Ross Kolby

Kolby's artistic expression is mostly influenced by European classical art and painters such as Tizian, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Anthony van Dyck and Diego Velázquez. Furthermore modern artists like Lucian Freud, Edvard Munch, Francis Bacon, Odd Nerdrum and Balthus have influenced on Kolby's artistic developement. His artistic expression is characterized by his combination of modern and classical symbolics and references thematizing contemporary topics painted in a classical figurative technique.

An example of Kolby's combining of classical and contemporary references is his canvas Monarch where he depicts a man with Down's syndrom in a full lengh portrait in the classical posture of kings and emperors from historic portraits. Kolby's eye-catching and in many ways conflicting portrait of a handicapped man in the posture of a mighty monarch invites the spectator to reflect on the individual's place in sociaty, and whether persons with a handicap have the same rights and opportunities in society as other citzens.

Several of Kolby's works have caused debate, and in addition to thematizing disabled people's rights his works comments on themes such as racism, environmental problems, sexual abuse of children, war and political conflict.

After Anders Behring Breivik’s 2011 Norway attacks in Oslo and at Utoya on 22 July Kolby painted the canvas Nourishment showing a Yara International bag of artificial fertilizer to debate extremism, terrorism and the individual’s responsibility of using or abusing available technology. Artificial fertilizers were invented by Norwegian scientists Sam Eyde and Kristian Birkeland who in 1905 founded Norsk Hydro – the world's first producer of mineral nitrogen fertilizers. (The company de-merged as Yara International in 2004.) With their new invention Eyde and Birkeland wanted to fight famine and saving lives, whereas Breivik used their artificial fertilizers to create his bomb and to take lives. By displaying the unopened Yara bag out in the calm nature as simply a pontential Kolby illustrates the individual's choice of actions.[6]

In his painting Venus of SoMe from 2021 Kolby comments on the relationship between youth today and the social media, as well as the beauty industry, the mental illness of cutting and the focus on the body. By painting a front page of an English version of Vogue Kolby shows his female model surrounded by real headlines from the magazine. The woman has surgical marks drawn onto her body, ready for her operations.

Kolby has several times used popes as symbols in his paintings. He received death threats when he was about to exhibit his historical motif The murder of Pope John Paul I in 1997 and withdrew the artwork from the show while the police investigated the case.[7] The painting artistically explores the much debated death of Pope John Paul I in 1978 when the he died only 33 days after being elected at the Papal conclave in the Vatican. Kolby bases his painting on the book In God's Name by British author David Yallop from 1984 in which he claims that Pope John Paul I was murdered. Yallop proposes the theory that the newly elected Pope was in "potential danger" because he immediately initiated an internal investigation of corruption in the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) and its ties to the Italian masonic lodge Propaganda Due.[8] The IOR is the Vatican's most powerful financial institution and is commonly known as the Vatican Bank. Kolby's painting of the murder of John Paul I was subsequently exhibited in Oslo in January 1998, without leading to further threats.

Also in his works dealing with racism and Catholic priests' sexual abuse of children Kolby uses a pope as the motif.[9]

His painting Arrangement in black, white and red from 1998, often called The black Pope, thematizes racism and black people's civil rights. As the Pope is a globally known institution and symbol Kolby make use of him to comment on black citizen's civil rights and possibilities for social mobility and career. By painting the Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze as a newly elected Pope Kolby thematizes racism in general and in the Catholic Church spesifically.

The painting is inspired by Diego Velázques' 1650 painting Portrait of Pope Innocent X, but Kolby has Cardinal Arinze wearing the papal cloak of today as well as he holds a letter with the Latin writing 'Tertium Millennium Adveniens" (The Coming of the Third Millennium). Not since 300 A.D. a black Cardinal has been elected to St. Peter's Throne, and Kolby's 'impossible' motif of the black Pope therefore challenges 1,700 years of Catholic racial politics and suggests the coming of a new era in the third millennium (the 2000's)

In 2013 he exhibited the new work And the truth shall make you free about the child abuse in the Catholic Church. This canvas is also inspired by both Diego Velázques' 1650 painting Portrait of Pope Innocent X as well as Francis Bacon's 1953 painting Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X and Edvard Mucnh's 1894 painting The Scream. Kolby also produced and appeared in the documentary film And the truth shall make you free about the clerical child abuse and his painting.[10]

Harald V of Norway and Kolby at the unveiling ceremony at Akershus Fortress on 26th March 2015.

Kolby has worked extensively with portraits throughout his career and has been commissioned to portray a variety of persons.

In connection with the celebration of 70 years since the liberation from Nazi-Germany’s occupation of Norway, Kolby in 2015 was commissioned to portray Norway’s three generations of monarchs attached to the events of WWII.[11] He painted Harald V, Olav V and Haakon VII in a triple portrait with the title The Kings of the Liberation.[12] The portraits were subsequently unveiled by King Harald V at Akershus Fortress and are on permanent display at Norway’s Resistance Museum there.[13][14] The new royal portraits were heavily critisized in the media by the art critics.[15][16]

The documentary film The Kings of the Liberation places the portraits in a historic context with the Norwegian Royal Family and their contribution during WWII.[17]

To the celebrations of the 25th year Consecration Jubilee of the reign of Norway's Harald V and Queen Sonja in 2016[18] Kolby was commissioned to artistically commemorate the consecration day in 1991 to the Crown Regalia Museum in Trondheim.[19] He painted the King's and Queen's crowns in a motif with elements symbolizing Norwegian history. The painting was unveiled at a ceremony by the altar in the Nidaros Cathedral and is today on permanent display in the Crown Regalia Museum in the medieval Archbishop's Palace, Trondheim.[20]

Dame Vera Lynn's daughter Virginia Lewis-Jones and Ross Kolby in front of his portrait of Lynn at the unveiling ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall on 13th January 2020

In January 2019 the Mid Sussex Times brought the news that Kolby would be portraying Dame Vera Lynn to the Royal Albert Hall in London.[21]

Kolby met with the then 101 year old singer in her home in Ditchling and made studies for the portrait.[22] The painting was unveiled at the Royal Albert Hall in January 2020 by Lynn's daughter Virginia Lewis-Jones and Britain's Got Talent winner Colin Thackery, and will be on permanent display at the venue where Lynn performed 52 times from 1937 to 2006.[23]

The documentary film Dame Vera Lynn - The Voice of a Nation premiered at the unveiling ceremony at the Hall and tells the story of 'The Forces' Sweetheart' and Kolby's portrait.[24]

He debuted as a published author in 2001 with the fantasy novel Will O'Phillie and the story of Lord Falconbridge on Cappelen Damm.[25][26] The story takes place in England where the 12-year-old Will O'Phillie suddenly brings to life magical powers as he walks in a forest and reads aloud a Shakesperian sonette. This awakens the head of the more than 400 year old Lord Henry Falconbridge who was decapitated in 1622. Together they embark on a journey to fight an attack from dark powers as well as to find Ophelia, the long lost love of Lord Falconbridge. The novel was also published in Danish.[27]

In 2008 Kolby published the historic novel Flames on Kagge Forlag.[28] The book thematizes the witch processes in Northern Norway in the 17th century.[29][30] The book takes place in Lyngen by Tromsø where a love story and drama unfolds around the Danish-Norwegian King Christian IV's historic visit at the location in 1599. The novel debates the historic witch processes in Norway as well as today's religious oppression of women. Kolby has also written a screenplay of the story and has worked for an adaption of Flames.[31]