Tom Sandberg is known for his seductive and tactile black & white photographs. The characteristic works in rich grey tones have since the 1970s been the Norwegian artist’s undoubted signature.

Sandberg was a photographer and a human being in constant motion, drawn by the magic of the moment and always hunting for his next motif. The presented work originates from Sandberg’s collection of photographic baryta prints created in his personal darkroom at his house at Ekely, Oslo. In Sandberg’s classical in-depth process in the darkroom, he projected light by means of an enlarger through the carefully selected film negative onto the photographic paper. During exposure, the artist meticulously calibrated the amount of light and time projected onto the image.

In his work, Sandberg explored the surface and depth ratio in a motif and built an often ambiguous, yet very recognisable world of images. Sandberg’s photographs reveal his fascination for a complex visual reality; he consistently managed to capture cloud formations in the very moment that they would take on a different and more personal presence. Both his figurative and non-figurative works bear the same high level of intensity. Even the seemingly abstract works attracts the eye and engage our own mental images. The counterpoints in Sandberg’s recurring subjects range widely; clouds, smoke and shadows. The seemingly divergent subject matter shares a state of being in transit. Together they form an associative narrative – a translucence that travels through meteorological and urban scenes.

Tom Sandberg (Norway 1953-2014) has exhibited P.S. 1. MoMA, New York, US; The Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art; Fondazione Fotografia Modena; Magasin 3, Stockholm Konsthall; Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo; Lillehammer Kunstmuseum