A major retrospective exhibition at Oslo's Henie Onstad Kunstsenter reveals the paradoxical nature of Tom Sandberg, Norway's most celebrated photographer who transformed Nordic photography into a serious art form during the 1980s and 1990s. The exhibition, titled "Tom Sandberg: Vibrant World," showcases four decades of work from the late artist who was known for his serene, contemplative photographs despite living a notoriously wild and unpredictable life.

Sandberg's photographs capture Norway in perpetual wetness - images of drizzle and puddles, asphalt slick with mist, and water ripples that seem to have holes in them. Shot in bold black-and-white contrasts or gentle orchestrations of gray tones, these pictures possess the remarkable ability to make everyday scenes appear dreamlike. His compositions are confusingly uplifting, like being told to dress for sunshine even when storm clouds gather overhead.

Born in 1953 in Narvik on Norway's northern coast, Sandberg was first introduced to photography by his father, a photojournalist who took young Tom into the darkroom and exposed his hand on photo paper. "He said he was immediately smitten by that alchemical magic and never looked back," recalls art historian Torunn Liven, a longtime friend and trustee of the Tom Sandberg Foundation. After his father abandoned the family, Sandberg helped his mother raise his sister in a rough Oslo suburb.

In the mid-1970s, Sandberg studied photography at what is now Nottingham Trent University in England, where he was taught by renowned American photographer Minor White. He considered the darkroom process, with its experimental materials and retouching techniques, to be a pivotal part of image-making. As his practice evolved, his prints became increasingly larger and more cinematic - a noir-like interior of Oslo's Gardermoen airport lounge could easily pass for a film still from a Wim Wenders movie.

Returning to Oslo in the late 1970s, Sandberg began collaborating with printers and designers while developing an interest in Zen-like compositions. However, his social life was far from monk-like. "Tom had a huge social capacity. When he went in a taxi, he'd make friends with the taxi driver. He was friends with Norway's crown princess," says Liven. "He had a large need and capacity for having people around him. I think that unrest is the shadow side of that liveliness. And that, in a sense, his work arrested that unrest."

Sandberg served as the in-house photographer at Henie Onstad, where he captured art happenings and created closely cropped, vastly enlarged monochrome portraits of visiting dignitaries. His subjects included composer John Cage and artist Christo, rendered in topographical detail that scrutinized every pit and texture of weathered skin. These portraits demonstrate his ability to transform human subjects into studies of strange shapes and forms.

Morten Andenæs, Sandberg's former assistant and co-curator of the current exhibition, remembers both his mentor's productivity and his unruly moments. "He was a wild soul," Andenæs says. "He was one of those guys with a wry smile. He didn't take himself seriously but he took his work very seriously. It was how he dealt with existential issues." Sandberg struggled with alcohol and substance abuse and would periodically go on benders. He once told Andenæs that if it weren't for photography, he'd probably "go to the hounds."

Rumors constantly swirled around the enigmatic photographer, and he seemed to enjoy fueling his own mythology. Part of his ear was missing in portraits, leading to speculation about its cause. "I think he loved myth-making. Like, was it a woman who bit off his ear? That kind of stuff," says Andenæs. Sandberg would tell interviewers that he dreamed in black and white, adding to his mystique.

Despite his obsessive methodology and pared-back subject matter suggesting a modernist lone wolf - his photographs often feature solitary figures with their backs turned to the camera - Sandberg was no recluse. "He was seen by everyone he drew into his orbit," notes Andenæs. "And he had a drive and intuition that rumbled on like a lorry without brakes." His human subjects became studies of strange shapes, including images of a man appearing to dance with his own shadow.

In the early 2000s, Sandberg photographed his young daughter Marie as a whirlwind of blonde hair, creating what she now sees as a form of self-portraiture. "I don't think he was one thing. He was a diverse person," says Marie, now 30 and managing her father's estate for over a decade. "He was a very funny person and charismatic. But not always easy to be with." She describes him as protective during her childhood, noting that she chose to live with him during some of his most difficult periods. "I think he saw a lot of himself in me," she reflects.

Marie recalls how her father carried his camera bag everywhere, turning simple journeys into extended photo sessions. "To go from our house to the tram it could take anything from 10 minutes to two hours. He was taking pictures of me, the street, the sky, the ground. He just saw moments he wanted to capture." This engagement with subjects and surroundings extended to his friendships, as Andenæs remembers: "Being in his company felt like the sun was shining on you."

Liven notes Sandberg's particular affinity for mentoring young photographers eager to learn his wizard-like darkroom skills and careful editing process - an old-school approach that was meticulous, intuitive, and deliberately slow. The foundation is organizing workshops for local teenagers inspired by the exhibition, restricting them to work on single images instead of the usual overload of endless digital snapshots.

There were periods of clarity and sobriety in Sandberg's life, during which he achieved considerable success. His career highlights included a solo exhibition at MoMA PS1 in New York in 2007. His legacy continues to grow posthumously, with the current exhibition featuring works on loan from the Norwegian National Museum and the prestigious Tangen Collection, arguably the world's most important collection of Nordic photography.

The exhibition includes just one photograph of Sandberg himself: a self-portrait from 2001 showing him sitting in an armchair in an empty room, looking like a security guard - "the man you wouldn't notice." This image perfectly encapsulates the contradiction between his public persona and his artistic vision. "Tom Sandberg: Vibrant World" runs at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Oslo until March 1, 2026, serving as the first major Sandberg exhibition since his death in 2014 at age 60.