Laura Gaiger
Degree: MFA
University: The University of Bergen
Graduation Year: 2020
New Blood Art Commentary
Notable Achievements 2023
Laura Gaiger studied at Glasgow School of Art, graduating with a BA (Hons) in Painting and Printmaking. After a period working in Glasgow, she is currently undertaking an MFA at Bergen Faculty of Art, Music and Design, in Norway. Laura's paintings deal with the elusive nature of memory and the past, combining autobiographical sources with references to historical painting, dreamscapes and invention. Her work has been influenced by the French scientist and philosopher Gaston Bachelard, by the phenomenon of the romantic pastoral, and by the Jungian tradition of the collective unconscious.
Artist Statement
Laura Gaiger (b. Southampton, 1992) makes paintings and installations to explore the image of the landscape and its role in politics and culture. She received a BA(Hons) in Painting and Printmaking from The Glasgow School of Art in 2016, and a Masters in Fine Art from The University of Bergen in 2020. She has received scholarships from the Royal Scottish Academy, Arts Council Norway and Norwegian Visual Artists’ Renumeration Fund, a studio scholarship from Vestland Fylkeskommune, and has exhibited in group shows across the UK, in Spain, New York and Norway, including debuting at Høstutstillingen in 2021. Gaiger has had solo exhibitions at USF Visningsrommet in Bergen, Ål Kunstforening in Hallingdal, Nye Bokboden and Kunstgarasjen in Bergen. She is working towards a solo exhibition in the UK in 2024.
Gaiger makes large scale paintings with varying degrees of figuration, on canvas and as installations. Alongside these she makes more experimental smaller works, in oil paint and woodcut. The focus is often on using painting to propose a revised cultural image of the landscape, composing scenes which give alternatives to the conventional framing of the landscape and nature. Although the paintings are dominated by interacting figures rather than empty vistas, Gaiger therefore considers them to be part of the ‘landscape painting’ genre. Her works pervert the tropes of painting and visual culture which have (mis-)shaped our collective memory of the land, interspersing them with personal imaginings of human-landscape relations past, present and future.
Gaiger works at the Institute for Contemporary Art, University of Bergen, as lecturer in Painting, Fresco and Colour Theory and Senior Engineer for the Painting Workshops. She also teaches independently.
Solo Exhibitions
(2023) A Time To, Muralverkstedet, Oslo, Norway
(2023) Anthroscaping, Kunstgarasjen, Bergen, Norway
(2022) Kulturlandskap, Aal Kunstforening, Aal, Norway
(2022) Tipping Points, Grieghallen, Bergen, Norway
(2022) Dinosaur Park, Nye Bokboden, Bergen, Norway
(2021) Common Land, USF Visningsrommet, Bergen, Norway
(2021) Allemannsretten, Leveld Kunstnartun, Leveld, Aal, Norway
(2021) Puncta, OVE Galleri, Bergen, Norway
(2018) Suppertime, Crownpoint Studios, Glasgow, UK
(2017) Helping on the Farm, Unit 42, The Hidden Lane, Glasgow, UK
(2017) Painting About, Motherwell Concert Hall and Theatre, Motherwell, UK
(2017) Lemon Yellow, The Old Hairdressers', Glasgow, UK
(2016) Painting & Decorating (at Glasgow School of Art Degree Show), The Tontine Building, Glasgow, UK
(2016) Recent Paintings, The Tontine Cafe, Glasgow, UK
(2015) Painting, The Plinth, The Plinth, Glasgow, UK
(2015) Painting In, The Art School, Glasgow, UK
(2014) Hung Up, The Mackintosh Building, Glasgow, UK
Group Exhibitions
(2023) Leiga Lansering, CM7, Bergen, Norway
(2022) BLOKK Anniversary Exhibition, USF Visningsrommet, Bergen, Norway
(2021) Vignettes & Pathways, Crownpoint Studios, Glasgow, UK
(2021) National Autumn Exhibition, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norway
(2021) Liminal Spaces, Design & Technology Learning Centre, Malta
(2020) MA2020 (Graduate Exhibition), KODE 2, Bergen, Norway
(2020) Window Exhibition, Various Locations, Bergen, Norway
(2019) Make Me/Destroy Me, USF Visningsrommet, Bergen, Norway
(2019) Syndesgate 1b, Sydnesgate 1, Bergen, Norway
(2018) RSA Open, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK
(2017) Glasgow Splash, Bella Juanita, Palma, Mallorca
(2017) Transmission Gallery Members' Show, Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, UK
(2017) RSA Open, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK
(2017) New Scottish Artists, David Roberts Art Foundation, Camden, UK
(2017) RSA New Contemporaries, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK
(2017) Pendolino Vol. 1, The New Glasgow Society, Glasgow, UK
(2016) Collective Memory: The Past and Future is Ours, Bushwick Studios, New York, USA
(2016) RSA Open, The Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK
(2016) Painters Gonna Paint, The Tontine Building, Glasgow, UK
(2015) Construction & Destruction, The Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine, UK
(2015) Nepal, Studio Warehouse Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
(2015) Safe and Healthy, The McLellan Galleries, Glasgow, UK
(2014) Head (and other mistakes), The Mackintosh Building, Glasgow, UK
(2014) 200%, The Reid Building, Glasgow, UK
Competitions, Prizes & Awards
(2016) The RSA John Kinross Scholarship
(2016) The Woon Foundation Prize (Longlisted)
(2017) Artist in Residence at The Royal Drawing School, Dumfries House, UK
(2020) Shortlisted for the Abbey Scholarship to the British School at Rome
(2020) Stipend for Newly Graduated Artist, The Arts Council, Norway
(2020) Establishing Stipend for Professional Artists, Bergen City Council, Norway
(2021) Artist in Residence & Solo Exhibition at Leveld Kunstnartun, Norway
(2021) 2021-2023 Graduate Studio Award, CS55 Studios, supported by Bergen Kommune and Vestland Fylkeskommune, Norway
(2021) Norwegian Artists' Association One Year Stipend
(2021) Vestland Fylkeskommune Artist Stipend
(2022) Artist in Residence at Art Farm Nebraska, USA
(2022) Norwegian Artists' Association One Year Stipend
(2023) Norwegian Artists' Association One Year Stipend