Art on board — Havila Voyages

Art on board Havila Voyages

On board the four ships of Havila Voyages, you will find art created by four Norwegian artists. Each ship has its own artist, and every work has been chosen and created to complement the nature outside the windows.

The thinking behind the art

When you travel with Havila Voyages, nature is always present. Large panoramic windows frame the landscape, and the interior is designed to enhance it, not compete with it. Stone, wood and wool from Norwegian and local suppliers create a calm and warm setting. The interior was designed by the Danish interior architect Camilla Karoline Horn.

Hege Sævik Rabben, responsible for the art on the Havila Voyages ships — Hege Sævik Rabben

The art follows the same idea. The styles vary greatly, but all the works reflect Norwegian nature: light and weather, water, growth and movement.

Hege Sævik Rabben has been responsible for the art on all four ships. She wanted art with meaning, not decoration.

“Real art adds value. It does something for the atmosphere and the wellbeing on board.”

She deliberately chose Norwegian artists. Many guests come from abroad, and the ships offer an opportunity to showcase Norwegian art to an international audience. Each artist was given one ship, and the works are adapted to the spaces where they hang. The large paintings in the stairwells were created specifically for those walls.

On board you will find oil paintings, acrylic paintings, watercolours, lithographs, etchings, monotypes, woodcuts, botanical prints and ceramic plates.

The artists

Ørnulf Opdahl, Havila Capella

Ørnulf Opdahl was the first choice when the ships were to be decorated, and he was given the honour of creating the art for the first ship, Havila Capella. He comes from Ålesund and is one of Norway’s most acclaimed landscape painters, with exhibitions in countries including the United Kingdom, where he holds an honorary doctorate from Northumbria University.

The artist Ørnulf Opdahl in his studio on Godøya — Ørnulf Opdahl

Opdahl does not paint from photographs. His motifs come from memories of light, weather and landscape in Sunnmøre, often from growing up in Ålesund in the 1950s, when the harbour was full of boats during the herring season. Both his grandfathers were seamen, and the sea has always been close to his heart.

“For me, art has never been therapy. It is more like a powerful urge to create, all the time.” Ørnulf Opdahl

On board
Six oil paintings created especially for Havila Voyages, six monotypes, six etchings, three lithographs and 12 ceramic plates. The largest painting, “Tind” (Peak), measures 1.70 x 1.70 metres and hangs in the stairwell on deck 8. It is inspired by Kolåstinden in the Sunnmøre Alps.

Cathrine Knudsen, Havila Castor

Cathrine Knudsen’s art is about stillness, calm and fragile nature. Nature that sprouts and grows, that withers and fades, and nature that is under threat. This fits well with Havila Voyages’ aim to protect the nature the ships sail through.

Cathrine Knudsen in front of one of her large works on board Havila Castor — Cathrine Knudsen

Knudsen is self-taught. For several years she painted quietly alongside her job at the Norwegian broadcaster TV 2, until a gallery owner persuaded her to exhibit in 2003. She has made a living from her art since 2007. She paints in oil, layer upon layer, using stencils and spatulas that create a relief-like surface, and keeps to natural earth tones.

“Decorating Havila Castor. I think it’s absolutely amazing to have been part of that.” Cathrine Knudsen

On board
Seven oil paintings, ten monotypes, ten botanical prints, seven woodcuts and two lithographs. The botanical prints are made from real leaves from her garden, boiled into the paper.

Frank Brunner, Havila Polaris

Frank Brunner from Høvåg in southern Norway has exhibited in cities including Paris, Berlin and New York. He was educated at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo, the Repin Academy in St. Petersburg and Yale University. His pictures are concrete and often based on real events, with perspective, symmetry and order.

Frank Brunner by the painting “Katarsis” in the stairwell on Havila Polaris — Frank Brunner

Almost all the works on Havila Polaris contain water. They are about the transition from one place to another, physically or emotionally, just like a journey along the coast. In the stairwell between decks 8 and 9 hangs a picture from the series “Katarsis”, a man stepping into a waterfall. In the Havrand restaurant hangs the triptych “Abaton”: the sea, with a glowing city far out on the horizon.

“Abaton is this non-physical place far away on the horizon, which you cannot see, but which you feel exists inside you.” Frank Brunner

On board
14 etchings, including works from the globe series “Tangible”, two lithographs, four oil paintings and four works in oil on etching, a technique Brunner developed himself.

Ingrid Haukelidsæter, Havila Pollux

Ingrid Haukelidsæter from Stavanger paints in an abstract style. Her background as a dancer still shapes her brushstrokes, and she often paints to music, especially jazz. Her paintings emerge through a dialogue with the canvas, almost like a game of chess.

Ingrid Haukelidsæter in front of her painting in the stairwell on Havila Pollux — Ingrid Haukelidsæter

For Havila Pollux, she wanted to bring the stairwells to life while preserving the calm on board, with colours and movement drawn from the nature the ship sails past. The large, vibrant paintings also serve as meeting points.

“Guests can, for example, agree among themselves: let’s meet by the red one.” Ingrid Haukelidsæter

On board
Three large acrylic paintings, five watercolours, three monotypes and 17 lithographs, 28 works in total.
Facts

The techniques on board

The works on board were made in several different ways. Here is a short explanation of the techniques behind them, so you know what you are looking at.

Lithograph
The motif is drawn with greasy chalk or ink on a limestone. The stone is moistened, and the ink only sticks where there is grease. Colour lithographs are printed using one stone per colour.
Monotype
The artist paints with printing ink on glass or metal and transfers the image to paper in a printing press. The method produces only one print, so every work is unique.

Etching
The motif is etched into a metal plate with acid, and the ink is printed from the recesses.
Woodcut
The motif is carved into a wooden block, and the ink is printed from the raised areas. The grain and growth rings of the wood become part of the picture.