Trygve Lie Gallery in New York is proud to present the exhibit, Lines Among Lines, abstract drawings by Norwegian-born artist Inger Johanne Grytting. The exhibition is on display from March 25 through May 21st. Opening Reception, Thursday March 25th, 6-8 pm.
Grytting works from the basic, primal language of mark-making to create drawings filled with organic lines. Each line is drawn following certain self-imposed rules; left to right, top to bottom. Some lines will make it all the way; some end where the pencil-point breaks. Irregularities in the paper force others into unexpected paths. As a result, there is a rhythm, a pulse in the work as emotions and insights are drawn out onto the paper. This layering of marks represents a meditation about time and human sedimentation.
Grytting was born and raised in Svolvær, Lofoten. Inspired by visiting foreign artists who came to document its rugged and striking landscape, she started by imitating artworks she saw there. Her focus from an early age was on drawing, the medium she felt was the most intimate and direct. When Grytting was eighteen, she went to Paris to work and study, and in 1972 she moved to New York. She keeps a close connection to Norway, where she has had several solo exhibits, including at the Tegnerforbundet in Oslowhere she is a member. Her work is in many public collections and museums both in the US and in Norway, and she has received two grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA).