Adventures in Fjord Landscapes
Deep within the longest, deepest, narrowest and most beautiful fjords in the world, the
Sunnmøre Alps rise steeply. On mountain shelves high above the fjord, people have
cleared their fields, built their houses and clawed their homes to the mountains. This
marvellous landscape was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2005, together with
Nærøyfjord.
Queen Sonja has repeatedly returned to the West Norwegian fjord landscape to hike in the
mountains. Ørnulf Opdahl has renewed Norwegian landscape painting with his depictions
of his home region. Their love of art and their love of the raw nature of western Norway
has brought the two of them together, and this year they are publishing the book “Adventures
in Fjord Landscapes”. The book is richly illustrated with photos and paintings, and
provides conversations in which the two reflect on the traces left by the people who lived
their lives in this landscape.

At the same time, Queen Sonja and Opdahl share thoughts
on how they themselves incorporate impressions of nature into their art. The book builds
on “Klangbunn”, which was published in 2002, but is greatly expanded on to include more
photos from the Queen’s trips to this area, and Ørnulf Opdahl’s watercolours and paintings
of peaks, mountains and glaciers in Sunnmøre. You can enjoy the photos and watercolours
related to this book collaboration in this beautiful exhibition

Exhibition Catalogue

1. On the trek from Knivsflå up to 450 m aboe the sea level.
2. Antarctic
3. Antarctic
4. Kolåstind, variant
5. Sloge , variant
6. Slogen, variant
7. Kolåstind, variant
8. Impression of light
9. Light on the fjord
10. Fjord landscape
11. Waterfall. Skotet
12. Kallskaret
13. Mist and mountain
14 Wet day
15. Waterfall and tree
16. A boat on the lake
17 Reflection. Storfjorden
18. Mountain lake
19. Kolåstind
20. Glacier II
21. Red roof. Knivsflå
22. The barn. Me-åkerneset
23. Interior the barn. Me-åkerneset
24. Reflection I
25. Light and shadow
26. Sun and shadow
27. Peak
28. Peak
29. Waterfall. Knivsflå
30. Dam. Tafjord
31. Glacier I
32. Fjord landscape
33. Knivsflå
34. View from Holegga (1580 m) towards Grandevassegga (1703 m)

«Why do we feel that some nature is more beautiful than other nature?
I think this is because it speaks to something deep inside you, to your personality, to your senses – to your heart, actually.
It can be colours and combinations, like when you see green colours together. You are simply in awe of how beautiful it is.»
– HM Queen Sonja

View the exhibition brochure: Here