Printing art in 40 layers

Artist duo Guttestreker from Norway has developed a taste for tactile print. The latest Canon technology has enabled the printing process where unique drawings emerge layer by layer.

A very special expression
Layer by layer, the Arizona printer adds color and artwork Substance City literally grows on the metal plate. Petter Grøndahl, one part of the artist duo that forms Guttestreker has found the tone with Henning Hagelund, Product Business Developer for Canon Norway. Together they have made many test prints of image sections before the final production started.

“The preparations must be good, as it takes around six hours to print all 40 layers in the image and it takes several liters of ink,” says Henning.

Then there is a unique tactile work of art, with a very special “touch and feel”, and Billie Holiday, Kurt Cobain and Al Capone actually appear in the crowd on the drawn work of art. Petter says it is by no means accidental, and that the artists at Guttestreker put a clear social commitment in their work.

“Substance City clearly addresses the widespread use of Oxycontin and how the pharmaceutical industry has influenced doctors to prescribe the addictive drug. With thousands of deaths among users as a result,” says Petter.

Petter Grøndahl from Gutestreker and Henning Hagelund from Canon check test prints of different sections before the final print job starts. As the print job with 40 layers takes 6 hours and requires a lot of ink, it is important to make thorough test prints.

Artist duo with community involvement
The artist duo Petter Grøndahl and Christoffer Christensen established Guttestreker in 2015, and have since drawn a number of pictures in the style that has become their trademark. Plans are now being made for an exhibition in New York, but the exhibition in Grieghallen will be the first to visit. There they will present their tactile variants for the first time.

“It will be incredibly exciting, we have never seen anything similar from others,” they say.

The artworks from Petter and Christoffer are also offered as traditional Fine Art prints and as prints in four depths on transparent acrylic, also printed with the Canon Arizona. Petter does not hide that it is tactile print that they like best.

“It gives an incredibly nice effect to the detailed drawings, but at the same time there is a lot of work in dividing the original into different layers,” says the man who gave up his career in finance to create raw and socially engaged art full-time.

A very special “touch and feel” originates when the drawings are tactically printed in 40 layers. Here, the yellow windows for instance are printed less high than the other layers.

About Guttestreker
Guttestreker consists of the artist duo Petter Malterud Grøndahl and Christoffer Kroge Christensen, with a shared artistic vision and a unique style. Neither one of them have formal art education, which has contributed to a non-traditional approach to art. Their methods and creative processes are rooted in what they themselves describe as “illustrated philosophy”. They do everything themselves, from original work to digital coloring and layering and the duo has also executed a number of commissioned works, including for Amnesty International, Too Good To Go, Family Welfare Service, Funky Snowboards and more.

Their artworks can be seen and bought on their website guttstreker.com and in their own gallery in Oslo, Norway.

Published 15th Mar 2023