– We owe him this. The two brothers seem to agree. But what does that mean? Can one owe one’s parents anything after their death? – Now he lives again Nico Widerberg and his brother Thomas Widerberg look beyond all the people at Norway’s largest gallery, Fineart on Tjuvholmen in Oslo. His father’s art fills the gallery, seven years after his death. – Now he’s alive again – hovering over the city, says Nico. Over 2,500 people came to the opening of the exhibition on 1 February. There, the father’s art is literally brought out from the basement of his old house. There was also a long line of people outside the showroom. – It is spectacular. It shows that he still has an enormous appeal to the Norwegian people, says general manager Rolf Stavnem. Stavnem is prepared for 2024 to be a difficult year for art galleries. With high interest rates and high prices, he believes that people will spend less money on art. Nevertheless, the gallery sold art by Frans Widerberg for over seven million kroner on the opening day. – I wish he could experience this, or that he sits up there and watches it all, says Stavnem proudly. “Sveveren” is a recurring figure in the paintings of Frans Widerberg. He was also interested in outer space. In a short time, a large Frans Widerberg exhibition will also open in Bergen. This is something the two brothers have been working on for too long. Widerberg’s house Frans Widerberg is considered one of Norway’s foremost artists. In 1985, Frans and his wife Aasa moved to a large and powerful brick house on Fagerborg in Oslo. Frans Widerberg and his wife Aasa moved to this house in 1985. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news They lived here for the last years of their lives. Frans died in 2017, Aasa in 2021. Since then, no one has lived here. Today, the house houses the legacy of the world-renowned artist and the life he lived. Can the house make the story fall into place? They have found over 700 paintings in the house where the parents lived. In addition, several thousand graphic sheets and watercolours. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news Nico and Thomas have never lived here. They had moved away from home when their parents moved here. Nevertheless, they have a close relationship with the house. – We had a sound studio here and were here often. They remember the years that were, life in the house and all the people. At the time, they played in bands together. The brothers are not different. One has gray, tousled, shoulder-length hair. The other has gray, tousled, shoulder-length hair. It’s just like their father. He had gray, tousled, shoulder-length hair. The brothers keep getting confused. – They think that you are me and I am you, says Nico (left). Photo: Tom Balgaard / news They call themselves twin brothers born in different years. They smile and look at each other. Then they talk into each other’s mouths. In a way, they have something to live up to, Thomas and Nico. The most important room – Now we are in the heart of the house. If we had visitors, this is where people were, says Nico. – The kitchen is intact. Here, everything is as it was when Frans and Aasa lived here, says Thomas. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news Several paintings adorn the walls. The characteristic colors in Widerberg’s pictures wrap the room in yellow, red and blue. – The kitchen is intact, says Thomas. That’s how the parents left it. A “memory wall” with pictures hangs as it was. This is the “memory wall”, which is exactly as it was. Here also hangs a picture of Albert Einstein next to a picture of Frans. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news There is another memory in the living room, a memory from the time the three were together, Nico, Frans and Thomas. In the living room is a picture from when the three were together, Nico, Frans and Thomas. It is Thomas who took the photo with the self-timer. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news The two brothers agree that managing their father’s legacy is a responsibility, but not a burden. Thomas – the systematist Youngest son Thomas has been photographing his father’s art since 1985. Soon after he started, they had their first joint exhibition, Thomas, Nico and Frans. Thomas with music and later also photographs, Nico and Frans with sculptures, graphics and paintings. After his father’s death, Thomas has systematized everything his father has left behind. – I have counted, sorted and put all the pictures into a digital archive so we can get a better overview. What has surprised is the scale. – We have found over 700 paintings, 1,500 watercolors and over 1,000 graphic titles that are prints in circulation. This means a collection consisting of several thousand pictures and a good number of sculptures. Many of Frans Widerberg’s paintings are large. They require a wall – or a basement. