WELCOME TO KISTEFOS

INDUSTRY, SCULPTUREART

Kistefos is now closed

Season opening May 10, 2025

Map of the park

Navigate the sculpture park 
with our interactive map

Hurvin Anderson in conversation with Clarrie Wallis

On October 5th, an artist talk was held between Hurvin Anderson and Clarrie Wallis, Director of Turner Contemporary and former Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at Tate, London. Gain a unique insight into the Salon Paintings exhibition at Kistefos and learn more about Anderson's working process and sources of inspiration.

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Springbrett 2025 - OPEN CALL for young curators

Kistefos invites young curators based in Norway to develop and realise an exhibition in collaboration with the museum's curatorial team. The exhibition will be shown in Nybruket Gallery in the 2025 season.

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On Saturday, August 21st, an Artist Talk with Kader Attia was held, led by William Flatmo, Director of the Christen Sveaas Art Collection. You can watch the full conversation here:

The Guardian

The Guardian av Tatiana Trouvé. Photo: Vegard Kleven.

Bench

Bench by Tatiana Trouvé. Photo: Vegard Kleven.

Tatiana Trouvé is the Sculptor of the Year 2024

It is a pleasure to be able to announce the French-Italian artist Tatiana Trouvé (b. 1968 in Cosenza, Italy) as the sculptor of the year at Kistefos. For the season opening, Trouvé has created two site-specific works, which will be displayed in the historical Wood Pulp Mill.

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Photo: Ida Golberg

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'Energy-Matter-Space-Time' by Petroc Sesti was unveiled in 2006. Photo: Einar Aslaksen.

Kistefos - a cultural destination with a twist

Kistefos offers world-class architecture, industrial history, art exhibitions, and an impressive sculpture park in scenic surroundings.

About Kistefos

New York Times

What makes it a must-see cultural destination is The Twist, a new 15.000-square-foot structure spanning a river in the middle of the sculpture park.

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The Twist. Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.

The Twist

The new fabulous museum at Kistefos, designed by world-renowned architect Bjarke Ingels Group, BIG, opened Wednesday, September 2019. The building has been named the top architectural museum project in the world to open in 2019, by both the Daily Telegraph and Bloomberg.

The Twist Gallery

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All of Nature Flows Through Us by Marc Quinn. Photo: Einar Aslaksen.

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Path of Silence by Jeppe Hein is a favorite of many - including the children, who use it as a fountain in it in the summer. Photo: Einar Aslaksen.

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Point of View - Part 1 by Elmgreen & Dragset. Photo: Einar Aslaksen.

Sculpture park of international standing

The scenic sculpture park boasts over 50 works by internationally renowned contemporary artists, including Anish Kapoor, Jeppe Hein, Tony Cragg, Olafur Eliasson, Fernando Botero, and Elmgreen & Dragset. The park focuses on site-specific and international contemporary artworks and is open year-round.

About the sculpture park

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From the installation Movimenti della Memoria by Fabrizio Plessi. Photo: Einar Aslaksen.

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Photo: Hans Haug, Visit Øst-Norge

The history

Kistefos is located on the historic site of Kistefos Træsliperi A/S, founded by Anders Sveaas in 1889. The factory produced wood pulp until the mid-1950s and played a significant role in Norway's industrial history. In 1996, Kistefos was established as a museum by his grandson, Christen Sveaas, who aimed to preserve and continue the family legacy. The original machinery and buildings have been preserved and now form a unique Living Factory experience, where visitors can gain insight into the industrial production that was once central to Kistefos.

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Katy Vandekerckhove:

Kistefos was really a jewel on earth with high level art in fantastic surroundings