We are closed in January. During this period, we are building a new exhibition about the fairy-tale artist Theodor Kittelsen at Brekkeparken, and we are preparing for the celebration of Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik at the Porcelain Museum in Porsgrunn.
The Kittelsen Exhibition
The artist Theodor Kittelsen was born in Kragerø in 1857. Telemark Museum is responsible for his childhood home, Kittelsenhuset, located in the centre of Kragerø. This museum is open during the school summer holidays. In Brekkeparken in Skien, Telemark Museum has its main offices and larger exhibition spaces. A new exhibition is currently being developed here, intended to inspire visitors and tell the story of this creative artist.
Fairy-tale illustrations are central to Kittelsen’s artistic work and have become part of Norway’s cultural heritage. During the late 19th century, creating a national identity was an important project for the young nation of Norway. Asbjørnsen and Moe collected Norwegian folk tales, inspired by the Brothers Grimm in Germany, and Henrik Ibsen wrote Peer Gynt. Kittelsen’s contribution was a visual expression that became defining for what we today consider distinctly Norwegian.
Porcelain Anniversary
On 10 February, the entire city of Porsgrunn celebrates the anniversary of Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik. The professional seminar Golden Seams (Gylne Sømmer) will focus on repair in craft and applied arts.
The title of the seminar refers to the well-known Japanese art form kintsugi, in which broken ceramics are repaired by bonding the pieces together with lacquer that is then highlighted with gold powder. Instead of hiding damage, cracks and breaks are emphasized, becoming a beautiful and visible part of the object’s history. The philosophy behind kintsugi is about embracing imperfections and seeing the beauty in what is broken, and about how repair can make an object even more valuable than it originally was.
The seminar is a collaboration between Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik, the Municipality of Porsgrunn, the Porcelain Museum/Telemark Museum, and Kunsthall Grenland/Kunstløypa – Between the Bridges.
