The World of John Savio

Summer exhibition 2014:

This summer, the North Cape Museum is proud to present the special exhibition “The World of John Savio”. It showcases the work of one of the most influential Sami artists from Norway and will be on display from the 1^st of June until the 28^th of September 2014.

The exhibition is on loan from the Savio Museum in Kirkenes.

Picture: “Alone” (woodcut)

John Andreas Savio (born 1902, died 1938) was a visual artist from Bugøyfjord, a small village in the east of Finnmark county. Savio was the first Sami artist with a formal arts education; he graduated from The Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry, which is now a part of Oslo National Academy of the Arts.

He mastered many styles and techniques, such as oil painting, water colour and drawing, but he is most famous for his iconic wood cuttings. His main themes are scenes from Sami and north-Norwegian life, the interplay between humans and nature, and landscapes.

John A. Savio is now considered one of Norway’s greatest visual artists and has been a major influence on subsequent Sami artists as well as Sami culture in general.

He contracted tuberculosis, and died in April 1938. He is buried in Oslo.