fjords, mountains, and fish. To then discover the surprising talents that paint the walls of the great city is thrilling! Norwegians are good and creative in their art. Still, many artists come from other countries and visit Oslo to put their contribution on the walls.

Somebody could say every painting is a self-portrait, but for me, the painting is the opposite of me

Quote taken from Veryprivategallery.com - Conor Harrington

Picture © Credits to Flickr/Anne-Sophie Ofrim
Picture © Credits to Flickr/Anne-Sophie Ofrim

The most artistic area

Go to Tøyen in Oslo and be amazed. They’ll relocate the beautiful Munch museum and will open up the greatest outdoor gallery in the world in around 2020!

Tøyen Oslo
Tøyen Oslo
Tøyen, Oslo, Norge

Unlike the Greek scene which will show you paintings with melancholy and rough times, Oslo has more humour, more jokes and a lot of times the art comes without a clear message and just a raw focus on beauty. Spreading art is done in all kinds of ways and it has quite a fluid doctrine. Fluid means the rules are undefined and flexible. Art can be done anywhere and in any form!

The most popular art area

The main area to find street art is Grunerløkka. I start my exploration from here. The area is made to be painted when you look at the buildings! That’s a compliment and definitely not like saying «maybe you should put on some make-up».

Grünerløkka Oslo
Grünerløkka Oslo
Grünerløkka, Oslo, Norge
Picture © Credits to Pixabay/magdalena_kersting
Picture © Credits to Pixabay/magdalena_kersting

You'll find random pieces of gold on the way

On your way, you’ll discover some singular treasures of art. The placement of street art is random and that's also the charm of it. What helps Oslo to be good for painting buildings is from the 1800's when we had a housing crisis and the result now is a bunch of flat walls ready to be colourized!

I use art to express myself and escape from work. It is sacred

Quote taken from Veryprivategallery.com - Guido Van Helten

Structure, detail, precision

You can see in the Oslo art that the composition is important. We take that detail-orientation trait from the Germans who Scandinavians originate from, although we have more comedians in Oslo than in Berlin. Check out the street art outside the World Peace Centre. When the authorities accept street art, then you know things have got serious. Art is taken seriously in Norway and the results of that are astonishing.

Nobel Peace Center in Oslo
Nobel Peace Center in Oslo
Brynjulf Bulls plass 1, 0250 Oslo, Norvège
Picture © Credits to Pixabay/Stux
Picture © Credits to Pixabay/Stux

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The author

Kai Bonsaksen

Kai Bonsaksen

I'm Kai from Norway. I always follow that little voice in my head that tells me to go and explore new places … and on itinari, I talk about the ones I know the best!

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