Tara Downs

Ragna Bley

Biography

Ragna Bley (b. 1986, Uppsala, SE) lives and works in Oslo, Norway. She received her BFA at the National Academy of Fine Arts, Oslo, in 2011 and her MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, London in 2015. Solo and two-person presentations include: “Ragna Bley & Inner Ekdahl,” Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, SE (2022); “Pluto,” OSL Contemporary, Olso, NO (2020); “Zooid,” Kabuso Art House, Øystese, NO (2020); “Zooid,” The Munch Museum, Oslo, NO (2017); Tara Downs at the Armory Show, New York, US (2017); and “Pine Pitch,” Hester, New York, US (2016). Selected group exhibitions include: “Notes Toward a Shell,” Tara Downs, New York, US (2024); “The Inner Island,” Foundation Carmignac, Porquerolles, FR (2023); “The Hour of Reckoning,” Heni Onstad Art Center, Høvikodden, NO (2021); “Tempo Tempo Tempo,” Kistefosmuseet, Kistefos, Norway (2019);“The Moderna Exhibition,” Moderna Museet, Stockholm, SE (2018); “If it bends it’s funny, If it breaks it’s not funny.,” Bosse & Baum, London, UK (2015); “WIP,” Henry Moore Gallery, Royal College of Art, London, UK (2014); “What Thinks Me,” Taiga Art Space, St. Petersburg, RU (2014). Her work has been the subject of extensive coverage in publications including Artnews, Artsy, Blouin Artinfo, Flash Art, Frieze Magazine, Klassekampen, Morgenbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Triple Canopy, and Wallpaper, among numerous others. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the National Museum, Oslo; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Kistefosmuseet, Jevnaker; and Malmö Konstmueum, Malmö.

Exhibition view of Notes Toward a Shell, Tara Downs, New York, 2024.

Exhibition view of Ragna Bley, Viridian Land , Pilar Corrias, Eastcastle Street, London, 2022. Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the artist and Pilar Corrias, London.

Exhibition view of Ragna Bley, Viridian Land , Pilar Corrias Eastcastle Street, London, 2022. Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the artist and Pilar Corrias, London.

Exhibition view of Ragna Bley: Stranger’s Eye, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Norway, 2022. Photo: Uli Holz. Courtesy of Kunstnernes Hus.

Exhibition view of Ragna Bley & Inger Ekdahl at Malmö Konsthall, 2020.

Exhibition view of "The Hour of Reckoning," 2021. Henie Onstad Art Center, Sandvika, Norway, 2021.

Ragna Bley, Slip, Sun dreams, 2018. Acrylic on canvas, 100 1/2 × 153 1/2 inches / 255 × 390 cm

Ragna Bley, High Point Glow, 2018. Acrylic on canvas, 100 1/2 × 153 1/2 inches / 255 × 390 cm

Ragna Bley, Ask, 2019. Digital print and enamel paint on PVC, 100 1/2 × 153 1/2 inches / 255 × 390 cm

Ragna Bley, Lie, 2019. Digital print and enamel paint on PVC, 100 1/2 × 153 1/2 inches / 255 × 390 cm

Ragna Bley, Unlit Hearings, 2018. Acrylic on canvas, 100 1/2 × 153 1/2 inches / 255 × 390 cm

Exhibition view of Ragna Bley & Inger Ekdahl at Malmö Konsthall, 2020.

Ragna Bley, Be, 2019. Digital print and enamel paint on PVC, 100 1/2 × 153 1/2 inches / 255 × 390 cm

Exhibition view of Ragna Bley & Inger Ekdahl at Malmö Konsthall, 2020.

Ragna Bley, Friday carcass, 2017. Acrylic on Dacron, 130 × 67 inches / 330 × 170 cm

Exhibition view of Ragna Bley & Inger Ekdahl at Malmö Konsthall, 2020.

Exhibition view of Ragna Bley: Pluto, 2018. OSL Contemporary, Oslo.

Exhibition view of Ragna Bley: Lay Open, 2017. Frankfurt am Main, Berlin.

Ragna Bley, Bee Clue, 2017. Acrylic on polyester canvas, aluminum artist frame, 23.6 × 19.7 inches / 60 × 50 cm

Exhibition view of Ragna Bley: Lay Open, 2017. Frankfurt am Main, Berlin.

Installation View of Ragna Bley: Zooid, 2017. Kunsthall Oslo in association with Münchmuseet, Oslo.

Ragna Bley, Armchair climate, 2017. Acrylic on Dacron, 130 × 67 inches / 330 × 170 cm

Installation View of Ragna Bley: Zooid, 2017. Kunsthall Oslo in association with Münchmuseet, Oslo.

