Deep dive with: SIGVE KNUTSON
Editor. Marlo Saalmink
Photography. Ida Fiskaa
As an inaugural written document on art, for these pages, we needed to re-think, reflect and dissect this vast universe our own way. In art, as in fashion; voices are needed. Empowered tongues that can inspire, enrage, engage, open, close, contradict, accept and guide us. Art has always served this role, looking at a world that currently is on fire, inspiring guiding minds are more important than ever. Be they different, be they loud, be they waiting or perhaps never found. REVS shapes a dialogue entertained by observant individuals that trust in themselves, embrace their soulful creative forces, without an incessant need of approval. They simply do, write, paint, sculpt, sew, document, create or destroy.
December 2020. We found Sigve Knutson, working hard in his Oslo atelier, undeterred, focused yet emphatically welcoming. His atelier has no internet, tv´s or fancy music systems, it is a humble place of work, where hands do all the talking. Sigve, serving us humble black coffees, is a quiet instigator, no-frills, no pretence, surrounded by the works that live or merely pause here, far away from (commercial) and (digital) noise. From furniture to objects, to spatial solutions, he feels comfortable in his skin, as the objects he creates with such controlled devotion, simply are allowed to exist. No ´artsy´ academic narratives, no needless gobbledygook. As an onlooker you make up your own mind, approaching the works as you like, in total freedom. This is art, this is true punk, in all its poetic understatement.
FORUM. Sigve, thank you for having us. I want to begin by speaking of youth. Could you tell me about what triggered and drove you as a youngling?
Welcome to Oslo guys! Of course, I was into making food and wanted to become a chef. I spent my pocket-money on things like a pasta roller and cooking knives while the other kids were buying plastic toys. I still use the things I bought back then. I was probably 12 -13 years old. I was really restless and thankfully I grew up in a small town with a big beautiful coastline. Summers were quite settled. They were always about going around in boats discovering new places with friends. But I needed something to get me through the other (read: winter) months. So I have always been really dedicated to what ever I am into. It started with cooking, then music and now I have sort of figured out that being an artist is the perfect thing for me. It allows me to have changing interests and to explore and discover.
BOOKLET. Next to cooking, can you recall some of the films, books and music you surrounded yourself with?
Yeah, I can, but to be honest, for me it was mostly about music. I was never really into films and books. I remember when downloading sort of became a normal thing to do. That is when I started to listen to a lot of the famous jazz legends. People like Jaco Pastorius, Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, Before that, I think I just consumed whatever was readily available.
FORGIVE. As an artist, the path leading to the first piece ever made is so important, hence I asked about your childhood. What was that initial creation for you?
That´s hard to remember. That being said, my mother is an art teacher at the local high school. So she was probably really good at encouraging me and my sister to draw and I remember there was a constant focus on keeping yourself busy. I think she tried to teach us about losing yourself in the work, like being in the same sort of zone where time just flies by. This is a mindset, more than a creation, that I remember fondly.
MANIFEST. Speaking of getting lost in time: How much of your work is intuitive?
Intuition is key to me. For me, it is a way of keeping me interested in the work. If I do not quite know where I am headed to with a piece, it is a good thing to turn to my hands and let my mind simple take over. Because I am always intrigued to see where I end up. It is not like I have figured it out yet, and I do not think I ever will, but sometimes things need to be more planned. And to be honest, often these are the more successful pieces… haha…
PUBLIC. I think it is good you have not figured things out yet. But from creation flows interaction. It means an audience. How do you value the conversation between yourself, as a craftsman, and the onlookers?
I value the encounters that I have with onlookers. The work needs to be seen, so the conversations are a part of this. I think I am lucky because I do not need to see a certain reaction form the viewer to be happy, and I am very happy to talk about the surface level things like materiality and the way things are made. I think that it often is a good way to start a conversation that might lead to something more poetic. Especially with people who do not already have a huge interest in art.
CELLAR. We are in the atelier today, surrounded by your work, the machines, tools and a rather unique atmosphere. Is the atelier like a home for you too?
That I would not say. I think it is the home of my objects, but not for me. So it is a kind of home, just not mine. To me, where we are today, is a place to work with my hands, there is no wifi or a place to work on the computer. It is just about doing. The rest I can do from my actual home.
PAVEMENT. Speaking of home, this is Oslo. Your adopted residence for now. If we went on a Sigve-escape, what would we do?
Oh, we would probably bike to a dock that I like or have a swim in the ocean by Malmøya. I often go there after work in the summer and enjoy the light and the warm water. Since this is a special day to me: we would definitely grab a beer in the city somewhere afterwards.
SPATIAL. Sounds like a plan. Lets return to the pieces, your works can be seen in public spaces and have been shown both in- and outside contexts. Making me think of Rem Koolhaas and his thinking on the borders between what is in- and exterior. How do you approach this yourself?
To be honest, this is not something I spend a lot of time thinking about. I like to think about architectural elements but often isolate these from the rest of the body. I have learned that when you take something outside it diminishes in size. The same of course applies, if you bring something from the outside to the inside. My approach to building is a bit like how I relate to objects. I like it when a material is the driving force for the shape of the building. So non-mono material buildings. There are not many of those around actually.
