TRONDHEIM.- Vibeke Tandberg has been announced as the winner of the Lorck Schive Kunstpris 2017, Norway’s biggest art prize and one of the largest in Europe. Norwegian Tandberg was chosen from a group of four shortlisted artists by an expert international jury for Candypool, 2017, consisting of a dismantled pooltable, plaster friezes and plaster sculptures. The work addresses issues such as recycling and conditons for artistic production. She received the prize of NOK 500,000 at a special awards ceremony at the Trondheim kunstmuseum where the finalist exhibition is on display until 28 January 2017.

Vibeke Tandberg said: “Lorck Schive Kunstpris is a prize I am very happy to receive because it is professionally grounded at all levels, from nomination process to jurying. Only funds without guidelines guarantee independent art, and there are no alternatives to full freedom for artists. Lorck Schive Kunstpris contributes to this.”

Johan Börjesson, Director Trondheim Kunstmuseum said: "The Lorck Schive Kunstpris is a national prize with a thorough and well- thought out nomination procedure. It is also based in Trondheim. The money comes from leaseholds in central Trondheim that were put into a trust in the 19th century. It is a reminder of Trondheim's importance as an artistic centre in Norway.

For Trondheim kunstmuseum, hosting the prize every two years is an honour and a fantastic opportunity. For each prize four of Norway’s most important artists are invited to make new work especially for our exhibition space. This and the format of the prize exhibition challenge us to develop our work to meet high demands of fairness and professionalism.”

Lorck Schive Kunstpris 2017 jury said: “The jury is happy to award the Lorck Schive prize 2017 to Vibeke Tandberg for her ability to consistently be self-reflexive and critical in relation to her own ever transforming practice and the role of the artist. We value her integrity, resourcefulness and courage in challenging herself and the viewers, in this case combining the existing Vigeland work with her own additions, which testify to an explorative production process. This is an essential part of relevant artistic practices today.”

As well as Vibeke Tandberg, the finalist exhibition features three other artists active in Norway whose work underlines the country’s growing status as an important centre for production and display of contemporary visual art. Lars Laumann presents the nostalgic project Karma Blankets. With a personal and humorous approach, he uses an exhibition about acid rain he saw while visiting Trondheim in 1989 to illuminate doomsday prophecies from the 1980s. Knut Henrik Henriksen’s project for Lorck Schive Gone With the Wind is a monument to the modernist architect Erling Viksjø, with sand, wind and river stones as starting points, while Mattias Härenstam allows a birch tree to define the exhibition room. The birch hangs upside down, and is slowly pulled along the walls. It is as if I.C. Dahls Birch Tree in a Storm; a Norwegian cultural reference point, is turned on the head.

The 2017 international jury is: Heidi Ballet (curator, Berlin/Brussels); Per Formo (artist, Norway); and Maria Lind (Curator, writer, Sweden).