English 
Norwegian Bokmål Art
About the art at The Britannia Hotel
Art has played a central role since the opening of The Britannia Hotel. In addition to the art found in the hotel corridors and rooms, The Britannia Hotel has has been the natural choice of accommodations for artists visiting Trondheim. Britannia’s art collection consists of 300 registered works. In 1929 architect student Wedel Jarlsberg painted the walls of the Wedel Jarlsberg Salong. A small selection of these are on display in our “Artist Street” on the 3rd floor. On this floor is also a number of Artist rooms. The Britannia Hotel has a large collection of art by Trondheim’s renowned artists Håkon Bleken and Håkon Gullvåg. One of the largest paintings in Norway is found on canvas and covers an entire wall of the banquet hall. This artwork portrays Trondheim Designs and contemporary “celebrity gallery”. This specially commissioned artwork is a collaboration between Håkon Bleken and Håkon Gullvåg where they reproduced well known Trondheim designs and its history.
Håkon Gullvåg was born in Trondheim in 1959, and works mainly in Trondheim and Oslo. As a artist, he has a central position in the Norwegian art scene since his artistic breakthrough at Gallery Dobloug in 1983, and numerous major institutions have purchased his works. Gullvåg’s characteristic style makes his work easily recognizable. Since the early 1990′s his foremost hallmark has been monumental compositions in baroque vigour. The motifs are suggested with quick brush strokes in pure and harmonious colours, against an evenly coloured background.
Håkon Bleken, (b. 1929) is one of the most recognized contemporary artists in Norway. He is represented in most galleries and museums. In addition, he has a large and engaged audience. Håkon Bleken is often described as a literary painter, one who tells stories in his pictures, one that has a message. He is also an excellent and provocative writer, with a passion for the short and pointed formulation, aphorisms.
