Bjarne Melgaard
09 Sep - 16 Oct 2010
BJARNE MELGAARD
"Neon Angel"
09.09.10 - 16.10.10
The title of the exhibition “Neon Angel” is taken from the autobiographical novel written by Cherie Currie. At the age of fifteen, she became the lead singer of the Runaways, a female rock group. They became rapidly very successfull, but Currie was overwhelmed by the pace and constant travel. This led to a lot of troubling and troublesome situations ending her youthful years in a very cruel and abrupt way. In the past Melgaards work was often characterized by violent imagery combined with text referring to drugs, suicide and rape. The presence of (self) destructive elements were a theme in his oeuvre, often also sculpture and installation.
In this exhibition the work focusses on the aspect of youth, and age in a more general way. Melancholy, crisis and pain are rendered in a less explicit way than in his earlier work. Melgaard constructs narratives which mix autobiographical elements and fiction. He presents a "portrait show", containing self-portraits in the photo-realistic style as well as more painterly images of Emilio Cuilan. The paintings are also about finding beauty in the individual as an amateur and non-professional, having fun, practising something you like to do, rather than the image of an individual as a representative icon. The skater in the paintings seems to fly. Like birds’ wings, he moves his arms and Melgaard depicts the action. The effort of conquering gravity, of transgressing borders.
Bjarne Melgaard wrote a novel 25/5?, which will be publised by Aschehoug in Norway. Part of it, “Son of Sam, Brother of Job” will be read by Ulrike Lindmayr in Gunther on Friday 10 sept. 2010.
The grey background of the gallery space is a reminiscent element of the previous exhibition by Joëlle Tuerlinckx. Nine years ago, Melgaard showed here in the gallery Black Metal figures and had the gallery space painted black, and Tuerlinckx exhibited after him, using his black space as “un espace trouvé”. Now Melgaard exhibits after Tuerlinckx, and he artistically replies to this context. The orange color was chosen by Melgaard.
Bjarne Melgaard, Norwegian, was born in 1967 in Sidney, Australia. He lives and works in New York. Selected solo exhibitions (institutions only) of the past 10 years include in 2010 Bjarne Melgaard/Rod Bianco "Super Normal", De Appel, Amsterdam (cat.), in 2009 Jealous, Bergen Kunstmuseum, Bergen / Norway and Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo (cat.), in 2006 at the Haugar Vestfold Museum, Oslo, Scam, Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen (cat.). Black Low, MARTa Herford (cat.) and Interface to God, Kunsthalle zu Kiel (cat.) took place in 2002.
Important international group exhibitions include 1998 Manifesta II, European Biennale of Contemporary Art, Luxemburg and XXIV Biennale de Sao Paulo, curated by Bart de Bare and Maretta Jaukurii. In 2000 Sharing Exoticisms, 5th Biennale de Lyon, in 2004 PLAYLIST, Palais de Tokyo, Paris and Destroy Athens, 1st Athens Biennial 2007, Athens.
"Neon Angel"
09.09.10 - 16.10.10
The title of the exhibition “Neon Angel” is taken from the autobiographical novel written by Cherie Currie. At the age of fifteen, she became the lead singer of the Runaways, a female rock group. They became rapidly very successfull, but Currie was overwhelmed by the pace and constant travel. This led to a lot of troubling and troublesome situations ending her youthful years in a very cruel and abrupt way. In the past Melgaards work was often characterized by violent imagery combined with text referring to drugs, suicide and rape. The presence of (self) destructive elements were a theme in his oeuvre, often also sculpture and installation.
In this exhibition the work focusses on the aspect of youth, and age in a more general way. Melancholy, crisis and pain are rendered in a less explicit way than in his earlier work. Melgaard constructs narratives which mix autobiographical elements and fiction. He presents a "portrait show", containing self-portraits in the photo-realistic style as well as more painterly images of Emilio Cuilan. The paintings are also about finding beauty in the individual as an amateur and non-professional, having fun, practising something you like to do, rather than the image of an individual as a representative icon. The skater in the paintings seems to fly. Like birds’ wings, he moves his arms and Melgaard depicts the action. The effort of conquering gravity, of transgressing borders.
Bjarne Melgaard wrote a novel 25/5?, which will be publised by Aschehoug in Norway. Part of it, “Son of Sam, Brother of Job” will be read by Ulrike Lindmayr in Gunther on Friday 10 sept. 2010.
The grey background of the gallery space is a reminiscent element of the previous exhibition by Joëlle Tuerlinckx. Nine years ago, Melgaard showed here in the gallery Black Metal figures and had the gallery space painted black, and Tuerlinckx exhibited after him, using his black space as “un espace trouvé”. Now Melgaard exhibits after Tuerlinckx, and he artistically replies to this context. The orange color was chosen by Melgaard.
Bjarne Melgaard, Norwegian, was born in 1967 in Sidney, Australia. He lives and works in New York. Selected solo exhibitions (institutions only) of the past 10 years include in 2010 Bjarne Melgaard/Rod Bianco "Super Normal", De Appel, Amsterdam (cat.), in 2009 Jealous, Bergen Kunstmuseum, Bergen / Norway and Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo (cat.), in 2006 at the Haugar Vestfold Museum, Oslo, Scam, Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen (cat.). Black Low, MARTa Herford (cat.) and Interface to God, Kunsthalle zu Kiel (cat.) took place in 2002.
Important international group exhibitions include 1998 Manifesta II, European Biennale of Contemporary Art, Luxemburg and XXIV Biennale de Sao Paulo, curated by Bart de Bare and Maretta Jaukurii. In 2000 Sharing Exoticisms, 5th Biennale de Lyon, in 2004 PLAYLIST, Palais de Tokyo, Paris and Destroy Athens, 1st Athens Biennial 2007, Athens.