Kari Eig (born 1965)

"My need and wish is to show love’s endless road through my paintings. From joy, passion and beauty, to frustration, longing and sorrow. I also find inspiration from what surrounds me in my everyday life." From the artist's web site Oil on Canvas by Kari Eig. 

Eig was born outside Oslo, Norway's capital, and has lived in or near that city for most of her life. She was educated as an economist and discovered art by chance when she was nineteen. She painted as a hobby until she married and started a family at age twenty-three, and then returned to it after divorcing in 2000. By 2006 she had developed her current deceptively simple style and bold colors. She is recognizeably influenced by two of her favorite artists, Frida Kahlo and Paul Gauguin, and is inspired by Latin music and jazz.

Below (all oil on canvas from 2016): Peaches are Also Good, Grapes Forever, An Orange on Top of My Head, & I Want That Carrot. (Photos by Craig Anthony)

Eig's work has been exhibited and bestowed with awards throughout Europe, and has been collected widely. She says that "If my paintings 'speak' to people that view it, and bring good feelings to their hearts, sometimes a smile on their lips, then I am very happy." (Source of this quote is the HMA exhibit catalog by Guest Curators Robert & Margaret Allen.)

Eig was one of the artists featured in HMA's exhibition New Horizons: Self-Taught Art in The 21st Century (September 23, 2017 - January 7, 2018).

Post by Karin Borei, HMA Project Coordinator, writer and editor as needed, and HMA blogger since March 2015.