Utsikt nr. 4, Eggedal, 1985

Per Berntsen (b. 1953) is one of the veterans of photographic art in Norway and an important advocate for the medium’s rise and acceptance in the local art scene. Berntsen studied at Trent Polytechnic / Derby College of Art in England during the second half of the 1970s and has exhibited actively since his debut in 1980 at Fotogalleriet in Oslo. Notable recent projects include the 2008 publication and exhibition at Galleri Riis, *Generator*, documenting 100 generator halls from hydroelectric power plants in southern Norway, and *Down Under Up North* in 2010, a documentation and art project about the mining industry in Kirkenes. From 2013 to 2015, Berntsen undertook an artistic documentation of the taiga, the landscape connecting the northern parts of Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Norway. This project culminated in the 2018 publication and exhibition tour “Metsä.” His works are included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design in Oslo, the AKO Art Foundation/Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Kristiansand, and the Oslo City Art Collections in Oslo.