Hanne Friis
Born in 1972, Oslo, Norway

There is a corporeal presence in Hanne Friis’s works. In the objects, this presence is woven together with all the processes that have left their mark on the material, and, in the drawings, moving organic patterns create associations with the inner and outer topography of the human being. In this way, Hanne Friis’s art is driven by paradoxes. The amorphous, twisted, and tangled structures are finished, and astonishingly precise, but they are also on a path towards becoming. They radiate a greedy energy, yet at the same time they are painfully present in their own coming to be, as if they are on the verge of bursting.

Hanne Friis is considered one of the most influential Norwegian contemporary artists working with textiles today. Before specializing in textile art, Hanne Friis studied sculpture and painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Trondheim between 1992 and 1996. Friis has exhibited worldwide and her works are included in several important public and private collections, including the National Museum of Art, Oslo; Haugar Kunstmuseum, Tønsberg; the National Museum of Decorative Arts, Trondheim; the West Norway Museum of Decorative Arts and the Norwegian Parliament. Recent group exhibitions include Nice to (finally) meet you at the Seinajoki Kunsthalle, Finland in 2020, Topography at the Kristiansand Kunsthall, Kristiansand, Norway in 2019, Revelations at the Grand Palais, Paris in 2019, and Tissage Tressage at the Villa Datris Foundation in France in 2018.

Art Education
1992 – 1996 Academy of Fine Arts, Trondheim, Norway
1993 Myndlista- og Handidaskòli, Reykjavik, Island
1991- 92 Rogaland Art School, Stavanger, Norway
1990- 91 Bergen Art School, Bergen, Norway

Upcoming Shows
2022/23 Solo exhibition, The Vigeland Museum, Oslo, Norway
2023/24 Solo exhibition, Tårnsalen, KODE Art Museum, Bergen, Norway

Solo Shows
2020 Hidden Patterns, KRAFT, Bergen, Norway
2019 Phases, Galerie Maria Wettergren, Paris
2018 Spiral, Trafo Kunsthall, Asker
2017 New Ornaments, ARTendal, Arendal, Norway
2017 New Ornaments, Akershus Kunstsenter, Lillestrøm, Norway
2016 Metamorphoses, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo, Norway
2010 MJUK, Ram Galleri, Oslo, Norway
2010 Layers, Gustavsbergs Konsthall, Gustavsberg, Sweden
2010 Layers, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo, Norway
2007 Konservativen, Punkt Ø, Halden, Norway
2007 Inside out and round and round, Soft, Oslo, Norway
2006 Change, Akershus kunstnersenter, Lillestrøm, Norway
2003 Connections, Tromsø Kunstforening, Tromsø, Norway
2003 Connections, Galleri F15, Jeløya, Norway
1998 Mellow, UKS Galleri, Oslo, Norway

Selected Group Shows
2020 December constellations, Buer Gallery, Oslo
2020 Nice to (finally) meet you, Seinajoki Kunsthalle, Finland
2020 Dream Within a Dream, QB Gallery, Oslo
2019 Revelations, Grand Palais, Paris
2019 Topography, Kristiansand Kunsthall, Kristiansand, Norway
2018 Manners of Communication, Ways of Telling, Dropsfabrikken, Trondheim
2018 Tissage Tressage, Foundation Villa Datris, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France
2018 The Forgetfulness is Full of Memories, MARSO Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico
2017 re:construction, Hint Project, Aarhus, Danmark, Disclosing the Uncanny, Kristin Hjellegjerde, London, England
2016 Hanging Gardens, Kunsthall Grenland, Porsgrunn, Norway
2015 Soft Monuments, KODE Art Museum, Bergen, Norway, Spring Depot, Tenthaus, Oslo, Norway
2014 We are Living on a Star, Henie Onstad Art Center, Norway
2014 CRAFT!, Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
2013 Edvard Munch 150th Anniversary, Åsgårdstrand, Norway
2013 The Norwegian Sculpture Biennale, The Vigeland Museum, Oslo, Norway
2013 A Thousands Threads, Lillehammer Art Museum, Norway
2012 National Art Exhibition, Oslo Central Station, Norway
2012 Norwegian Craft
2012 The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Oslo, Norway, Balanced – unbalanced
2012 Kunstbanken Hedmark, Norway
2011 Collect 2011, Saatchi Gallery, London, England
2010 Post Fossil, 21_21 Design Sight Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2009 Bomuldsfabriken, Arendal, Norway
2009 Tendencies, Galleri F 15, Punkt Ø, Norway
2008 Norwegian pictures, Oslo Cityhall, Galleri Brandstup, Norway
2008 A world of Folk, Sandnes, Stavanger 2008, Norway
2005-06 Objects, tradition and renewal, SKINN, Norway
2002 Uro, Nordnorsk Art Center, Svolvær, Norway
2002 To see and be seen, Østfold Art Center, Norway
2001 Treff, Bergen Art Museum, Norway
1998 Castor Fiber, UKS Gallery, Oslo, Norway
1997 Diagnose, Stavanger Kunstforening, Norway
1997 Flash, Sandvika Teater, Bærum, Norway
1996 Trivial Groove, Galleri F15, Jeløya, Norway
1996 Frisbee, Hordaland Art Center, Bergen, Norway
1995 Bergen Ginseng, Galleri Otto Plonk, Bergen, Norway

Grants
2020 Fegerstens Foundation
2016 Norwegian Visual Artists Commission Fund, 10 year work grant
2013 Norwegian Visual Artists Commission Fund, 3 year work grant
2012 Norwegian Visual Artists Commission Fund, 1 year work grant
2011 Norwegian Visual Artists Commission Fund, 1 year work grant
2010 Norwegian Visual Artists Commission Fund, 2 year work grant
2009 Norwegian Visual Artists Commission Fund, 1 year work grant
2008 Norwegian Visual Artists Commission Fund, 1 year work grant
2007 Norwegian Visual Artists Commission Fund, 1 year work grant
2005 Norwegian Ministry of Culture, Work grant for young artists, 2 year
2004 Norwegian Visual Artists Commission Fund, 1 year work grant
2002 Chr. Lorck Schives legacy
1998 Norwegian Ministry of Culture, Work grant for young artists, 1 year

Public Collections
2021 Haugar Art Museum
2020 Sørlandets Kunstmuseum, Kristiansand, Norway
2019 The Norwegian Parliament
2018 The National Museum, Oslo, Norway
2017 The Museum of Decorative Art, Trondheim, Norway
2016 The National Museum, Oslo, Norway
2016 The City of Oslo Art Collection, Norway
2014 LO, gift to Hamar Culture House, Hamar, Norway
2012 The West Norway Museum of Decorative Art, Bergen
2009 The Museum of Decorative Art, Trondheim, Norway
2003 The Art Museum of Northern Norway, Tromsø
1998 The Art Museum of Northern Norway, Tromsø
1996 Arts Council, Norway

Commissions
2021 Rev Ocean
2020 Risenga Public School
2018 Aasta Hansteen, Statoil Art Programme, Norway
2016 Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
2016 Sentralen, Savings Bank Foundation, Oslo, Norway
2016 Hønefoss High Scool, Buskerud, Norway
2015 Tromsø Police Headquarter, Tromsø, Norway
2005 Ammerud school, Oslo, Norway