BJARNE MELGAARD
b. 1967, AustraliaBorn in 1967 in Sydney, Australia, Bjarne Melgaard is a Norwegian artist living and working in New York. He received his formal art training at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts, and the Rijksacademie and Jan Van Eyck Academie in the Netherlands where he completed his studies in 1993. His work has been featured at museums including De Appel, Bergen Kunstmuseum, Galleria d’Arte Moderna Bologna, and Kiasma Helsinki, as well as the 5th Lyon, 24th Sao Paolo, and Manifesta II Biennales. Redefining the notion of authorship, Melgaard’s
canvases are conceived as excerpts from his ongoing painterly novels; which alongside his extended practice of sculpture, installation, and product design contrive elaborate meta-fictions that excavate the darkest depths of sub-culture. Blurring the bounds between abject degeneracy and shameless opulence Melgaard draws from all manner of inspiration, from heavy metal to art history, cartoons to porn, to articulate his subversive narratives and embellish his notorious cast of star characters.
Text courtesy Patricia Low Contemporary.
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