Illustration by Satoshi Hashimoto
Bjørn-Kowalski Hansen (b. 1979) is a Norwegian artist based in Oslo. He received his BFA from the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art in 2004, and he is currently completing an MA in Art and Public Space (MAPS) at Oslo National Academy of the Arts (KHiO).
Born and raised in Bergen on the west coast of Norway, his practice draws on advertising, typography, music and popular culture, with collecting, researching and cataloguing as recurring methods.
For the past decade, Hansen has worked primarily with art in public space and printmaking, using public commissions as a way of exploring materials, scale and methods of production. Works such as «Alt Blir Bra», Manglerud Bad in Oslo, «Følle Du» and «Strikse Spøtestaur» at Haraldsvang skole in Haugesund - move between murals, stone, metal, light, text and architectural space.
Earlier projects explored the intersection of art and economics, often disguised as functioning business ventures. Håkki™ (2001–2012) operated as a clothing brand with shops in Norway, City of Brotherly Love (2008), made with Jan Christensen in Seoul, South Korea, used T-shirt production and sales as an artistic and economic system; while Coffiest (2009–2013) transformed a fictional brand from a sci-fi novel into an operating coffee bar and merchandise project.
He also writes and publishes books on Norwegian art and design history, including Kunstnernes Hus – En grafisk historie 1930–2020 (2020) and Rastad & Relling - The Archive (2023).