Art and architectural installations based on the exploration of patterns, systems and dynamic repetition.
Edith Lundebrekke graduated in 1992 from the National College of Arts and Crafts in Oslo, Norway. Her degree is from the Faculty of Textiles, but she works mainly with other materials, such as wood, glass, brick and metal.
Since then she has had several solo exhibitions in Norway, and participated in a number of group exhibitions nationally and internationally. Many of Norway’s leading art institutions have purchased her work, and she has received particular attention for her works with wooden reliefs, where the experience of colour and shape changes according to the spectator’s movement.
Lundebrekke has received a number of major commissions, including hospitals, airports, schools, embassies and government representational facilities. Over the years she has also worked as a curator and art consultant.
Interaction and colour are key elements in Lundebrekke’s art. She is intrigued by the fact that light and shadow, in interaction with the environment and the spectator, create fluctuating visual experiences. Ambiguity occurs through perceptual and optical effects, and manipulates the spectator’s perception of surface, depth and colour.
System is the common denominator in all her work, and she works with simple visual systems. This allows for rich and complex images, immediate and intricate at the same time. Through repetition and recombination of simple geometric shapes, she examines systems as the basis for image making, and has explored this in various materials and techniques.
One characteristic of pattern is the possibility of endless extension, both in width and height. It is also well suited for large scales, which makes it ideal for architectural integration. Patterns have an apparent relationship to architectural principles through repetition of modules and geometric forms.
Many of Lundebrekke’s works are reliefs made of coloured wooden slats attached to a plywood background, creating a shallow surface with slight depth and space variation. The coloured slats make a layer that interplays with the coloured pattern painted on the background. The perception of the work is constantly shifting according to viewing angle and the changing angle and quality of the incidental light.