Reidar M. Kraugerud
Where Blood Does Not Suffice
The Exhibition Space on the 2nd floor
11.09. – 12.10.2025
How does a human being express themselves in a crisis of historical dimensions, when conviction, fear, and rhetorical force become the decisive means? In Reidar M. Kraugerud’s monologue-based, three-channel film installation Hvor blodet ikke strekker til [Where Blood Does Not Suffice}, we encounter Robespierre, Saint-Just, Mirabeau, and Olympe de Gouges – four central figures of the French Revolution. Through staged monologues performed by French actors and recorded at historical locations in Paris, the project illuminates the linguistic and psychological forces driving the revolution.
Kraugerud’s fifty-year artistic practice is deeply rooted in history and political upheavals. From constructivist references to war iconography, he has continually returned to revolutionary symbols and historically defining events. This exhibition both continues that interest and marks a shift from painting to film and moving images.
Where Blood Does Not Suffice seeks, through the intensity of language, to convey the inner tensions and ideological contradictions that shaped those involved. The monologues reveal both idealism and conflict: Robespierre’s uncompromising oratory, the young ruthless “Archangel of Death” Saint-Just, Mirabeau’s efforts in the creation of the National Assembly and a constitutional monarchy, and Olympe de Gouges’ critique of the violent revolution alongside her fight for women’s rights – a struggle that ultimately cost her her life.
The film reflects on the paradox of the revolution: how the pursuit of freedom and equality can turn into terror, with language serving both as instrument and weapon. Kraugerud highlights the power of words to shape reality, and humanity’s capacity to create and destroy in one gesture.
Developed during a residency in Paris in dialogue with filmmaker Antoine Reyes, the project takes the form of a multi-channel video installation. Historic sites of the Revolution and period costumes frame the work. The script blends original texts with statements from revolutionary figures, edited into a poetic and fragmented structure where the characters shift between monologue and indirect dialogue. Video artist Leif Gaute Staurland has worked with the post-production.
Reidar M. Kraugerud (b. 1950) is based in Oslo. He studied at the Oslo Academy of Fine Art, the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and the University of Oslo, and also has a background in art history and French. Over the years, he has held numerous solo exhibitions, including at Kunstnerforbundet (2008), Oslo Kunstforening (1997), and UKS (1990), and has completed several public art projects. He has also participated in many group exhibitions, both in Norway – at venues such as Kunstnernes Hus, Wang Kunsthandel, and Kunstnerforbundet – and internationally in Sweden, Finland, China, Slovakia, and the Middle East. His works are represented in collections including the National Museum, Arts Council Norway, The City of Oslo Art Collection, and Statoil’s art collection. Kraugerud has also been part of the artist group Provins.
The exhibition is supported by the Relief Fund for Visual Artists (BKH) and the Norwegian Visual Artists Association.