Biography
Henriette Roka-Aardal (b. 1975) is born and raised in Høvik, Bærum and now lives in Røyken with her husband and two daughters. Henriette has a BA Hons Foundation Diploma in Art & Design from Kent Institute of Art & Design, England and went to Hantverkscentrum in Tibro, Sweden for her gilding studies and education. After graduating, Henriette worked as a gilder for over five years in the studio of her late grandfather, painter Charles Roka in Høvik. She then moved to Røyken and set up a new studio where she continued her work. Henriette has executed several large commissions in gilding, including the prestigious task of restoring and gilding both His Majesty the King`s Ministerial chair and His Majesty the Crown Prince`s chair.
At the family exhibition at gallery Albin Up, Oslo "The Legacy of the Kitch prince" in 2012, Henriette exhibited her own paintings for the first time. The exhibition marked the 100 year anniversary of her late grandfather Charles Roka who is known for his "Gypsy girl" paintings, both frowned upon by critics and loved by the public. The exhibition resulted in Henriette selling her first painting, which in turn inspired her to continue working, aiming for a separate exhibition of her own. In early spring of 2014 Henriette's solo exhibition "Here you leave today" at Sekkefabrikken in Slemmestad was opened and visited by around 2000 people in the five weeks of its duration.
In 2014 Henriette carried out five exhibitions in total, and is currently planning several more in the nearby future. This April she had an exhibition at gallery DC-9 at Fornebu, and in September she will have an exhibition at the well known gallery Pingvin in Oslo.
In Henriette`s paintings she uses acrylic paint, pencil, ink, glue and chlorine to get the textures she wants. For inspiration she listens to music, takes a walk in the woods to find details in the nature, or she`s constantly looking for different textures in everyday life.