Ragna Bley, Slouched cleft, 2017. Acrylic on Dacron, 130 × 67 inches / 330 × 170 cm

Ragna Bley, receive in past tense, 2017. Acrylic on Dacron, 130 × 67 inches / 330 × 170 cm

Ragna Bley, flatter runoff, 2017. Acrylic on Dacron, 122 × 63 inches / 310 × 160 cm

Ragna Bley, Bowl Gone Black Nor Bud Nor Boys, 2016. Acrylic on Dacron, epoxy, pigment, bronze, 147.64 × 64.96 inches / 375 × 165 cm. Exhibition view in Roaming, UKS, Oslo, 2016.

Ragna Bley, Bowl Gone Black Nor Bud Nor Boys, 2016 (detail). Acrylic on Dacron, epoxy, pigment, bronze, 147.64 × 64.96 inches / 375 × 165 cm. Exhibition view in Roaming, UKS, Oslo, 2016.

Exhibition view of Ragna Bley: Pine Pitch, 2016. Hester, New York.

Ragna Bley, Two Chord Wake, 2016. Acrylic on canvas, 98 1/2 × 47 1/4 inches / 250 × 120 cm

Ragna Bley, Two Chord Wake, 2016 (detail). Acrylic on canvas, 98 1/2 × 47 1/4 inches / 250 × 120 cm

Ragna Bley, Alpine Yellow, 2016. Acrylic on canvas, 65 × 86 inches / 165 × 218 cm

Ragna Bley, Alpine Yellow, 2016 (detail). Acrylic on canvas, 65 × 86 inches / 165 × 218 cm

Ragna Bley, Bitter End, 2016. Acrylic on canvas, 98 1/2 × 47 1/4 inches / 250 × 120 cm

Ragna Bley, Bitter End, 2016 (detail). Acrylic on canvas, 98 1/2 × 47 1/4 inches / 250 × 120 cm

Exhibition view of Conflicting Evidence, 2015. 1857, Oslo

Ragna Bley, Supporter in Shade, 2015. Acrylic on canvas, 98 1/2 × 63 inches / 250 × 160 cm

Ragna Bley, One-size Veil, 2015. Acrylic on canvas, 98 1/2 × 63 inches / 250 × 160 cm

Ragna Bley, It Took a Week to Remember What I Already Know, 2015. Acrylic on canvas, 98 1/2 × 74 1/2 inches / 250 × 180 cm

Exhibition view of Conflicting Evidence, 2015. 1857, Oslo.

Exhibition view of RCA Degree Show, 2015. Royal College of Art, London.

Ragna Bley, The Musketeers, 2015. Acrylic on canvas, 95 1/2 × 66 1/2 inches / 250,2 × 168,9 cm

Ragna Bley, The Numbers in Turn Led Back to us, 2015. Acrylic on canvas, 98 x 63 inches / 248,9 × 160 cm

Ragna Bley, Untitled, 2015. Acrylic on canvas, 98 × 74.76 inches / 248,9 × 189,9 cm

Biography

Ragna Bley (b. 1986, Uppsala, SE) lives and works in Oslo, Norway. She received her BFA at the National Academy of Fine Arts, Oslo, in 2011 and her MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, London in 2015. Solo and two-person presentations include: “Ragna Bley & Inner Ekdahl,” Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, SE (2022); “Pluto,” OSL Contemporary, Olso, NO (2020); “Zooid,” Kabuso Art House, Øystese, NO (2020); “Zooid,” The Munch Museum, Oslo, NO (2017); Tara Downs at the Armory Show, New York, US (2017); and “Pine Pitch,” Hester, New York, US (2016). Selected group exhibitions include: “Notes Toward a Shell,” Tara Downs, New York, US (2024); “The Inner Island,” Foundation Carmignac, Porquerolles, FR (2023); “The Hour of Reckoning,” Heni Onstad Art Center, Høvikodden, NO (2021); “Tempo Tempo Tempo,” Kistefosmuseet, Kistefos, Norway (2019);“The Moderna Exhibition,” Moderna Museet, Stockholm, SE (2018); “If it bends it’s funny, If it breaks it’s not funny.,” Bosse & Baum, London, UK (2015); “WIP,” Henry Moore Gallery, Royal College of Art, London, UK (2014); “What Thinks Me,” Taiga Art Space, St. Petersburg, RU (2014). Her work has been the subject of extensive coverage in publications including Artnews, Artsy, Blouin Artinfo, Flash Art, Frieze Magazine, Klassekampen, Morgenbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Triple Canopy, and Wallpaper, among numerous others. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the National Museum, Oslo; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Kistefosmuseet, Jevnaker; and Malmö Konstmueum, Malmö.