Larger Body

Bjørlo, Per Inge, 2002

Sculpture in brushed steel, 275x375x420cm, Henie-Onstad Art Center

Per Inge Bjørlo (f.1952) operates within a number of different mediums and techniques; drawing, graphic art, painting, sculpture and installations. He was educated at the Bergen School of Art and Design and the National Academy of Art in Oslo and had his breakthrough on the Norwegian art scene during the 1980s. Since then he has been one of Norway’s most prominent visual artists. Bjørlo has represented Norway at the Venice Art Biennial in 1987 and exhibited at countless galleries and museums, both nationally and internationally.

The monumental sculpture Larger Body has an expanding, voluminous form. One can think of it as a human-like being, a torso of sorts, or perhaps a massive amoeba-shaped creature. The sculpture is made of brushed steel and is closely related to Bjørlo’s six enormous sculptures that are placed around the terminal at Gardermoen Airport.

Larger Body was originally intended to be placed in front of the UN Building in New York as part of a monument over fallen members of the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces. Criticism was directed at the UN, however, for using this project to promote and glorify their own work, and this led to a cancellation of the entire project. In 2008 the DNB Savings Bank Foundation bequeathed the sculpture as a deposit to the Henie Onstad Art Center in honor of its 40th anniversary, and it now stands in a prominent position in front of the main entrance.

OWG