You are not married to a direction in art

...Ah ok, thanks peeps - so not really much chance of a new release pre-Christmas

Long time since I've been on here, have people become more ignorant?

He just released an installation at The ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum in Denmark (one of the largest art museums in northern Europe with a total of 816,468 visitors in 2015).

No Man is an Island - The Satanic Verses

Edward Kienholz (1927 – 1994), Sawdy nr. 46, 1971
Gardar Eide Einarsson (1976), Untitled (Flagwaste), 2015
E.B. Itso (1977), Clandestine Boat Cemetery, 2015
Jani Leinonen (1978), Beggars’ Signs, 2009-2015
Shirin Neshat (1957), Zarin, 2005 (20:30 min.)
Michael Elmgren, Ingvar Dragset (1962, 1969), Welcome, 2014
Ron Mueck (1958), Boy, 1999
Hanne Nielsen & Birgit Johnsen (1959, 1958), Camp Kitchen, 2014
Rose Eken (1976), Tableau, 2015
Bjørn Nørgaard (1947), Hesteofringen, 1970
Tony Matelli (1971), Fucked (Couple), 2005
Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987) Electric Chair, 1971
Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987), Marilyn, 1964
Leonard Rickhard (1945) Scene etter solnedgang, 2008-09
Superflex, Bankrupt Banks, August 23, 2013, 2013
Dolk (1979), Low Key, 2016
Tracey Moffat, (1960), Revolution, 2008
Nick Theobald (1986), Nothing Left to Offer, 2014
Thorbjørn Lausten, (1945), Lysskulptur uden titel, 1985
Gilbert & George (1943, 1942), Resting, 1991
Wes Lang (1971), This Noble One, 2014

Before this he had a big solo exhibition at Gallery S.E. in Bergen
Good review by Norways largest newspaper: www.aftenposten.no/kultur/Dolk-leverer-en-overbevisende-kunstdebut-198270b.html

Ignorant is not really "strong" as it is misguided since this is an obvious emotional response for an artist @glosten seems compelled to defend, which I totally understand how it can become personal, especially for a Norwegian or any collector / fan of his...Me included.  Fact is the artist did a 180 degree change out of nowhere, transitioning from well received, creative and powerful street art to abstract murals and then contemporary / abstract gallery art. Dolk definitely gets major credit for doing exactly what he feels and or wants to do regardless of what others may think and is obviously in a financial position to do so. It stands to reason he would be supported in Norway with this new effort but it will be interesting to see how this new "phase" plays out with the art world in general over time. When glancing below at this dramatic change, I don't think it's accurate or fair to call it "ignorance" in not understanding or liking this change so to speak.

I like the way dolk is experimenting with a new style. Going away from the stencil art and trying something new. I really liked both his recent exhibitions. First the one solely with works on aluminium (ripon) were both elegant and quite astonishing when seeing them in person. Percent surfaces slightly damaged with his keying. The second one which was the rip off was also something new and refreshing. Tons of work with those works with torn paper pieces put together with 70-100.000 staples. I think it shows he has a lot of ideas which he finally has the courage to try out. A bold move which time will show if he succeeds.

Being accepted at the aros exhibition and having a piece there for a year or so should surely put his name out to a lot of people not too familiar with the street art scene.

I think he has a lot of new ideas which I'm very curious to just follow and see where it goes.

As for the old stencils, I have many which will be in my collection for a long time as I enjoy them on my wall even though he has taken a 180 turn in a new direction. I hope he continues to explore different directions and move forward as an artist. I'm sure I will like some of it and some of it not so much. I guess that is ahead to see.

So Dolk has come out of the woodworks, with an interview in the norwegian newspaper.

www.bt.no/kultur/i/7lkBnW/Han-har-vart-anonym-i-15-ar-Frem-til-na

Here it comes - in Norwegian, but maybe Google is able to make some kind of sense out of it in English: 


www.kunstveggen.no/t/dette-er-dolk-i-dagens-avis/14598

In the mid 90's Andreas Hamran Færø went on the mechanic line at Os yrkesskole. Taking general education was out of order for the school-minded teenager, and he was not interested in what was happening in the hours. He was basically sitting and drawing the teachers.

"One day, one of the teachers said that I should apply for a school of art. But I thought it sounded completely idiotic. Should I like to earn money sitting and drawing? Becoming an artist was completely distant to me - I had never thought of that, says Færø.

The Bergenseren, who has hidden his identity for 15 years, is in an studio in a former factory room at Laksevåg.


There are paint remnants on the floor, and in the room there are works in progress in all kinds of materials. On the walls there are several heavy spray-coated aluminum surfaces, which have apparently been exposed to vandalism. The one surface is spray-coated in yellow and has been knocked to remind you of a sunrise.

It is here, in a closed industrial industry, metal dealers and car dealerships, Færø jobs.

For Andreas Hamran Færø became an artist. He became Dagger.

Facts: Dagger
- A relief to show off
For 15 years, he has used the artist name Dolk. For 15 years he has been anonymous. This is the first time the 41-year-old toddlers from Bergen can interview themselves with their name and image. And if it's up to him, it might be the last too.

"I do not plan to be a lot in the media even though I'm now out of the shadows. Preferably I want to avoid it. But it is still a relief to get it done - to "stand out" like Dagger, says Færø.


During these 15 years he has become Norway's most famous street artist. He has made street art that has become famous feature in both Bergen and cities around the world. Eventually he began to make big money on the press of his pictures. From 2007 to 2017 he has had a taxable income of around NOK 28 million.

