Kjell Erik Killi-Olsen (1952) - Genanse og verdighet

Kjell Erik Killi-Olsen (born 1952, Trondheim) is one of the most recognized and prominent living artists in Norway, and one of the few who has achieved international success during his lifetime. Raw and unfiltered, daring and distinctive: this is how the painter, graphic artist, sculptor, and global artist Kjell Erik Killi-Olsen is characterized. Killi-Olsen is known for his colorful paintings, sculptures of human figures, and his extensive printmaking production. Killi-Olsen combines the grotesque and macabre with the vulnerable, often with humorous elements. He explores what it means to be human, to look different, to feel – to live. His art is about humanity and reflects Killi-Olsen's vision of people and the world. Killi-Olsen has created numerous public decorations and has been acquired by several artistic institutions, both nationally and internationally. He has exhibited worldwide, including in the United States, Brazil, and Italy.

In Norway, many people know him for the sculpture 'The Man of the Sea' at Artscape Nordland, the sculptural group 'Night of the Salamanders' in Trondheim, or as a friend and collaborator of Her Majesty Queen Sonja. The Kjøpmannsgata Ung Kunst (K-U-K) art center in Trondheim was initiated and funded by Killi-Olsen as a gift to his birthplace, to art, and to its people. Killi-Olsen has an extensive and diverse body of work. He began his education at the Trondheim School of Art. After graduating from the National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in Oslo, he studied in Krakow before entering the National Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo in 1979 under the tutelage of Knut Rose and Ludvig Eikaas. His big break came in the 1980s when he worked in the East Village district of New York. Killi-Olsen's major opportunity was the installation 'Night of the Salamander', Norway's contribution to the São Paulo Art Biennial in 1989. The installation is available free of charge to the public at the facilities of SpareBank1 in Trondheim, where it is permanently located. When Killi-Olsen is in Norway, he lives and works on the medieval farm Sandbu in Vågå, Gudbrandsdalen.