About: Thomas Kvam
Thomas Kvam (NO/DE)
Thomas Kvam, a Norwegian artist and author born in 1972, has carved out a distinctive niche in the art world through his integration of art, activism, and technology. His repertoire, spanning conceptual art, publishing, and literature, showcases his utilization of diverse mediums, from robotics to painting. Kvam’s scholarly background, with master’s degrees from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo and Goldsmiths College in London, along with a Ph.D. from The Art Academy in Oslo, underpins his often controversial artworks that probe deeply into socio-political issues.
Kvam’s artistic journey encompasses three distinct phases. Initially, beginning in 1995, he gained recognition for his installations that combined robotics, video, and sound, captivating an international audience until 2004. He then transitioned to creating animation films, with political satire as a central theme. His work “Eurobeing” (2006) was notably included in the collection of the Pompidou Center.
In 2010, Kvam embarked on a venture into independent publishing with his Office for Contemporary Anarchy, releasing titles such as “Emokonseptualisme” (2010), “Rantology” (2011), and a provocative compilation of censored war photographs from Iraq and Afghanistan, titled “nowthatsfuckedup/Krieg dem Kriege” (2011). The war photography book laid the groundwork for a decade-long project titled SchizoLeaks. In the installation work “The Chosen Five” (2015), Kvam used facial recognition software to identify five US soldiers as war criminals, based on photographic evidence of breaches of the Geneva Convention..
“SchizoLeaks,” a comprehensive retrospective at Haugar Kunstmuseum in Norway (2021), encapsulates Kvam’s conceptual art philosophy. The exhibition showcased how Kvam, drawing inspiration from WikiLeaks’ strategies, utilized art as a platform for unveiling undisclosed documents. This approach forced viewers to face unsettling truths, thereby exploring the legal and ethical boundaries within contemporary political discourse.
As a writer, Kvam published his first novel, “Homo Sacco,” released by Cappelen Damm in 2017. His literary work, spanning from conceptual poetry to essays and shorter stories, complements his visual art, offering both narrative and theoretical contexts to his art production. Kvam is a co-founder and editor of the biannual art and literature publication Gespenster, to which he also contributes as a writer.
Kvam’s art, installations, paintings, and video works have been displayed in a variety of settings, including solo and group exhibitions, in museums and galleries internationally. Kvam’s career, marked by a continuous commitment to challenging audiences, is a testament to his ability to provoke critical thought and dialogue through his art. His works are not just visual experiences; they are a deep dive into the complexities of human psychology, aesthetics, and ethics, and the challenging balance between public knowledge and private life.