Oslo 1938 · Granada 2010
The Joy of Living
A Norwegian painter, teacher and fearless maker who found his paradise in the light of southern Spain.
Selected work
Sigvat painted landscapes, daily work and the people around him. His watercolours preserve places already changed and a light he never stopped studying.
Cataloguing in progress
The opening gallery will contain 20–30 carefully selected, high-resolution works. This first work shows the intended museum presentation.
Sketchbook
The date and place are taken from Sigvat’s inscription on the sheet.
Life & work
Newly found records confirm a life that moved freely between art, languages, teaching and practical work.
Born in Oslo on 26 April, into the artistic home of Kristian Kildal.
Military training and service, including the Norwegian King’s Guard and the UN peacekeeping force in Gaza.
Enrolled in architecture at the Technical University in Vienna.
Teacher training in Notodden, followed by German, French and literary studies at Uppsala University.
Worked as a teacher, special-education teacher, occupational therapist and translator in Norway, Sweden and Spain.
Worked actively with watercolour, drawing and oil painting across Norway, Sweden and Spain.
Settled for long periods in El Chaparral, where the Andalusian landscape and its people became central motifs.
Died in Granada while preparing an exhibition he called The Joy of Living.
The records support service with the United Nations in Gaza. The family’s recollection of NATO work remains to be verified before publication as fact.
In the field & studio
Family photographs follow Sigvat from the beach at San Pedro to patios, wheat fields and the studio in Calicasas.
From his family
We remember Sigvat as positive and joyful. He was not afraid to attempt what he had never been formally taught. He built houses, understood mechanics and electricity, learned languages and found his way by doing.
His motto, ‘Kan andra, så kan jag’, was not boastful. It expressed curiosity, courage and a trust that difficult things could be learned along the way. That same spirit lives in his paintings: attentive, direct and intensely alive.
From his family
Exhibitions & press
Catalogues, programmes and newspaper clippings place the paintings in the rooms and communities where they were first seen.
01
Press coverage of the memorial exhibition of 39 watercolours.
02
Programme for the 2015 exhibition at Casa de la Cultura.
03
Spanish press notice, 14 May 2015.
04
Norwegian coverage of Sigvat’s first watercolour exhibition in Asker, 1987.
05
José A. Ramírez Milena’s 2017 remembrance of Sigvat, his art and his bond with El Chaparral.
06
Programme for the exhibition at Casa de la Cultura in Albolote, 17–25 November.
Film archive
A short film offers another way to encounter his voice, work and presence. The family’s Vimeo master is presented without autoplay.
Film in Spanish · subtitles in preparation