I met Kjell Varvin in 2015 at the Arctic Arts Festival. Shortly afterwards, we travelled together in a van to Tromsø to bring one of his sculptures to the Northern Norway Art Museum. This encounter was the beginning of an extraordinary friendship and collaboration. In 2016 I curated the exhibition Kjell Varvin:Free Geometry.

• Image 1: Cubic Fragments Combined, 2018, painted iron
• Image 2: Piscine, 1974, polished graphite, gouache and pencil
• Image 3: Multiinstall, 2013, digital print
• Image 4: Lerkesang, 1971, gouache, ink, grease crayon on paper

Recycled art in a digital era

Subgaze.com presents a selection of works by the Norwegian multimedia artist. In addition to drawings, prints, paintings and installations, Kjell Varvin has been producing iron sculptures in various sizes and designs since 1993. Cubic Fragments Combined from 2018 can be mounted on walls in various ways. In the tradition of Arte Povera he uses second-hand materials in addition with an ultramarine paint finish, providing a refinement to the sculpture.

• Image 5 – 6: Autumn Dance 1 and 2, 2017, ink, grease chalk and pencil on paper
• Image 7: Cruise, 1976, silkscreen
• Image 8: Svev (Aria), 1981

Performative Minimal Art

Since the 1970s, Varvin's style has been characterised by geometry and reduced use of colour. Formally, the early work in particular is reminiscent of Bauhaus, De Stijl and the Russian avant-garde of the 1920s. Rare works such as the silkscreen Cruise from 1976 also reveal a proximity to Surrealism. 

The print Piscine from 1974 shows both the influence of US-American Minimal Art and the artist's preference for a variety of materials. Using graphite, pencil and gouache, he achieves the maximum range of colour qualities and surfaces that dark tones yield. Alternately matt and glossy, the picture surfaces alternate so that the overall impression changes depending on the angle of view.

Changeability is a special feature of the art of Kjell Varvin, whose main work consists of short-lived installations. Since the 1990s, the artist has also experimented with digital media and image processing programmes. A constant testing of new possibilities and perspectives characterises Kjell Varvin's working method. Material combinations with filigree details create poetic moments.