DICTIONARY. We have met a couple of times now and I always appreciate the fact that you are more comfortable with the craftsman term over designer or artist. What according to you speaks true craft?
What I do is material driven work. I often think that in craft, material skillfulness can take up too much place, so I try to balance on the borders of categorization. I should not say borders because these «borders» have been blurred away a long time ago. So let´s not go there, haha. It is art, it is craft, it is design, it is contemporary culture. I recently went to Buenos Aires and finally saw the works of a great sculptor Jorge Michel (1925-1991). He is not that known but there were a few works on show at MALBA. Truly a great moment. ( Dont try to google his name, you will only find the musician). Instead, head on over to: https:// www.jorgemichel.com.ar/obra
BLOCK(AID). I can see you like his work, wow. So if we could show your works, outside of art fairs, galleries or minimalistic appointed spaces, what would be the dream, if there were no physical limitations?
Good one! Well, I really like the idea of a sculpture island. So I am trying to make that happen in my hometown of Lillesand, Norway. Let’s see. I would love to see large sculptures transported by boat out to the island to be mounted. I think the sea could be the best backdrop. And also like a museum you are sort of entering a space when you get on shore of an island. It has soft boundaries but is clearly another piece of land, so you are allowed to think differently. Your mind has to reset. You did not just get out of a car, you came by boat and having grown up with boat rides I think that might be the ultimate transition from everyday life to seeing art.
RITE (AID). This is an island I would happily visit. Another element to art of course is the commercial motivation, keeping in mind Warhol´s notorious comments on this. How do you approach the art market?
To be honest, I am still trying to figure out where to position my self in that whole world, and I am fully open to change and think that the way I approach it now. As I expect this might change a lot over the course of my life. So far, I welcome the commercial aspects, only I try to show that big editions are not the only way to make commercial works. When something is replicated it is like it is an answer to something, and I dont see my works as answers. They are possibilities and steps towards something, and that something is probably my inner intuition or something more poetic than that.
LIVE (AID). Sigve, it is time to leave you to your work... Imagine the end of days, the last ship about to leave (not Mars I promise…) and you were allowed but three belongings. What would journey with you?
I would do some research on were we are going and what materials we might find and bring three tools so I could start making more things that we would need to survive. It is as simple as that.
Sigve Knutson documented exclusively for REVS by the lovely: Ida Fiskaa
For more: sigveknutson.com & idafiskaa.com
Deep dive with: SIGVE KNUTSON
Editor. Marlo Saalmink
Photography. Ida Fiskaa
As an inaugural written document on art, for these pages, we needed to re-think, reflect and dissect this vast universe our own way. In art, as in fashion; voices are needed. Empowered tongues that can inspire, enrage, engage, open, close, contradict, accept and guide us. Art has always served this role, looking at a world that currently is on fire, inspiring guiding minds are more important than ever. Be they different, be they loud, be they waiting or perhaps never found. REVS shapes a dialogue entertained by observant individuals that trust in themselves, embrace their soulful creative forces, without an incessant need of approval. They simply do, write, paint, sculpt, sew, document, create or destroy.
December 2020. We found Sigve Knutson, working hard in his Oslo atelier, undeterred, focused yet emphatically welcoming. His atelier has no internet, tv´s or fancy music systems, it is a humble place of work, where hands do all the talking. Sigve, serving us humble black coffees, is a quiet instigator, no-frills, no pretence, surrounded by the works that live or merely pause here, far away from (commercial) and (digital) noise. From furniture to objects, to spatial solutions, he feels comfortable in his skin, as the objects he creates with such controlled devotion, simply are allowed to exist. No ´artsy´ academic narratives, no needless gobbledygook. As an onlooker you make up your own mind, approaching the works as you like, in total freedom. This is art, this is true punk, in all its poetic understatement.
FORUM. Sigve, thank you for having us. I want to begin by speaking of youth. Could you tell me about what triggered and drove you as a youngling?
Welcome to Oslo guys! Of course, I was into making food and wanted to become a chef. I spent my pocket-money on things like a pasta roller and cooking knives while the other kids were buying plastic toys. I still use the things I bought back then. I was probably 12 -13 years old. I was really restless and thankfully I grew up in a small town with a big beautiful coastline. Summers were quite settled. They were always about going around in boats discovering new places with friends. But I needed something to get me through the other (read: winter) months. So I have always been really dedicated to what ever I am into. It started with cooking, then music and now I have sort of figured out that being an artist is the perfect thing for me. It allows me to have changing interests and to explore and discover.
BOOKLET. Next to cooking, can you recall some of the films, books and music you surrounded yourself with?
Yeah, I can, but to be honest, for me it was mostly about music. I was never really into films and books. I remember when downloading sort of became a normal thing to do. That is when I started to listen to a lot of the famous jazz legends. People like Jaco Pastorius, Pat Metheny, Joni Mitchell, Before that, I think I just consumed whatever was readily available.
