Art - Decoration, Trøndelag Theater

Artist: Søren Ubisch (1997).

Søren Ubisch won a closed competition for artistic decoration of the façades of the new theatre building in 1994. He considered it his task as an artist to elaborate on the symbolic value of the shape of the building. The rotunda around the theatre hall is a symbolic expression of the purpose of the building. It was crucial to work this into the decoration. In cooperation with the architect, the rotunda was furnished with stone covered in gold and platinum. Corresponding decoration was also carried out on two walls in the foyer. This artistic treatment may be called integrated art in the true sense of the term. The artwork that shrouds the body of the building is like a stage curtain dividing the world of theatre from the real world. The curtain is both part of the theatre and a symbol of it. The colours used by the artist, silver and gold, are also taken from the created world of the theatre.

After completing his education in Oslo, the ceramics artist Ubisch studied for five years in Japan, where he won a grant to study ancient Japanese ceramics. Ubisch was interested in the possibilities that the block of tile offered when it came to shaping granite patterns on large wall surfaces and did much work involving these. On his relief walls, he employs pattern repetitions that show the influence of minimalist art and the Japanese tradition without décor.