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news – It was total, not chaos, because there was order in the chaos, but there was disorder. We had to spend a couple of years familiarizing ourselves with what the system was like. Now we have put it back together. He says that his father was reluctant to sell his pictures. – It was a nightmare every time someone came to collect a picture, says Thomas. He put so much into his pictures. – There was, as it were, a life in each picture. Thomas believes the prints made it easier. – Becoming a graphic artist was a blessing for him. Then he could both make enough, and still keep ten for himself, says Thomas. The family’s knights Now the two sons are also publishing a book to honor their father. They have given the task of writing it to the author Lars Saabye Christensen. He was going to help them write a different book. The frame around the story became Widerberg’s house. Author Lars Saabye Christensen has wandered around Widerberg’s house and tried to get “on the inside” of Frans Widerberg. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news Two years ago Christensen got the keys to the house. – It took a very long time before I dared to lock myself in alone and walk around another home, he says. The author admires the brothers’ commitment. – An artist needs some knights to speak for the person concerned after his death, he says. Lars Saabye Christensen in his study in Widerberg’s house. Here hangs a picture that Frans has painted of his two sons. Thomas (left) sits at an electric piano and Nico (right) creates a sculpture. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news He is impressed by how they work. – It is not only rooted in a desire to be present for his art, but also in a deep love for his father. Family ties The two brothers both lead active lives. Nico has become a famous artist himself, and Thomas is a photographer. Thomas and Nico admire their father. For them, their father’s photos are synonymous with their upbringing. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news – Why are you doing this? – Only we can do that, says Nico. He explains why they put so much work into this. – The only people who can really take care of you, or me, are perhaps our children. We help him further. You can trust your children. 1968: A picture magazine organized a dream day for a five-year-old boy. The boy was Thomas Widerberg. Here the dream day ends with dad Frans reading Donald on the bed to his sons Thomas (left) and Nico (th). Photo: Ivar Aaserud / NTB – Now I want to take care of him as best I can, says Nico. He thinks about growing up in Oslo. – Now I feel that the time is ripe. He has given us a lot of trust and support. He was a special person and had so much to give. Nico has followed in his father’s footsteps. He describes Frans as a warm father who believed in life and did not want to die. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news – Are you afraid that he will be forgotten? – Yes, but many say that he will not be forgotten, so you never know. Nico thinks time will work for Frans. – Many say that when you die as an artist, you become world famous. It’s not like that. It is the people who have to care about him. Aasa and Frans There is one thing that can be mentioned when trying to understand the Widerberg family. Why do the two brothers consistently say Aasa and Frans, and not mom and dad? – It was a bit like the time we grew up in, in the 60s and 70s. Aasa stood on the women’s barricades. She was very much against being a housewife and a woman. One of the few photos that exist of their mother, Aasa. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news Nico says that his mother was determined. – There was a day when I said “mum” to Aasa. “My name is not mother. My name is Aasa”, the mother had replied. – Then it was Aasa and Frans. From that day it was decided. There are few pictures of the mother, Aasa Turid Brække. She didn’t want to be photographed. But Nico has made a bust of her. The bust of mother Aasa stands outside in the garden. From here she guards the house. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news The bust stands in the garden and watches over the family’s house. Three new, old sculptures The work to bring the father to light has been as diverse as Frans himself. In addition to all the pictures, they have also had three of their father’s original, old plaster figures restored. The forms have given life to three new bronze sculptures which are part of the large exhibition in Oslo. One of the sculptures at the exhibition. Photo: Marit Sirum-Eikre / news The blue sign You have thought of everything. Last year they also suggested, for Oslo Byes Vel, that the father should be awarded a “blue sign”. The proposal was well received, and in January Frans Widerberg received a blue commemorative plaque outside the home where he lived. – It is an honor to be awarded a blue badge in Norway, says Ole Rikard Høisæther, general secretary of the Society for Oslo Byes Well. Frans Widerberg (1997). Photo: Tone Georgsen / Scan-Foto When it came to Frans Widerberg, the sign committee had no doubt that he was a worthy candidate. The rider has traveled The horse was an important motif for Frans Widerberg. The horse is one of the three new sculptures they have now cast again. Originally, the horse had a rider. – But now the rider has left, says Nico. The human is gone. – Now there is only the horse left. Hey, do you have something on your mind or a tip you think we at news should look at? Send me an email.
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The legacy of Frans Widerberg – Norway
