Spazio Nobile presents Ann Beate Tempelhaug
Norwegian artist Ann Beate Tempelhaug was born in Mosjøen in 1954. She graduated from the Bergen School of Art and Crafts, and since the 1980s has pursued a career as an artist recognised both in Norway and abroad. Her work can be found in public collections such as the National Museum in Oslo, KODE Bergen, Kunstsilo Kristiansand and the Nordenfjeldske Art Museum in Trondheim, as well as in private collections and institutional collections including those of the municipalities of Bergen, Kristiansand, Mosjøen, Stavanger, the royal residency Stiftsgården in Trondheim, and the temporary collection at the Norwegian Prime Ministers’ residence.
Ann Beate Tempelhaug in front of Heart to Heart, 2024. Photo by Lisbeth Finsådal, Courtesy of the Artist, Fondazione Officine Saffi & Spazio Nobile
Recent exhibitions include a group show with FORMAT gallery, which also showed her at Collective New York and Collect at the Saatchi Gallery in London, and the solo shows at KRAFT gallery in Bergen, Bomuldsfabriken Arendal, Kunstpunkt Lista, TID Gallery, Mandal, Agder Art Center and the Arteriet gallery in Kristiansand.
At Spazio Nobile, Nord, Exhibition View, Mirage & Oblivion, 2022. Photo by Margaux Nieto, Courtesy of the Artist & Spazio Nobile
Spazio Nobile has represented Ann Beate Tempelhaug since 2020 on the major art fairs such as PAD Paris, PAD London, NOMAD St Moritz, Salon Art + Design New York. The gallery organised her first solo show Nord at Spazio Nobile Gallery in 2023 coupled to an Artist’s Monograph
At Spazio Nobile, Nord, Exhibition View, Twilight, 2022. Photo by Margaux Nieto, Courtesy of the Artist & Spazio Nobile
LuniSolar, a Duo Show with Taiwanese artist Pao Hui Kao at Design Miami Basel in 2024
Lunisolar, Exhibition View at Design Miami/Basel, 2024. Photo by Studio Shapiro, Courtesy of the Artist & Spazio Nobile
Chrysalis, a Duo Show with Finnish artist Päivi Rintaniemi at Ceramic Brussels in 2025.
Chrysalis, Exhibition View at Ceramic Brussels, 2025. Photo by Hugard & Vanoverschelde, Courtesy of the Artist & Spazio Nobile
Download the catalogue of available works
Prices are on request
Working on Prelude at the Porcelain Factory in Norway. Photo by Eirik Gjedrem
We, We Waves – August Stringberg
Photo by Lisbeth Finsådal, Courtesy of the Artist & Spazio Nobile
. 
Ann Beate Tempelhaug, Artist’s Monograph, 2023, published by Spazio Nobile Editions
__
Ann Beate Tempelhaug, Solo Show
I Should Have Not Used Blue?
Fondazione Officine Saffi
19 March – 31 May 2025
Via Niccolini 35A, 20154 Milano, Italy
+39 02 36685696
Tuesday to Friday 10am-1pm / 2.30pm-6.30pm
Saturday 11am – 6.30pm
Metro MM2+MM5 Garibaldi
MM5 Monumentale
Ann Beate Tempelhaug. I Should Have Not Used Blue?; exhibition view, Fondazione Officine Saffi. Photo by Alessandra Vinci
This is the first exhibition in Italy dedicated to Norwegian artist Ann Beate Tempelhaug. Engaged in an intimate and systematic exploration of the landscape, Tempelhaug explores the intersection of ceramics and painting through her personal abstract practice.
Ann Beate Tempelhaug. I Should Have Not Used Blue?; exhibition view, Fondazione Officine Saffi. Photo by Alessandra Vinci
Mostly commissioned for the exhibition, the works on display invite contemplation of landscapes suspended between the natural and emotional dimensions. Approaching nature as a mirror of inner emotions, Tempelhaug situates her practice within the Norwegian Romantic tradition, initiated in the 19th century by Johan Christian Dahl and further developed by Edvard Munch, who translated the tension between the individual and nature into their work. For artists from the Nordic countries, the landscape is a constant, majestic, and austere presence that deeply resonates within individual consciousness. In her work, Tempelhaug transforms this legacy into layered fields of color, where ceramics become a space for pure sensory experience.
Ann Beate Tempelhaug. I Should Have Not Used Blue?; exhibition view, Fondazione Officine Saffi. Photo by Alessandra Vinci
Tempelhaug studied at the University of Bergen in the 1970s, taking part in the educational revolution led by a group of students, including Torbjørn Kvasbø. During this period of self-organized governance, the school hosted international artists such as Takeshi Yasuda, a key figure in redefining contemporary ceramics in the 20th century. This period of radical experimentation gave rise to a new Norwegian scene, unbound by disciplinary hierarchies, which brought ceramics to the forefront of artistic research.
Ann Beate Tempelhaug. I Should Have Not Used Blue?; exhibition view, Fondazione Officine Saffi. Photo by Alessandra Vinci
Over the past thirty years, Ann Beate Tempelhaug has pushed the boundaries of material, overturning its conventions and extending it into the realm of painting. Elegant and poetic, her works emerge as both a departure from traditional labels and an assertion of creative freedom. Tempelhaug’s ceramic surfaces are not merely a support for color; in fact, they assert their autonomy and pictorial integrity. In this perspective, her practice stands as a declaration of expressive freedom, one that, with gentle resolve, emphasizes the importance of risk and uncertainty in the creative process: The title of the exhibition, I Should Have Not Used Blue?, captures this tension between control and unpredictability. The surfaces of her works are shaped through layers of liquid porcelain colored with pigments, applied in an almost performative process, where the final outcome is always uncertain.
Ann Beate Tempelhaug. I Should Have Not Used Blue?; exhibition view, Fondazione Officine Saffi. Photo by Alessandra Vinci
In the daily life of the artist’s studio, the rhythm of creation is shaped by music and the collaboration with her beloved partner, Eirik Gjedrem. An artist in his own right, Eirik’s presence is visible on the back of each piece, in the form of a portrait and a dedication. Beyond this intimate and poetic gesture, he actively participates in shaping the large raw clay surfaces and in all stages of the process, transforming the work into a dialogue created by four hands.Vibrating with deep, visceral energy, the works in I Should Have Not Used Blue? exude an intense, human fragility that remains elusive, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in invisible, yet vast landscapes.
Ann Beate Tempelhaug. I Should Have Not Used Blue?; exhibition view, Fondazione Officine Saffi. Photo by Alessandra Vinci
Presented under the auspices of Comune di Milano and the Embassy of Norway in Italy, the exhibition is made possible with the support of Norwegian Crafts and in collaboration with Spazio Nobile.
Ann Beate Tempelhaug. I Should Have Not Used Blue?; exhibition view, Fondazione Officine Saffi. Photo by Alessandra Vinci