In recent years, however, he has said goodbye to street art and pulled into the gallery room. When he opened his first, more contemporary contemporary art exhibition, the newspaper's reviewer wrote: "This is an exhibition that I must admit was amazed, for as a visual artist, Dagger appears to be sincere, courageous and visually inventive, without spilling the tools."

- Why do you want to stand up now?

"It's stress to be anonymous, and it creates driving situations. Sometimes I've lied people up in the crowd. I do not want my anonymity to be a topic anymore, he says.

Being anonymous has created some strange social situations for Færø.

- Once I was asked what I was doing and I replied that I was a web designer. It turned out that he who asked was a web designer and he began to talk about encoding. But I did not realize what he was talking about. There has been a lot like that, says Færø and laughs.

A neck break in the Alps
Four years ago, the tag "Dagger is the vocalist in Datarock" appeared on a wall in the Krinkelkroken in Bergen. There has been no need for speculation and rumors about who hides behind the signature «Dagger».

Færø was born in Oslo, and lived for several years in Bodø before he and his family moved to Bergen. The road went on to Os. Now he lives at Kalfaret in Bergen, and really wondering how life became as it became. He thinks everything is the result of a series of coincidences.

Afterwards, Færø did not fully know what he should do. But there was one thing he loved to do: skiing. For a while he worked at the bakery in Bergen, and spared enough money for him to live as "skiboms" in the Alps. And he did, until it went horribly mad.


"I fell badly in Chamonix and got a break in my neck. I lost a lot of feeling in half my body and lay in the hospital for a long time. I remember I managed to keep a Colaboks. When I got home, I found out that I had to find some more quiet activities. My girlfriend studied graphic design at the time, and I started doing her tasks, says Færø.

He became interested in graphic design, and a few years later he traveled to Melbourne in Australia to study the subject. That's where he discovered street art.

- Several of those I studied with street art and I thought it was so exciting. The first work I made, I do not remember completely, but the other one was one with bananas in pajamas or something - a single motive. We sprayed on a wall in Melbourne and were refreshed by the house owner.

- What happened?

"It turned out that the wall belonged to one of the coolest clubs in Melbourne. He who ran the club liked what we were doing and we started hanging there. Another coincidence. I ended up spraying - decorating - almost the whole inside of the place. I did not get paid in cash but in drinks. It was more than ok for me, "says Færø.

Folkekolk Dagger
The street art Faroe Islands began with, so-called stone or stencils. Various motifs are cut into paper or cardboard, which allows them to be quickly sprayed on for example house walls. And when he came home from Australia, this form of street art began to appear in the rocky streets as well.

- The first stencil I sprayed in Bergen was in a tunnel up at the university, heading down to the Puddefjord Bridge. It was an almost two-meter high motif of an astronaut with handbag and mouse paddles on the helmet, called "Miss Universe". It was a bit funny because it turned out that the stencil was too big and heavy for the tape to hold it in place, so I had to get help from a screaming guy who was walking phobia - this was in the middle of the night. He kept while I sprayed. It was therefore the first Dagger work in Bergen, says Færø.


The third great coincidence, as Færø sees, was that he encountered the spirit of time with his art. With his partly societal and political motives, he was quickly compared to what would be the greatest star of the street art: English Banksy.

Da Dagger began to appear in the streets, some actually believed that Dagger was a pseudonym for Banksy - that Banksy was really Dagger.

"That Banksy enjoyed my art and kissed it has obviously meant incredible amount. I was accused of copying him in the beginning. But I do not get that heavy. I have been inspired by him, but I have never had any intention of copying him, "says Færø.

His street art quickly became popular, and eventually a number of new Bergen street artists began to put their mark on the city. Now there was a fuss if street art was removed, for example, when the State Road Administration painted Dolk's production of Herman Friele under the Smørsbroen.

- Had to be anonymous
As a street artist, Færø had no choice. He had to be anonymous, after all, he did something illegal. As a "regular" artist, anonymity is gradually becoming more of a limitation.

- I've been reluctant to have people who do some things for me to keep me anonymous. Now I can finally create a company in my own name, for example. In addition, it will be easier to get in touch with people who may be important to me, now that I'm no longer anonymous, says Færø, who now uses the artist name Andreas Dolk.


In recent years, he has been working to find a whole new expression as an artist, something he is still working on.

"I'm getting stressed sometime - after all, I feel like an outsider when it comes to the more established art scene. But I have incredible ideas. And as long as I have, there will be some good of it.

- Have you left street art - templates - too good?

"I could have milked stencil kuen for years, earning the most money. The four years I earned most, I also worked enormously a lot. It's not important for me to earn the most, but by working so much, I laid the groundwork for working with art as I do now. The most important thing for me is to be able to express me as I want, while I can live on it. Be free. That's when you won, says Færø.

nice of the screaming phobic guy to help out

Yeah, I wonder if he released a few of his Abstract pieces as print editions, I think they would sell well.
Say an edition of 50 signed prints, £250 each, I think they would be popular.

He was is a great position with his original style of stencil work, I would say he was actually making much better art than Banksy, so if he had carried on in the same style, I’m sure he would be massive now! Certainly on a level with artists such as Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Kaws.

I like his new direction too, and yes, I would like to see a print of that one or this:

In terms of scratches, bends and distortions Banksy achieved that result easily with Flags and that chromolux paper