ABOUT
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Line Nilsen (b. 1985) is a Norwegian artist, designer and hand weaver based in the UK. Her practice centres around craft, design and process, exploring material and colour to create contemporary work. Nilsen's woven art is an emotional response to the arctic landscape where she grew up, where the extreme absence and presence of light throughout the seasons have strong influence on mind and body.
Highly skilled in weaving on a hand loom, Nilsen’s work is grounded in subtly complex and innovative weaves that use a variety of yarns including linen, cotton, wool and paper. Her processes include painting sections of the warp before weaving. Light, colour and texture is formed both on the surface of the canvas like a painting and within the weave itself, positioning the work somewhere between painting and weaving. The delicate textures of the weaves offer a tactile quality to the work.
Nilsen studied at the University for the Creative Arts, graduating in 2009. She went on to further her woven skills, designing interior textiles for a worldwide customer base. Since 2016, she has been creating hand woven one-of-a-kind textile art, doing bespoke commission weavings, and working as a design consultant / collaborator from her Nottingham studio, effortlessly shifting between art and design expressed through the ancient craft of weaving. Nilsen’s work has been exhibited in renowned galleries and at art fairs, such as Royal Academy of Arts, Beam Editions, London Craft Week, Collect Art Fair and London Art Fair. Her work is featured in private collections across Europe, Asia & the US.
RESUME
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exhibitions
2024. Impressions, Nottingham Museum — Nottinghamshire, UK
2024. Harley Open, Harley Gallery — Nottinghamshire, UK
2024. Summer Exhibition, RA — London, UK
2023. Line Nilsen - Weaving the Arctic, Beam Editions, Primary — Nottingham, UK
2023. Tangible, Gallery at OXO, London Craft Week — London, UK
2023. Wells Art Contemporary, Wells Cathedral — Wells, UK
2023. Small Textiles, Fronteer Gallery — Sheffield, UK
2022. Materiality: a state of being, Kindred House — Margate, UK
2022. London Art Fair, Represented by Ruup & Form — London, UK
2022. Collect Open: Collect Art Fair, Crafts Council, Somerset House — London, UK
2022. Fibre: Structure and Surface, Gallery 57 — Arundel, UK
2021. Collect Art Fair, Represented by Ruup & Form — London, UK
2021. London Art Fair, Represented by Ruup & Form — London, UK
2020. Juleutstilling, Terminal B, Pikene på Broen — Kirkenes, NO
2020. Wells Art Contemporary — Virtual Exhibition
2017. Spot the Talent, New Ashgate Gallery — Farnham, UK
2009. New Designers — London, UK
2009. Degree Show — UCA, Farnham, UK
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS / Talks / RecidencIes
2016-Present. Resident Artist at Primary — Nottingham, UK
2019. Hothouse Induction Day Speaker — Crafts Council, UK
2017. Hothouse — Crafts Council, UK
2009. Nominated for Texprint — London, UK
TEACHING
2018—2023. Teacher of Various Workshops — Weave Studio, Nottingham, UK
2018—2021. Industry Weave Tutor / Lecturer — Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
2017—2021. Weave Tutor / Visiting Lecturer — Loughborough Uni, Loughborough, UK
2019. Skillshare, Scandinavian Knitting — Primary, Nottingham, UK
2010 / 2011. Visiting Lecturer — Kirkenes VGS, Kirkenes, NO
EMPLOYMENT / FREELANCE WORK
2016—Present. Freelance Interior Stylist & Designer — Various, UK
2009—Present. Freelance Weave Designer & Consultant — Various, Globally.
2014—2016. Textile Designer — ROMO Black Edition, Nottingham, UK
2011—2014. Textile Designer — SAHCO GmbH, Nürnberg, DE
2010—2011. Showroom Consultant — SAHCO Ltd, DCCH, London, UK
2008—2011. Freelance Tailor / Studio Assistant — Kristian Aadnevik, London, UK
EDUCATION
2006—2009. BA Textile Design Woven (1st Class Hons) — UCA, Farnham, UK
2004—2006. Men’s Tailoring Diploma — T Michael, Bergen, NO
