”Through nature I seek to draw myself closer to the mystery of mankind”. Yngve Reidar Vold

The works of the artist Yngve Reidar Vold portray the many moods and facets of nature and the fates and fortunes of humankind. Vold uses art techniques ranging from oils and acrylics to pastels and charcoal drawings, but he is first and foremost recognized as being one of Norway's finest graphic artists. For about 35 years lithography has been his principal artistic medium.

The artistic development:  

His earliest works portrayed Oslo's working classes, and he staged a number of exhibitions of drawings and illustrations depicting life in the shadows of the mills and factories. The solo exhibition at the Norwegian Printmakers in 1985 led Dagbladet's art critic, Harald Flor, to compare the works of Vold to those of the well-known German graphic artist and illustrator Kathe Kollvitz (Dagbladet 24.April 1985).

Through the 1980s Vold worked mainly with sketches and studies from nature. He travelled a great deal during this period, which enabled him to build up a considerable amount of quick sketches with unique motives from Central and North America, Italy, Spain and France, as well as from the magnificent coastline of Southern Norway. His works from this period are characterized by an enthusiasm for light and colour, with the use of a palette of pure and clear colours.

In the early 1990s Vold's works took on a more serious and contemplative character. In some ways one can associate his new artistic expression with a fusion of the dark shadows of the "working-class" period and the brilliant summer light of the south coast of Norway. It is this combination of light and darkness that has given Vold the particular artistic signature for which he is known today.

His sober, soulful artistic expression and his deep and particular feeling for a print's composition, architecture and colours combine to voice Vold's unique artistic quality.

During the most recent years he has increasingly added human figures to his landscapes. His artistic goal has always been to try to reflect the human soul in his studies of nature. Man's fate and fortune represent an ever-increasing segment of Yngve Reidar Vold's artistic repertoire.