FORGIVE. As an artist, the path leading to the first piece ever made is so important, hence I asked about your childhood. What was that initial creation for you?
That´s hard to remember. That being said, my mother is an art teacher at the local high school. So she was probably really good at encouraging me and my sister to draw and I remember there was a constant focus on keeping yourself busy. I think she tried to teach us about losing yourself in the work, like being in the same sort of zone where time just flies by. This is a mindset, more than a creation, that I remember fondly.
MANIFEST. Speaking of getting lost in time: How much of your work is intuitive?
Intuition is key to me. For me, it is a way of keeping me interested in the work. If I do not quite know where I am headed to with a piece, it is a good thing to turn to my hands and let my mind simple take over. Because I am always intrigued to see where I end up. It is not like I have figured it out yet, and I do not think I ever will, but sometimes things need to be more planned. And to be honest, often these are the more successful pieces… haha…
PUBLIC. I think it is good you have not figured things out yet. But from creation flows interaction. It means an audience. How do you value the conversation between yourself, as a craftsman, and the onlookers?
I value the encounters that I have with onlookers. The work needs to be seen, so the conversations are a part of this. I think I am lucky because I do not need to see a certain reaction form the viewer to be happy, and I am very happy to talk about the surface level things like materiality and the way things are made. I think that it often is a good way to start a conversation that might lead to something more poetic. Especially with people who do not already have a huge interest in art.
CELLAR. We are in the atelier today, surrounded by your work, the machines, tools and a rather unique atmosphere. Is the atelier like a home for you too?
That I would not say. I think it is the home of my objects, but not for me. So it is a kind of home, just not mine. To me, where we are today, is a place to work with my hands, there is no wifi or a place to work on the computer. It is just about doing. The rest I can do from my actual home.
PAVEMENT. Speaking of home, this is Oslo. Your adopted residence for now. If we went on a Sigve-escape, what would we do?
Oh, we would probably bike to a dock that I like or have a swim in the ocean by Malmøya. I often go there after work in the summer and enjoy the light and the warm water. Since this is a special day to me: we would definitely grab a beer in the city somewhere afterwards.
SPATIAL. Sounds like a plan. Lets return to the pieces, your works can be seen in public spaces and have been shown both in- and outside contexts. Making me think of Rem Koolhaas and his thinking on the borders between what is in- and exterior. How do you approach this yourself?
To be honest, this is not something I spend a lot of time thinking about. I like to think about architectural elements but often isolate these from the rest of the body. I have learned that when you take something outside it diminishes in size. The same of course applies, if you bring something from the outside to the inside. My approach to building is a bit like how I relate to objects. I like it when a material is the driving force for the shape of the building. So non-mono material buildings. There are not many of those around actually.
DICTIONARY. We have met a couple of times now and I always appreciate the fact that you are more comfortable with the craftsman term over designer or artist. What according to you speaks true craft?
What I do is material driven work. I often think that in craft, material skillfulness can take up too much place, so I try to balance on the borders of categorization. I should not say borders because these «borders» have been blurred away a long time ago. So let´s not go there, haha. It is art, it is craft, it is design, it is contemporary culture. I recently went to Buenos Aires and finally saw the works of a great sculptor Jorge Michel (1925-1991). He is not that known but there were a few works on show at MALBA. Truly a great moment. ( Dont try to google his name, you will only find the musician). Instead, head on over to: https:// www.jorgemichel.com.ar/obra
BLOCK(AID). I can see you like his work, wow. So if we could show your works, outside of art fairs, galleries or minimalistic appointed spaces, what would be the dream, if there were no physical limitations?
Good one! Well, I really like the idea of a sculpture island. So I am trying to make that happen in my hometown of Lillesand, Norway. Let’s see. I would love to see large sculptures transported by boat out to the island to be mounted. I think the sea could be the best backdrop. And also like a museum you are sort of entering a space when you get on shore of an island. It has soft boundaries but is clearly another piece of land, so you are allowed to think differently. Your mind has to reset. You did not just get out of a car, you came by boat and having grown up with boat rides I think that might be the ultimate transition from everyday life to seeing art.
RITE (AID). This is an island I would happily visit. Another element to art of course is the commercial motivation, keeping in mind Warhol´s notorious comments on this. How do you approach the art market?
To be honest, I am still trying to figure out where to position my self in that whole world, and I am fully open to change and think that the way I approach it now. As I expect this might change a lot over the course of my life. So far, I welcome the commercial aspects, only I try to show that big editions are not the only way to make commercial works. When something is replicated it is like it is an answer to something, and I dont see my works as answers. They are possibilities and steps towards something, and that something is probably my inner intuition or something more poetic than that.
LIVE (AID). Sigve, it is time to leave you to your work... Imagine the end of days, the last ship about to leave (not Mars I promise…) and you were allowed but three belongings. What would journey with you?
I would do some research on were we are going and what materials we might find and bring three tools so I could start making more things that we would need to survive. It is as simple as that.
Sigve Knutson documented exclusively for REVS by the lovely: Ida Fiskaa
For more: sigveknutson.com & idafiskaa.com