Håkon Bleken
Håkon Ingvald Bleken was a Norwegian painter and graphic artist.
Bleken is represented in several museums in Norway, including the National Museum in Oslo and art museums in Trondheim and Bergen. He illustrated a number of books, and contributed to decoration of churches and public buildings. He was decorated Commander of the Order of St. Olav.
Background
Bleken was born in Trondheim on 9 January 1929, a son of architect Haakon Bleken and Brynhild Ribsskog. He died in Trondheim on 21 January 2025, at the age of 96. His funeral service was held in Nidaros Cathedral, where Minister of Culture Lubna Jaffery, Åge Aleksandersen and Arve Tellefsen were among the attendants.Education and work as an artist
Bleken started his art education at Trondheim art school, where he studied under Karsten Keiseraas and from 1948 to 1949. He then studied at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo under professor Jean Heiberg from 1949 to 1952. In 1950, he participated in the etching class at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry under Chrix Dahl. From 1953 to 1954 he was a student at Statens Sløyd- og Tegnelærerskole in Notodden.Bleken worked as a senior scientific officer at the Institute of Form and Colour Studies at the Norwegian Institute of Technology from 1960 to 1972.
Media said in 2025, that he became part of Gruppe 5; they were five artists in Trondheim; furthermore, in that group there was "abstraction and modernism and principles from architecture that was used to create art".
Works
A series of coal sketches called Fragmenter av et diktatur from 1971 was his definitive breakthrough as an artist.Bleken painted several well-known people, among them Olav V of Norway, Arne Nordheim, and Wenche Foss.
Bleken was also known as an illustrator of literary works. He illustrated such works as Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, Haugtussa by Arne Garborg, Mysteries by Knut Hamsun, Babette's Feast by Karen Blixen and Dalen Portland by Kjartan Fløgstad.
As one of Norway's most prominent contemporary artists he had a series of separate exhibitions in the country's biggest galleries, among them the National Museum of Norway and the Henie-Onstad Art Centre, since his debut in 1951. His works have also been bought for several art collections in Norway, among them those of the National Museum of Norway, Trondheim Art Museum and in Bergen.
Bleken contributed to the embellishment of buildings such as St. Olav Cathedral, E. C. Dahls Brewery, Tyholttårnet and Olavshallen in Trondheim; Spjelkavik Church, Oslo Concert Hall, Oslo Central Station and the Norwegian Parliament Building, all in Norway.