معرفی
Bente Larsen is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy, History of Ideas and Art, and Classical Languages at the University of Oslo, where she also serves as Head of the Department of Art History and Visual Studies (IFIKK) since 2022. She has held prominent academic positions including Professor at Lund University's Department of Art History and Visual Studies (2010-2011) and Associate Professor at the University of Oslo (2009-2010). Her leadership extends to various national and international bodies including the Nordic Society for Aesthetics, the Henie Onstad Art Center, and the Research Council of Finland where she chairs the review panel for Arts and Literature.
Dr. Larsen earned her Dr. art. degree in 1998 from the Department of Philosophy, History of Ideas and Art and Classical Languages at the University of Oslo. Her academic journey includes significant appointments at prestigious institutions across Scandinavia, demonstrating her standing in the Nordic academic community.
Larsen's research centers on the relationship between look and work, exploring fragment aesthetics through the works of Vilhelm Hammershøi, Ad Reinhardt, and Gerhard Richter. Her theoretical framework engages with concepts of attraction, distance, silence, and melancholy, bridging historical and contemporary art practices. She has developed expertise in modernism, particularly Nordic modernism, and contemporary art theory, with additional interests in gender and aesthetics. Her scholarly approach combines philosophical inquiry with art historical analysis, creating a distinctive interdisciplinary perspective.
Her publications reveal a consistent focus on the intersection of visual perception, emotional experience, and artistic technique. The recurring themes across her work include silence in art, fragment aesthetics, melancholy, and the relationship between surface and meaning. She has made significant contributions to understanding Nordic art within broader European contexts, particularly through her analyses of Monet's late works, Gerhard Richter's painting techniques, and Vilhelm Hammershøi's contributions to Danish avant-garde painting.
Larsen has served in numerous prestigious roles including Chair for the Joint Committee for Nordic research councils in the Humanities and Social Sciences workshop panel (2015-2020), member of the committee for Aesthetic Sciences at the Swedish Research Council (2010-2015), and member of the board for humanities at the Norwegian Science Council (2010-2014). Her international recognition is evident through her appointment to the Research Council of Finland's review panel.
As an educator, Larsen teaches History of Aesthetics, supervises master's projects in art history, and leads field trips focused on modernism. She served as PhD leader for the Department of Philosophy, History of Ideas and Art and Classical Languages (IFIKK) from 2021-2022. Her research groups include Aesthetics and Politics, International and Nordic Modernism, and Visual Studies, reflecting her broad scholarly interests and collaborative approach to academic inquiry.
