Lot Essay
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.
Bjarne Melgaard was once considered the 'bad-boy' of Scandinavian art for his intricate and outlandish installations involving elements from a decidedly underground sensibility ranging from hardcore heavy metal music to allusions to graphic S&M trysts, what he calls an aesthetic lashing out, a neo-neo expressionism or art brut. Yet Melgaard has recently turned to painting and drawing to re-discover the basics. Not completely gone are the scatological narratives, and flippant humor of his past works, but gone is the compulsion to shock with the ultra -violence of confrontation. Less abrasive than Melgaard's former works, these meditations on formal abstractions, fictional narratives and expressive strokes are a gorgeous combination of skill, passion and tenderness. Bjarne Melgaard has exhibited extensively in Europe as well as the US; most notably at Kunsthalle Wien Gagosian, Palais de Tokyo, Manifesta 11, Athens Biennial, and the Rubell Family Collection. Selected public collections: Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo, S.M.A.K., Ghent, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, MARTa Herford, Germany.
Bjarne Melgaard was once considered the 'bad-boy' of Scandinavian art for his intricate and outlandish installations involving elements from a decidedly underground sensibility ranging from hardcore heavy metal music to allusions to graphic S&M trysts, what he calls an aesthetic lashing out, a neo-neo expressionism or art brut. Yet Melgaard has recently turned to painting and drawing to re-discover the basics. Not completely gone are the scatological narratives, and flippant humor of his past works, but gone is the compulsion to shock with the ultra -violence of confrontation. Less abrasive than Melgaard's former works, these meditations on formal abstractions, fictional narratives and expressive strokes are a gorgeous combination of skill, passion and tenderness. Bjarne Melgaard has exhibited extensively in Europe as well as the US; most notably at Kunsthalle Wien Gagosian, Palais de Tokyo, Manifesta 11, Athens Biennial, and the Rubell Family Collection. Selected public collections: Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo, S.M.A.K., Ghent, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, MARTa Herford, Germany.