Biography

Zsuzsanna Ursprung is a contemporary mixed media artist based in Oslo. Her work is rooted in nature, human experience and transformation, often focusing on what exists beneath the surface. She works with layered textures and genuine gold leaf to create paintings that leave room for reflection rather than offering a single explanation. Her paintings move between abstraction and figurative elements. She prefers not to impose a fixed story on a work; instead, she leaves space for viewers to bring their own memories, emotions and associations to what they see.

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Ursprung works primarily with acrylic, oil, wax, marble powder and genuine 22- and 23.7-karat gold leaf. Texture is central to her process. She builds up surfaces, alters them and sometimes covers them with new layers before adding further depth and character Alongside her artistic practice, Ursprung has worked for more than three decades as a radiologist, specialising in the interpretation of MRI and CT images. Years spent looking beneath the visible surface have naturally influenced the way she observes form, structure and detail. Her work has been shown internationally in galleries, at art fairs, in publications and in curated projects across Europe, North America and Asia. Her paintings are held in private collections in Norway, the United Kingdom, Austria, Hungary and Jamaica. Five works are permanently displayed at the Department of Radiology at Sykehuset Innlandet in Gjøvik, Norway, and one painting is displayed in the reception area of Medflow Private Clinic in Gjøvik. In recent years, she has also developed a close professional collaboration with Italian art historian, art analyst and curator Dr. Elisabetta La Rosa, who has written professional art texts about Ursprung’s work and followed this stage of her growing international career.

 

Artist Statement

For me, a painting often begins before I touch the canvas—with an image, a feeling, a question or something I have noticed and carried with me. My work often returns to themes of memory, transformation, resilience and the things we do not immediately see. I use texture, light, colour and genuine gold leaf to build surfaces gradually, allowing the image to change as I work. My scientific work has taught me to observe carefully, while painting asks me to trust intuition. I value both ways of working, and the tension between them has become an important part of my practice. 

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What matters most to me is the personal connection a work can create. No two people will see exactly the same thing in a painting, and I see that as part of the work rather than something that needs to be resolved. I hope my paintings give people a moment to pause, look closely and perhaps find something that feels familiar to them.

The Invisible Beneath the Visible

For more than three decades, radiology has shaped the way I observe the world. Since 1989, much of my professional life has involved looking beneath the visible surface. In radiology, I work with the structures of the human body, from organs and tissues down to the smallest details visible through medical imaging. I would not say that my paintings are inspired by medicine. The connection is more subtle. Radiology has trained me to look closely and to be curious about what cannot be seen at first glance. That way of looking has stayed with me in the studio. I am fascinated by the way certain forms and patterns seem to repeat at very different scales—from the structure of a cell to shapes found in nature and even in images of the universe. That relationship between the very small and the immense often finds its way into how I think about a painting. Painting gives me another way to explore what is not immediately visible. I do not want to tell the viewer what a painting should mean. I would rather leave enough space for someone to recognise an emotion, a memory or an association of their own. For me, a painting becomes complete when someone discovers a part of their own story within it, or when the work evokes thoughts, memories or emotions.

Career Highlights
Over the past few years, Zsuzsanna Ursprung has taken part in a growing number of exhibitions, publications, collaborations and international art projects. Her career has developed gradually through projects that have allowed her work to reach new audiences while her artistic expression has continued to mature and evolve.

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Recent milestones include invitations to exhibit in Florence and Rome, as well as at Lucca Art Fair 2026, and an ongoing collaboration with Italian art historian and curator Dr. Elisabetta La Rosa, who has written about Ursprung’s work and included it in several curated projects.

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Also in 2026, Ursprung’s painting Interstellar was selected by Patricia Zenklusen, Head Curator of ARTBOXY, for ART OF 100, an international physical collage presented at SWISSARTEXPO in Zurich. In addition, three works—Within the Spiral of Life, Golden Angel and Blue Madonna—will be presented digitally during the art fair, which opens on September 2, 2026. Later in September, Ursprung will participate in Lucca Art Fair 2026 with three selected works: Cosmic Flow, Interstellar and Supernova. In 2026, Ursprung was also selected to represent Norway in 195xGlobal, an ongoing international project organised by OTT-ARO Swiss. The project brings together artists from around the world, with a future exhibition planned in Bern, Switzerland. Her work has also appeared in international publications. L’EXPOSITION Contemporary Art History Magazine published an extended feature and interview with reproductions of ten paintings. She has also been featured in Art HERstory Magazine, with an interview in Visual Art Journal forthcoming.

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One project is particularly meaningful to Ursprung: five of her paintings are permanently displayed in the Department of Radiology at Sykehuset Innlandet in Gjøvik. A further painting is displayed in the patient waiting and reception area of Medflow Private Clinic in Gjøvik. These institutional placements make her art part of the everyday environment of patients, visitors and healthcare professionals.

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Selected Exhibitions

2026

• Lucca Art Fair – Lucca, Italy (Invited Artist)

• Arte: Visione & Materia – ContArt Gallery, Rome, Italy (Invited Artist; curated by Elisabetta La Rosa)

• VisionArte – ONART Gallery, Florence, Italy (curated by Elisabetta La Rosa)

• OMK – Oslo Kunstutstilling – Galleri OMK, Oslo, Norway

• ArtDeco III Exhibition – Golden Duck Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

• The Names Gallery Pop-Up Exhibition – The Names Gallery, Vienna, Austria 2025

• Fingerprints – Marks of Time – SORS Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

• Top Selection Berlin – Berlin, Germany

• L’EXPOSITION – Paris, France

• Light & Gaze Gallery – International Virtual Exhibition 2024

• Weihnachts zum Opernhaus – CITYgalleryVIENNA, Vienna, Austria​

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