In the exhibition “Woven Stories” at Galleri Format, Ingrid Becker presents works made from natural materials such as bark, willow, rattan, goatskin, and fruit stalks from the Phoenix palm. She has cultivated these materials herself in Fosen, Trøndelag, and gathered them during her travels.
Textile techniques—such as weaving, embroidery, knotting, and binding - are fundamental to Becker’s work. She continuously explores how traditional textile methods can be altered, combined, and fused into experimental woven pieces.
Over the past 20 years, Becker has explored the possibilities of the container as both a sculptural form and a bearer of meaning. Her objects have taken shape as woven containers in various forms - for example, baskets, dishes, trays, jars, bowls, cocoons, cradles, or abstract shapes. The works are crafted as precisely woven, elongated, cylindrical or square containers; as low, oval or circular dishes; or as more organically undulating and transparent, dissolved elements or linear objects. All symbolize the container and its connection to the story of human origins - as a tool used for gathering, carrying, and storytelling.
The times we live in compel us to seek alternative perspectives on our own history. Our Anthropocene age is a result of the dominant historical view that nature is unconscious matter to be controlled, manipulated, and exploited. We now realize we must think anew—on a broader scale, in a more inclusive, equitable, diverse, and ecological way. With “Woven Stories”, Becker contributes to telling these alternative narratives and proposes a worldview grounded in feminine values deeply rooted within us.
Ingrid Becker was born in 1952 in Stockholm and lives and works on a small farm in Stadsbygd, Trøndelag. Becker is educated in textile arts and pedagogy and has been active as a craftsperson and artist in Norway since 1977. She primarily works with sculptural woven forms made from natural materials such as bark, willow, roots, reeds, and other natural fibers.
Becker’s works have been exhibited in numerous group and solo exhibitions, including the Annual Exhibition of Norwegian Craftsmen in 2017 and 2023. Her works have been acquired by the National Museum in Oslo, KODE in Bergen, the Nordenfjeldske Museum of Decorative Arts, and the Municipality of Trondheim. Recent public art commissions include installations at Fosen Upper Secondary School's aviation department in Bjugn, the Department of Teacher Education at NTNU Trondheim, the ZEB Laboratory at NTNU Trondheim, and Johan Bojer Upper Secondary School in Indre Fosen Municipality.
Ingrid Becker’s exhibition “To Gather, to Carry, to Tell” was shown at Trøndelag Center for Contemporary Art in Trondheim and at Kunstrom Jakob in Steinkjer in the summer and autumn of 2024.
ABOUT FORMAT
Format was founded in 1991 and is a leading gallery for contemporary crafts and design in Norway. The gallery is an exhibition and sales venue of the finest artistic quality within the material-based arts. The gallery aims to strengthen the position of Norwegian contemporary crafts and design internationally and through working with both established and emerging artists the gallery reflects the various tendencies in contemporary crafts and design today. The gallery’s goal is to challenge established norms while highlighting key values in the field by actively bringing a wider spectrum of artistic practices in material-based art to the fore.
Open Call for exhibition space will be announced on our website, newsletter and social platforms. Open applications can be sent to oslo@format.no, containing artist bio and statement, images and concept.
Opening hours
Tuesday - Friday 12 - 17
Saturday - Sunday 12 - 16
Closed during the Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and Summer Holidays (July)
Accessibility
Format is accessible for disabled guests and wheelchair users. You can find a wheelchair access next door to the gallery in Kongens gate.
Contact
Format
Rådhusgaten 24 N-0151 Oslo
T +47 22 41 45 40
oslo@format.no