About Nina

Nina von Hirsch is a Norwegian artist with a background as a cabinetmaker. She has held countless exhibitions and public art installations both in Norway and abroad.

In her work as a furniture artist, she is known for the unique surface treatment on her carved doors, mirrors, and friezes. She uses a striking technique with a rich variety of colors in a “golden tone.”

In addition to her own artistic practice, Nina von Hirsch runs a gallery in Bergen, Norway. The gallery offers high-quality African crafts and interior design and is the only one of its kind in the Nordic region.

Negotiating with Mohammed, the traveling tradesman.

She spent much of her childhood in West Africa and attended Ghana International School (GIS). Her upbringing in West Africa has had a significant influence on her artistic work and expression. Nina’s mother is Scottish, and her father, who worked in the fishing industry in Africa for 26 years, is Norwegian.

For the past 22 years, she has worked closely with artisans from Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Mali. In a modest workshop powered solely by manual labor, the most beautiful handcrafted objects are created, rooted in the rich and expressive West African culture.

The worlds Nobel Price winners posing in front of Ninas carved friezes

Nina von Hirsch has dedicated her entire adult working life to encouraging, honoring, and uplifting traditional craftsmanship, which is inherently sustainable and based on nature’s terms.

Her work reflects a deep respect for West African culture and craftsmanship, which she respectfully incorporates into her own designs, blending the clean Scandinavian aesthetic with the unique West African expression. This is what makes her art and design unique and sought-after.

”Commissioned work” Her Royal Highness Queen Sonja of Norway paying interest in Ninas doors, a commissioned work she carved for The Folklore Museum of Norway.

”Commissioned work” Transporting a commissioned assignment for The Norwegian Dept. of Defence.

EXHIBITIONS:
28 exhibitions between 1992-2024

COMMISSIONED WORKS:
Collective Center of Renaavangen
City Hall of Lillehammer
«Norwegian Forest» in Halden
County Culture Director of Sogn and Fjordane
New Public Library of More and Romsdal
Community house in Alvdal
The Saga Hall of Holmenkollen in Oslo
The Museum of Applied Arts in Trondheim
Expo 92, The Norwegian Pavillion, Sevilla Spain
The Olympic Games in Lillehammer 94
The Norwegian Embassy in Irland
Doctors Conference Center in Oslo
The Catholic Church in Molde
Color Line Newcastle England
The Reception Park Hotel in Oslo
The Grieg Group Building in Bergen
The Museum of North Oesterdalen County
The Norwegian Dept. of Defence
The Reitan Group Conference Center
Fretheim Hotel in Flaam