Margrethe Iren Pettersen (b. 1977, Romssa, Sápmi — Tromsø, Norway) lives and works in Oslo's archipelago, Norway. Pettersen received her MFA from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts in 2019 and her BA from the Tromsø Academy of Contemporary Art, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, in 2010.
The works of Pettersen materialise as installations, sculptures, sound walks and public commissions, as well as prints, drawings, and photographs. Her projects span from ecology, listening, deep time and care. Often based on places, plants or organisms, where she seeks to challenge the modern distinction between culture and nature. The collection of materials and sounds, and movements in landscape and urban space, become part of the works through lengthy processes. For over a decade she has developed a slow, insisting, and sensuous practice. Pettersen explores movement in landscapes, the bodily, spirituality, caring and interdisciplinary, in response to a site, or lately, rivers. She is exploring her Sami roots through artistic research, and the storytelling tradition of oral knowledge transfer in the north.
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Image from 'Landbruksspørsmål', Galleri F15, Moss (NO)
UPCOMING
(2026) Femidomen, Nesodden (NO)
(2025) Kunstrom Fyn, Frørup (DK)
(2025) Avantwhatever, Melbourne (AU)
(2025) Finnmark Flicker, Kirkenes (NO)
(2025) Sentrum Senter for Samtiden, Oslo (NO)
(2025) Gjærsjøelva, Oslo (NO)
SELECTED
2024
'Láibmat II' — New Ecologies, Chemnitz (DE)
'Feskarvotten', Nesodden Kunstforening, Nesodden (NO)
'Sanselig Samhørighet', Borealis—Jiennagoahti, Bergen (NO)
'Láibmat II', Ultima — Fluid Formations, Oslo Contemporary Music Festival (NO)
2023
'Conversations With What Runs Deep', Momentum 12 — Galleri F15, Moss (NO)
'Cleansing; Cleaning Ritual', Academy for Rhythmorphology, Oslo Sjøskole, Oslo (NO)
'Elektrifisering, svigninger og en glassplate', Fotogalleriet, Oslo (NO)
2022
'Remembering with Rivers — Ljanselva', Ljanselva, Oslo (NO)
'Lønnetreet', Laterna, Black Box Teater, Oslo (NO)
'Flyteskogen II', Oslo Sami Skuvla — Nedre Bekkelaget, Oslo (NO)
2021
'Sex Ecologies', Trondheim Kunsthall, Trondheim (NO)
'Mađđi', Tromsø (NO)
'Vandring blant vekster i tid og rom - Tøyenparken', BHF Skulpturtriennalen / Norwegian Sculptors Society, Oslo (NO)
'Shapeshifting Mushrooms', The Arctic Agency, Tromsø (NO)
'Remembering with Rivers — Alna', Alnaelva, Oslo (NO)
'Empetrum nigrum', Nesodden Kunstforening, Nesodden (NO)
'Equinox', Bodø Kunstforening, Bodø (NO)
'Havet omkring oss', Gjenreisningsmuseet, Hammerfest (NO)
2020
'Furuord', Ådden Visningsrom, Nesodden (NO)
'Sanselig Samhørighet', Heimdal Kunstforening, Trondheim (NO)
'NyArktis', RiddoDuottarMuseat, Karasjok (NO)
2019
'Tuning In', ++ Blackbox Teater, Oslo (NO)
'Time for Sculpture – Muoras Árdnan', RiddoDuottarMuseat, Karasjok (NO)
'Et godt sted å være', NNKS North Norwegian Art Centre, Svolvær (NO)
'NyArktis', Samien Sitje, Snåsa (NO)
2018
'Sállá – I min favn', Tromsø Soundline, Tromsø (NO)
'Institutt for Kultur og Natur', Galleri Nord-Norge, Harstad (NO)
'Why Listen to Plants?', NNKS North Norwegian Art Centre, Svolvær (NO)
'Sáivu', LOCUS Publishing, Venezia (IT)
2017
'Don leat siis – Du er transparent', Bærum Kunsthall, Bærum (NO)
'Landbruksspørsmål', Galleri F15, Moss (NO)
'Sáivu', Cosmoscow, Moscow (RU)
'Living Land', remix, AGENDA-seminar, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (NO)
'Living Land', live-remix, Sound Disturbance, Malmø (SE)
'Living Land – Below as Above', SALT, Oslo (NO)
'Empetrum nigrum', Nord Trøndelag Kunstmuseum, Namsos (NO)
'Living Land – Below as Above', ThirstDays, Vancouver (CA)
2016
'NyArktis', Kulturhistorisk Museum, Oslo (NO)
'Living Land – Below as Above', HERA, Praha (CZ)
'Så lenge det går blod i gjennom oss', Bølgen Kulturhus, Larvik (NO)
'Activating Narratives', Vadsø Kunstforening, Vadsø (NO)
'Among Plants and Wilderness', Arkhangelsk Artist Union Gallery, Arkhangelsk, (RU)
'Havnivå – Lytteplatå', Kurant Visningsrom, Tromsø (NO)
2015
'Living Land – Below as Above', Dark Ecology, Kirkenes (NO)
'Innimellom fuglekasser', HusForbi – Micheletsvei 2, Bærum (NO)
'Dovenskap, fantasi og fellesskapsfølelse', Tromsø Kunstforening, Tromsø (NO)
'Invasive Exotics', RAM Galleri, Oslo (NO)
Pettersen’s work is held in the collections of Sámiid Vuorká-Dávvirat (The Sámi Collection in Karasjok), Nordnorsk KunstMuseum (Northern Norwegian Art Museum) and public comission for the City of Tromsø, among others. She is currently a recipient of Statens kunstnerstipend (the Norwegian Government Grants for Artists).