Norwegian craft at the 20th Architecture biennale in Venice 2027

The Oslo-based architecture studio Kastler Skjeseth Architects is developing the Norwegian contribution to the 2027 architecture Biennale. Kastler Skjeseth is interested in how ideas of the traditional influence Norwegian architecture today as forms and motifs are recycled and revived with new functions and expressions. 

Old techniques, new inspiration
– The exhibition will address two contemporary themes in modern architectural discourse: the commitment to sustainable construction through reuse and material life cycles, combined with a renewed emphasis on architectonic expression, references, and historical continuity in architectural culture explains Erlend Skjeseth, a partner at Kastler Skjeseth Architects. 

Techniques such as graining, marbling and wood staining are crafts that traditionally were used to imitate materials that were not available locally. The intention was to give the impression that a building and its interiors were made of more refined and popular materials than those available in Norway's fjords and valleys. For example, a wooden church might appear to have an ornate marble interior. 

At a time of increasing scarcity of materials and growing environmental awareness, these techniques have gained a new relevance. They show how craft practices and artistic interventions can allow existing materials to be adapted, rather than replaced. 

Both international and the local 
Decorative painting forms part of local building traditions, but techniques, motifs and craft knowledge have been crossing national borders for centuries. This becomes obvious when a German decorative painter paints a Norwegian pine floor to resemble Italian marble.

Historically, decorative painting emerged from a culture in which people worked with locally available or recycled materials. Through painting and other surface treatments, simple surfaces could be given a richer, more exuberant and ornamental appearance. 
  
– This type of decoration is an authentic craft that simultaneously departs from the type of authenticity that has preoccupied architects for the past hundred years – and it is also typical of Kastler Skjeseth that they are investigating the ambivalent margins of contemporary architecture, explains Joakim Skajaa, a senior curator at the National Museum.    
 
The Italian photographer Stefano Graziani who operates at the crossroads between photography, art and architecture will examine decorative painting in traditional Norwegian buildings, both historical examples, contemporary variants and preserved fragments of this craft culture. This will be included in the exhibition in Venice.

By investigating imitation, the exhibition will open opportunities to examine some larger questions about authenticity and status. Although the materials are not what they appear to be, the craft techniques are both demanding and rich in traditions. And what exactly is a high-status material today? What is authentic in a world of imitations?  
  
From the mountains to Venice 
The Hjerleid Craft School, in Dovre in central Norway, offers training in traditional crafts, including decorative painting. The Venice Architecture Biennale will be part of the curriculum for five second-year students on the traditional painting course at the school. The students will draw on both Norwegian and Italian craft traditions to develop architectonic surfaces based on traditional techniques.
  
– Hjerleid is the only further education college in Norway to offer training in traditional decorative painting and when we were contacted about this project, of course we were eager to participate. Now we've got funding in place so that the students can participate in the execution of the project and also travel to Venice to experience the result during the actual Biennale, says Even Slette Hansen, principal of Hjerleid Craft School. 
  
  
 

About The Nordic Pavilion in Venice, 2027 

Title: Malte materialer / Painted Matter

Main exhibitors: Kastler Skjeseth Architects, Amandine Kastler, Erlend Skjeseth

Photographer: Stefano Graziani

Joakim Skajaa, senior curator of collection and exhibition

Gudrun Eidsvik, curator of learning and public programmes

Cathrine Sæthre Furuholmen, senior project manager.

• Kastler Skjeseth Architects was founded in 2015 and has become well known for projects that combine transformation, building analysis, and critical readings of historical spaces and typologies.
  
  

• The studio combines architecture, teaching and research, and its practice moves between technical precision and artistic exploration.
  
  
• The Nordic Pavilion was designed by Sverre Fehn in 1964 and is the joint property of Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
  
  
• In 2027, the National Museum will be responsible for the exhibition for the Biennale on behalf of the following Nordic institutions: Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Architecture & Design Museum, Helsinki, and the National Museum, Oslo.
  
  
• The exhibition will open at the Nordic Pavilion in Venice on 8 May 2027 and will continue until 21 November.