Olav Christopher Jenssen was born on April 2nd, 1954, on Sortland. He is one of Norway’s leading contemporary artists and has a significant international reputation. Olav Christopher Jenssen is best known as a painter, but works in other media as well, such as drawing, sculpture, graphics and book illustration. His oeuvre can be characterized as neo-expressionistic, with a playfulness that is recurrent in his works. The artist currently lives in Berlin and is professor at the Academy of Art in Brunswick. Previously, he has been professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg. Jenssen’s work is a part of the collections of MoMA – Museum of Modern Art, New York; Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo; Marta Herford Museum, Herford; amongst others. Due to his ties to Northern Norway, he frequently exhibits in the north. For instance, he was the festival exhibitor during the Festival of Northern Norway, Harstad, in 2004.

This exhibition celebrates Jenssen’s 60th anniversary. It is based on a larger donation of his work to the Art Museum of Northern Norway’s art collection.