Illustrations and sketches

In collaboration with Ellen and Chrix Dhals foundation is Oslo Kunstforening starting the year with a new exhibition showcasing different works of Chrix Dahl. This time the exhibition is about drawings, more specifically illustrations and sketches of his illustrations, mainly his book illustrations.

The exhibition consists of over 200 drawings in small formats, with ink and pencil, taken from Chrix Dahl's work with illustrations for books such as Mark Twain: " Skandalen i Hadleyburg ", Jules Verne: "Den hemmelighetsfulle Øya ", " Sinbad Sjøfareren og andre eventyr fra Tusen og en natt ", " Eventyr fra mange land " and Voltaire: " Candide eller optimismen ".

Chrix Dahl had a great influence on Norwegian art both trough his work at the the National College of Art and Design (Statens håndverks- og kunstindustriskole) and trough his artistic work. Last but not last, we know him through his many different illustrations in books and among other things like the A-magazine (A-magasinet) where he was associated for a few years. The drawings shown in the exhibition range from small sketches to finished illustrations taken from several well known and unknown books and magazines. They show how the illustrations have taken shape from the first sketches to the finished illustration. However, this is not a historically/pedagogically structured exhibition, but a journey through ideas, association and solutions that are all characterized by the author. Chrix Dhals easy and light hand movements, rich associations and empathy in the material he was assigned to interpret makes this an abundant experience

The exhibition overall gives us a picture of the artists working methods. He works within several genres – books for children and books for adults, journals etc. Besides he’s aways at work – whether he’s at a restaurant, or browsing through the phone catalogue, he uses what papers are at his disposal.

We have engaged art historian and visual artist Edvarda Braanaas as a tour guide at the exhibition. She had long and extensive experience with tours for children. The guided tours are set aside on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 11am, 12 am and 13am. The tours are free for school classes. Maximum of 30 students per tour.

Text translated by Oslo Kunstforening in 2025