ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACKWARD - Mickael Marman & Martin Sæther.: OSL Contemporary x GalleryLab

OSL contemporary and GalleryLab are together pleased to present One Step Forward, Two Steps Backward, an exhibition by Mickael Marman and Martin Sæther.

The exhibition opens on Saturday, 29 August at 14:00, at GalleryLab, Romsås senter. Refreshments will be generously provided by Jamals Falafel.
OSL contemporary has represented Mickael Marman since 2025. In connection with the gallery’s collaboration with GalleryLab, Marman invited Martin Sæther to take part in the exhibition. Whilst their practices differ in form and material, they share mutual interests and themes that shape their respective projects, which is also evident in this exhibition. Martin Sæther has had his artist studio at Romsås since 2022, first at Villa Romsli, and at Romsås senter since 2025.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Backward brings together video, paper collage, painting and sculpture. Mickael Marman and Martin Sæther both work with existing objects as material, visually examining how our understanding of commercial and industrial objects changes when they are moved from one context to another.

Romsås is a shared point of reference for the two artists. In his video work House to live in, Martin Sæther has recorded details from the 1970s buildings at Romsås, among them the area's characteristic Leca-block walls, alongside other historical traces. In his paper collages, he draws on a collection of napkins spanning from the 1940s to today. He first fabricates his own paper by hand as a base, then applies selected sections and patterns from the napkins. Often, the decade a specific napkin belongs to is almost determinable with just a passing glance, carrying a kind of testimony from the past. What was originally a mass-produced, disposable object remains as material from a historical archive, subsequently given new form in Sæther's singular collages.

For both artists, the circulation of materials becomes a method of interrogating questions of culture, class and the hierarchies of taste.

Mickael Marman presents two works in the exhibition. The sculpture PRDA is a reconstructed wooden board that originally served as a sign and construction hoarding outside the newly opened PRADA shops in Oslo. The logo had to be cut for Marman to acquire it, and one letter of the logo was lost in the process, hence PRDA rather than PRADA. In the painting #521786, he has used the imprints from a pair of Prada shoes first confiscated by customs and later bought back at a police auction. In both works, the object's "incidental" history becomes part of the artwork itself.

Commissioned for the exhibition, Eira Mugås has written an essay offering a closer reading of Marman's and Sæther's works. In the text, Mugås shows how the seemingly ordinary can take on new, "poetic" meaning in art. In working with commercial culture, industrial material and everyday objects, Sæther’s and Marman's practices, have each found their own visual way of examining the world.

Mickael Marman (b. 1983) is of Norwegian and Gambian descent, and lives and works in Oslo and Paris. He trained at the Hochschule für bildende Künste (HFBK) in Hamburg and at the Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main, where he studied under Michael Krebber, Josef Strau and Willem de Rooij.

Marman's artistic practice is marked by a dynamic process of continual reworking of layers and dissolution of images. His exploration of materiality is often shaped by his travels, from which he gathers photographs and references that later enter his paintings. His works occupy a field of tension. They resist easy interpretation while demanding attention, raising questions of identity, image perception and meaning-making.

Alongside his own practice, Marman previously ran the art project “bbberlin.” Recent exhibitions include Zug at Damien & The Love Guru, Zurich (2026), and Holland Isn't Japan, with Daan van Golden, presented by 47 Canal and Misako & Rosen at Arcadia Missa, London (2026). His work has also featured in group exhibitions such as Home of the Brave at MMK, Frankfurt am Main (2017), and The Way Things Go Pt 3 at PS120, Berlin (2018). In Norway, his recent solo exhibitions include Heimweh at Centralbanken/Santolarosa (2022), Gemälde at Kunstnerforbundet (2023), PRDA at Galleri Van Bau, Vestfossen (2025), and hello driver! at OSL contemporary, Oslo (2025).

Martin Sæther (b. 1986) lives and works in Oslo and has his artist studio at Romsås. He holds an MA from the Art Academy at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, including a one-year exchange at the Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna, and a BA from the Art Academy in Trondheim, NTNU.

Sæther's practice spans collage, video, sculpture and painting. Central to his work is a long-term process of weaving together an expanding repertoire of materials, techniques and concepts. Everyday interior details and mass-produced objects are lifted out of their original context, reconstructed and reworked, often through slow, demanding craft such as papermaking or casting, before entering a broader exploration of value, taste and authenticity.

Sæther has held solo exhibitions at, among others, Stormen kunst/dájdda, Bodø (2025); Heerz Tooya, Veliko Tarnovo (2024); VI, VII, Basel and Oslo (2023, 2022); Oppland Kunstsenter, Lillehammer (2020); Femtensesse, Oslo (2020); and UKS, Oslo (2019). His group exhibitions include Circulation Desk, Turin, curated by Alina Vergnano (2025); Blunk, Stavanger Kunstmuseum (2023); and Virksomheten, curated by Pyton at Kunstnerforbundet (2023). 

Alongside his own practice, Sæther has curated several exhibitions. Recent projects include Taterlandet at Nitja senter for samtidskunst, Lillestrøm (2025), and Frokost i det grønne: Burokunstere i Taterland at Guttormsgaards arkiv, Blaker (2025), both with Ellef Prestsæter and Anders Nordby. His work is held in the public collections of the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget), KORO, Stavanger Kunstmuseum, the City of Oslo, and Kunst på Arbeidsplassen.

OSL contemporary was established in 2011 by Emilie Magnus. Located at Frogner in Oslo the gallery has since developed an extensive program, currently representing twenty-three emerging and established artists encompassing a diverse range of disciplines.

With the focused initiative to nurture the artists’ positions within the Nordic region and promote their practice to a wider global audience, the gallery works closely with local institutions and museums whilst continuously engaging and participating in projects, exhibitions, and art fairs internationally.

Contact OSL contemporary:

Founder and Director
Emilie Magnus
emilie@oslcontemporary.com

Assistant Director
Ida Marie Ellinggard
ida@oslcontemporary.com

GalleryLab opened at Romsås Senter on 6 September 2025 and is part of Ferd’s Oslo Initiative, with the ambition of making contemporary art more accessible and bringing artistic experiences to new parts of the city. We particularly value collaborations with partners who share this ambition.

Contact GalleryLab:
Gallery Manager 
Katja van Etten Jarem
katja@gallerylab.no

Chair of the Board 
Helene Gulaker Hansen
hgh@ferd.no

EXHIBITION OPENING
Saturday, 29 August 2026 at 14:00 PM
EXHIBITION PERIOD
29 August – 3 October 2026

VISITING ADDRESS
Romsås senter 1
0970 Oslo
Norway