Nicolay Aamodt - Vernissage September 18th
Nicolay Aamodt opens a new exhibition on Thursday, September 18, presenting a series of brand-new watercolors alongside other works on paper and paintings
Over the past year, Nicolay Aamodt (b. 1978) has returned to watercolor as a medium. In this work, he has explored both abstract and naturalistic expressions, inspired by the motifs he has encountered along the way. Gradually, he has moved from the purely abstract towards a more figurative direction.
The result is a brand-new series of watercolors, now presented alongside several of his other works on paper and large-scale paintings. Immediate impressions and spontaneous brushstrokes meet in works that invite both recognition and interpretation. The fragility of watercolor—with its transparent layers and unpredictable flow—adds a new dimension to Aamodt’s visual language and stands in contrast to his other works characterized by strong colors and bold lines.
An Intuitive Process
Aamodt works intuitively, guided by instinct and quick decisions rather than overthinking or predefined outcomes. His process is associative and open-ended, leaving interpretation up to the viewer.
His paintings often appear as visual narratives reminiscent of stylized dreams, where strong colors and distinct lines create new dimensions and layers. In his watercolors, however, he opens up a more subtle register, where transparency and the will of the material itself invite the viewer into a more open and poetic space.
With this exhibition, the audience is invited to experience a broader spectrum of Aamodt’s artistic practice and follow him into a new chapter—where watercolor takes center stage.
About the Artist
Nicolay Aamodt lives and works in Oslo, where he also runs Vestgrensa Kiosk, functioning both as a gallery and a studio. He studied at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. His works are represented in numerous private and public collections, and he has previously exhibited at the Autumn Exhibition (Høstutstillingen), Ålesund Kunstforening, LNM, Stolper+Friends Gallery, Hos Arne, and KÖSK.
Throughout his career, Aamodt has explored a wide range of media, from oil painting and pop art to collage and assemblage. He builds his compositions layer by layer, often with deliberate reuse of materials. References to his earlier works and art history appear—traces of Braque and Picasso in cubist thinking, or Matisse in stylized foliage—but above all, it is Aamodt’s unmistakable signature that emerges.
Painting as a craft has always been a driving force in his practice. His process often allows elements from one work to find new life in another. His works occupy a space between sculpture and painting, figurative and non-figurative, with tactility and composition as key elements in the final expression.
