Cato Løland

“Cato Løland (b. 1982) lives and works in Bergen. His work possesses a playfulness and refuses categorization, challenging hierarchies within materials and techniques. Discarded textiles are often sourced from thrift stores and combined with other discoveries from nature, the streets, or more expensive materials like silk and metals, processed through various methods and tools. He is particularly attracted to industrially produced materials because they present an opportunity to reintroduce the human hand, for recreation.

Subtlety, vulnerability, playfulness, and an insistent presence have become hallmarks of his practice. Løland completed his MA from the Bergen Academy of Art and Design in 2009.

Recent solo exhibitions include Bogar i spenn (2023) at Tou Ølhallene, Stavanger; Turning Strangers into Family (2022) at Entrée, Bergen; Chests at Paris Internationale (2022); Reservoir (2022) at the Textile Industry Museum, Salhus (NO); Før, før, etter, etter (2021) at Tag Team, Bergen (NO); and Albogerom (2020) at SOFT Gallery, Oslo (NO).

Løland’s works are included in collections such as the Nordenfjeldske Museum of Applied Art, Trondheim; KORO; KODE art museums and composer homes; Bergen Municipality; Sogn and Fjordane Art Museum; University of Bergen; as well as several private collections. His first artist monograph, Cato Løland – Chests, was published in October 2022.

At S12, he  explored glass slumping. The sculptural elements he produced at S12 are taken back to his studio and will be incorporated as components in the process and development of new work.