Bjarne Melgaard

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Bjarne Melgaard (born September 9, 1967 in Sydney , Australia ) is a Norwegian artist.

biography

Bjarne Melgaard grew up in Norway and studied at the Art Academy in Warsaw (1989–1990), at Statens Kunstakademi Oslo (1990–1991), at the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht (1991–1992) and at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam (1992-1993).

His works include sculptures , photographs , drawings, digital art and paintings, installations, environments and text expressions that mostly deal with the psychological and physical abysses of humans. Melgaard's painting style is characterized by high artistic and technical skill and accuracy. At the same time, some of Melgaard's works seem like children's drawings, while others look like the results of psychoactive drug trips. A red thread of death, pain, sadomasochism , self-harm and killing fantasies runs through his works . The imagery is based on graffiti, satanic symbols, splatter films, clubhouse aesthetics; a provocative violation of taboos is the program.

Due to his direct and abnormal approach to these topics, Melgaard was repeatedly set barriers, so his exhibition “Black Low: The punk movement was just hippies with short hair” was initially banned in Herford in 2002 and later only approved under certain conditions. The stumbling block was, in addition to pictures with motifs glorifying violence, his plan to put a goat as a metaphor of evil in a black latex suit and then show it in the exhibition. Melgaard painted over the pictures used for the ban completely or in places with black paint and renamed the exhibition "Ruin of an exhibition - Maybe art should have consequences".

The books accompanying the exhibitions in 2002, "Black Low: The punk movement was just hippies with short hair" in Herford and "Societé anonyme - Interface to God" in Kiel, were included in the list of media harmful to minors by the Federal Inspectorate for Media harmful to minors (BPjM) added. In addition to the exhibits, the books also show pictures of executions , castrations and torture .

Melgaard works with musicians every now and then. Due to his muscle mass, he made the electricity musician Roger Baptist ( Friends of Italian Opera ) aka "Rummelsnuff" the focus of his paintings and photographs, which were shown at documenta 12 , among other places . He also worked with the drummer of the band Satyricon , Kjetil "Frost" Haraldstad , the band Thorns and the band Emperor .

All but Roger Baptist come from the Black Metal environment . So designed z. B. Melgaard the covers of some "Thorns" and "Emperor" sound carriers ("Thorns / Emperor" split and the album "Thorns"), the music "Thorns" was at the exhibition "Societé anonyme - Interface to God" played, whereby "Interface to God" is also the title of a song by "Thorns". Sculptures and photographs of "Frost" were made for Melgaard exhibitions - the live performances of "Frost" at various exhibitions should also be mentioned. For example, he was already burned and stabbed in a fictional ritual murder , or he burned parts of the exhibits on display.

A sculpture Melgaards entitled The Black Woman Chair plays an important role in the novel The Time of Restless by Karine Tuil .

Melgaard lives and works in Oslo.

Solo exhibitions (selection)

  • 2019 My Trip , with Koo Jeong A in collaboration with Acute Arte, Julia Stoschek Collection, Berlin
  • 2018 Ni Youyu / Bjarne Melgaard , Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin
  • 2017 Bjarne Melgaard: The Casual Pleasure of Disappointment, Red Bull Arts New York , New York
  • 2016 PSYCHOPATHOLOGICAL NOTEBOOK , Karma, New York
  • 2015 Melgaard + Munch, The End of it All Has Already Happened , Much Museum , Oslo
  • 2014 Bjarne Melgaard: Selected Works From The Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art , Sørlandets Kunstmuseum, Kristiansand
  • 2013 Bjarne Melgaard , Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo
  • 2012 Bjarne Melgaard: A house to die in , Institute of Contemporary Arts , London
  • 2011 The Night Within Us! , Galerie Guido W. Baudach, Berlin
  • 2010 Jealous , Bergen Art Museum, Bergen

Group exhibitions (selection)

  • 2019 The Collection (1), Highlights for a Future , SMAK , Gent
  • 2018 Kathy Acker: Who Wants to Be Human All the Time , Performance space, New York
  • 2017 Divided States of America , The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, New York
  • 2016 Painters' Painters , Saatchi Gallery, London
  • 2015 passion. Fan Behavior and Art / Fan Behavior and Art, Künstlerhaus Bethanien , Berlin
  • 2014 Whitney Biennial 2014 , Whitney Museum of American Art , New York
  • 2013 Empire State - Art from New York , Palazzo delle Esposizioni , Rome
  • 2012 Bulletin Boards , Venus Over Manhattan & White Columns, New York
  • 2011 moment: Ynglingagatan 1 , Moderna Museet , Stockholm
  • 2010 Norse Soul: the legacy of Edvard Munch, social democracy, old myths, anarchy and death longings , Katzen Art Center, American University, Washington DC

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Berlin 2017. pp. 195f., 440.


personal data
SURNAME Melgaard, Bjarne
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Norwegian artist
DATE OF BIRTH September 9, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Sydney , Australia