A Norwegian painter and artist, born in 1966, Vebjørn Sand grew up in Vesterøy, Hvaler, and is part of a well established family of artists – his dad is the painter Øivind Sand, and his twin brother the film director Aune Sand.
Vebjørn Sand had his first exhibition in Fredrikstad Library as a 17-year-old, before moving on to study art in Oslo, Prague and New York. The move paid off, and his career took off – today Sand is one of a handful of contemporary Norwegian artists to have achieved success at international level.
Primarily renowned as a painter, and very much inspired by the Renaissance and Baroque style (he’s been all his life a stark defender of the classic European tradition), he’s now better known for his public arts projects, such as the Da Vinci Bridge in Ski (2001), the 60ft high Kepler Star (aka Norwegian Peace Star) outside Oslo Gardermoen Airport (2000), and the Troll Castle in Holmenkollen, Oslo (1997-1998).
Vebjørn Sand is fascinated by the Antarctic (he went on several expeditions to Queen Maud’s Land in Antarctica), a source of inspiration for many of his paintings, as well as for his Live Ice Project, an effort to raise awareness about global warming.
He now divides his time between Oslo and New York, and was awarded earlier this year the Plankebærer prize in recognition for his role as an ambassador for Fredrikstad. Some of his paintings are for sale at Gallery Sand in Gamlebyen.
For more information, in English, see www.gallerisand.com
Live Ice (Antarctica 2006, NYC Dec 2007) www.liveice.com