A quick decision in Bangkok brought my husband, Eldar Einarson, back to his hometown of Kragerø, Norway, where he reunited with friends he had not seen for more than forty years. They are delighted by his unexpected return, this time as a visual artist.
As I have written about before, Eldar has been invited to exhibit several of his artworks in a summer exhibition opening on June 22.
Norwegian artist Eyolf Soot has a summer residence on Jomfruland, an island just outside Kragerø, one of Norway’s most vibrant artist communities, which I have written about in previous articles.
When a space unexpectedly became available in an exhibition he had initiated himself, he began looking for interesting new contributors. After seeing some of Eldar’s recent works online, he felt that this new way of creating visual art would fit perfectly into the concept.
Eyolf believes that digitally created imagery will become a natural part of the future art world and that new techniques enrich rather than threaten artistic expression. In his invitation, he emphasized that he wanted to place Eldar’s works alongside those of Pushwagner, the Norwegian artist known for portraying modern humanity trapped between mass production, consumerism, technology, and loneliness.
This is particularly interesting because Eldar’s artworks represent, in many ways, the opposite perspective. While Pushwagner directs his attention toward society, Eldar focuses on the individual’s inner journey. His images explore loneliness, hope, joy, and compassion through a personal visual language he calls Digitalpoetism & Beyond.
Also participating in the exhibition is local Kragerø artist Thomas Bakkerud, whose paintings explore imagination, spontaneity, and the energy of color. Eyolf Soot himself contributes works created through mixed techniques that challenge the imagination and invite viewers into unexpected visual landscapes.
When Eldar learned that he would be exhibiting in the same room as several highly respected Norwegian artists, he decided that the artworks had to be produced to the highest possible standard. He wanted to present them both as museum-quality Fine Art prints mounted on aluminium composite panels and as images printed directly onto aluminium, including one piece produced on brushed aluminium.
Unfortunately, while in Davao, we were not able to access production facilities capable of meeting the standards expected by the European art market. For that reason, we chose to produce five large exhibition pieces in Bangkok at Bloom Pro Lab, a print studio known for its exceptionally high quality and international standards.
At the same time, we produced eight smaller works as direct UV prints on aluminium composite panels through the Gelato system, which is integrated with our Shopify gallery. These were shipped directly to Kragerø.
The original plan was to ship the larger works from Bangkok as well. However, when Eldar discovered that the shipping cost would be roughly the same as an airline ticket, he decided to travel with the artworks himself. We agreed that I would return to Davao to take care of our responsibilities there.
So Eldar boarded a flight to Norway — 79 years old, travelling alone with a large package of artworks and all the logistics that came with it. He also needed to find a place to stay for nearly three weeks before the exhibition opened. It is a level of determination that can only be admired.
After flights, trains, buses, and nearly twenty hours of travel, he arrived at Tangen, a bus stop outside Kragerø. There he was met by his old friend Per Krogsrud, who picked him up by car, took him home, and offered him a bed and storage space for the artworks.
Eldar was given food and a chance to rest before continuing to Jomfruland, where the exhibition will take place. There, organiser Eyolf Soot has a small summer house where Eldar could recover from the long journey.
A few days later they travelled into Kragerø to attend the opening of an exhibition by two artists Eldar had not seen in more than forty years: Tore Juell and Thorvald Lund Hansen.
It was a wonderful reunion. Both artists had appeared in a television documentary Eldar made about Kragerø artists back in 1976, and their friendship had survived decades of distance. Thorvald Lund Hansen said he has never forgotten the friendship and is now painting a picture especially for Eldar.
Eldar describes the meeting as both moving and inspiring. He keeps me updated on everything that happens and regularly sends photographs from his stay.
When artworks are produced on aluminium, a mounting system must be attached to the back so they can be displayed on a wall. Eldar wanted the pieces to float slightly away from the wall, similar to professional gallery installations.
This meant developing his own custom mounting solution using aluminium profiles attached to the back of each artwork.
The first thing he did was find a six-metre aluminium C-profile in Bangkok and have it cut into the required lengths. The pieces then travelled with him to Norway. But he needed a place to mount the profiles on the back of the aluminium prints.
Here, luck smiled on Eldar once again.
At an outdoor café opposite the gallery exhibiting the works of Tore Juell and Thorvald Lund Hansen, he met another old friend: Sigurd Bothner. Sigurd is an actor, architect, and the man who designed the building on Jomfruland where Eldar’s artworks will be displayed.
Delighted by the unexpected reunion, Sigurd offered Eldar accommodation in a small studio apartment he had available.
There was just one small problem. A large iron bed had to be assembled first.
Sigurd had not managed to do it himself, but Eldar, who originally trained as a marine engineer before entering the film industry, considered it a straightforward task. When he also ran into another old friend, rallycross driver Sverre Løchen, who is trained as a mechanic, the problem was quickly solved.
Shortly afterwards, Eldar collected the smaller artworks that had arrived by post, and he now reports that everything is ready for the exhibition opening on June 22.
What strikes me most about this story is how much has fallen into place through unexpected encounters, old friendships, and a willingness to find solutions.
Eldar threw himself into the unknown with great attention to quality and no guarantee that everything would work out as planned. Yet the path revealed itself as he walked it.
Perhaps that is what art is about as well: continuing forward even when you cannot see the entire road ahead.
And discovering that good friends are a far greater blessing than anything you could ever plan for.
I am keeping my fingers crossed for a successful exhibition. In my next blog post, I will present all the artworks that will be on display.
Featured image © Eldar Einarson
