
Magne Furuholmen
alpha-beta ‘Y’, 2009

Alpha beta marks a logical conclusion of the Magne F fascination with and use of words and language …

Magne Furuholmen began his career as a visual artist in the wake of the 1994 dissolution of the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha, for which he was the keyboardist. His paintings, etchings, and woodcuts seek to blend artistic disciplines as they juxtapose words and images and sound and images. For example, his “Norwegian Wood” woodcuts take the Beatles’ song lyrics as inspiration for the work’s emotional architecture. He considers the direct and physical process of carving woodcuts to be performative, as the finished work is a tangible product of the artist’s energy. Furuholmen continues to work with music through Apparatjik, an art-music collective whose performances take place inside a large white cube placed in public spaces and art galleries. By masking the band’s identity, the artist-musicians instead place emphasis on the audience’s emotions and reactions.


Alpha beta marks a logical conclusion of the Magne F fascination with and use of words and language over the last decade. The alphabet, broken down now to its smallest components - single letters, become building blocks placed in the hands of the viewer, to make new words and meaning as they see fit; initials or …

Magne Furuholmen began his career as a visual artist in the wake of the 1994 dissolution of the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha, for which he was the keyboardist. His paintings, etchings, and woodcuts seek to blend artistic disciplines as they juxtapose words and images and sound and images. For example, his “Norwegian Wood” woodcuts take the Beatles’ song lyrics as inspiration for the work’s emotional architecture. He considers the direct and physical process of carving woodcuts to be performative, as the finished work is a tangible product of the artist’s energy. Furuholmen continues to work with music through Apparatjik, an art-music collective whose performances take place inside a large white cube placed in public spaces and art galleries. By masking the band’s identity, the artist-musicians instead place emphasis on the audience’s emotions and reactions.