Artist and interior designer Ingvild Holtan – exploring canvas, space and inner landscapes

By Maria Sødal Vole | Photos: Ingvild Holtan

For artist and interior designer Ingvild Holtan, creative expression flows seamlessly between canvas and space. Exploring form, colour, human emotions and our varied inner landscapes, she is currently preparing for a solo exhibition at Gamle Munch in Oslo.

After getting certified as an interior designer and completing a Master of Arts, Holtan began working as an art and interior consultant. After 14 years in the industry in Oslo and working at international art fairs in New York, Miami and Basel, she ventured out on her own, dividing her time between her practice as an artist and her interior design business, Nuance Design.

Ingvild Holtan.

Describing herself as an aesthete in relation to her artistic expression and approach to interior design, Holtan has a profound appreciation for art, beauty, form and visual meaning. “I set high standards for myself when it comes to interiors. When I’m working with a client, their needs and personality form the foundation of every choice I make, and my design solutions are carefully tailored to reflect the individual client,” she says. “I value personality – a home should feel safe and meaningful, and it should be clear who lives there. I believe we feel our best in spaces filled with things that matter to us – natural materials and objects that have a story behind them.”

Feathers in the leaves.

Creating bespoke solutions for those living or spending time in the environment is important to Holtan. She works closely with her husband, interior carpenter Sean Cestone, and the two value thinking outside the box and offering creative solutions, especially when working with limited space. “We’ve experienced time and time again how integral smart solutions are in smaller spaces. Even small adjustments can have a significant impact,” she says.

Petals in the wind.

At the intersection of art and interior design

In her interior design practice, Holtan makes site visits to clients’ homes both physically and digitally to assess the spaces, and she can digitally mount artwork to give customers an idea of what it will look like in a given space. Experiencing an environment allows her to understand the layout and structural design of a space and offer clients practical, individually tailored guidance.

Clients appreciate her focus on personal expression and the way she goes above and beyond to source unique, high-quality pieces that add something extra to a space. Her multidisciplinary background gives her a fantastic starting point for recommending art pieces that work well within a space. “I feel that a home needs art just as much as art needs a home,” Holtan says. “Art plays an important role in creating the mood and atmosphere in any given space – a single artwork can completely transform a room.”

Dialogue.

As an artist, Holtan draws inspiration from her surroundings, nature, experiences and human relations, as well as both emotional and physical movements. Her studio is a place of refuge where her creative energy can flow freely. Working intuitively with thin layers of paint on unprimed cotton canvas in large formats, Holtan allows each painting to take shape organically. She paints by instinct rather than planning in advance, and each piece is created in the moment.

“I’ve been working with abstract landscape forms over a long period of time. I refer to these as ‘inner landscapes’, and I believe our inner and outer worlds are closely connected,” she says. Lately, Holtan has started incorporating simple figurative shapes into this visual language – an expression that, to her, conveys a quiet dialogue between people. “Challenging myself in my artistic process is exciting to me. Sometimes, I can get stuck and it’s rewarding when I finally manage to break the pattern and witness a new expression emerge – this is how my art continues to evolve.”

Soft winds.

An impending exhibition

The artist is currently working towards a solo exhibition at Gamle Munch, the former Munch Museum building in the charming neighbourhood of Tøyen in Oslo. The historic building now functions as a multi-purpose cultural hub, hosting exhibitions, performances, workshops and community events.

Holtan’s solo exhibition will be running in December 2025. Visitors will be able to experience her paintings as well as a project focused on sculptural paintings – an interesting concept that reimagines overworked paintings in a new form of expression. “Since I tend to work with thin layers, I sometimes find that a painting will become too full or overworked,” she explains. “By recycling these pieces into sculptural paintings through folding and reconfiguration, they become something new: an interesting borderland between painting and sculpture.”

Holtan’s artwork can be purchased directly from her as well as at several galleries in Norway. She offers both original paintings and prints, with shipping available worldwide. Holtan also accepts works to order in both small and large formats and occasionally allows visitors to come by her studio in Oslo privately, with the chance to see her art in person and hear about her artistic process. She is available for contact through her website or on social media – follow her to stay up to date with her work.