BGE Contemporary is honoured to present ”En ost på en sydhavsøy og Chill Out med Kristina Lugn”, our first solo exhibition by Norwegian master Bjarne Melgaard. The exhibition consists of pen and ink drawings and oil paintings, and will be open from February 13 until March 17.
”En ost på en sydhavsøy og Chill Out med Kristina Lugn” evolves around the concept and thought process concerning the production and context of which works of art are created. There are three central focuses within the show; the notion of “Chill Out”, the poetry and thoughts of Kristina Lugn and a series of self portraits.
The works examinate the idea of contemporary “Chill Out” are implemented by pen and ink drawings, and are, as the exhibition itself, titled “En Ost På en Sydhavsøy og poeten Kristina Lugn”. These drawings were originally made for the Biennale in Belgrade, “October Salon 2018”, curated by Gunnar Kvaran, director of the Astrup Fearnley Museum. Although the Bienalle did not receive much publicity in the Norwegian media, it did receive substantial media coverage in other parts of Europe. Interestingly Melgaard chose to enhance his show at BGE Contemporary with these drawings as an international element to the exhibition, which is something he finds of importance when exhibition in regional areas, in addition to the satisfaction of bringing the works back home to Norway where they originally were created.
The works were created as a result of a water leak in Melgaard´s studio. As they were completed, water fell from the ceiling over the drawings. Rather than identifying them as damaged works, Melgaard chose to view them as new works, which had been created as a result of circumstance, a progression the artist views as an important part of his creative process.
The show contains further five works that circle around the context of the poetry and thoughts of Kristina Lugn. This includes matters such as loneliness, isolation, insecurity and depictions of The Lightbulb Man portrayed in a hyper realistic manner, merged with further expressive visual languages. These works were first shown at Frieze London, by Gavin Brown Enterprise as a part of his presentation at the fair in 2018.
The remaining works of ”En ost på en sydhavsøy og Chill Out med Kristina Lugn” are a series of self portraits, where Melgaard for the first time in years moves away from implementing text directly onto the painting, and instead complements the contextual component of the works in their titles.
In ”En ost på en sydhavsøy og Chill Out med Kristina Lugn” the creative process of each work has been of higher significance than the creation of an exhibition as a whole. As a result, the paintings are less processed and appear rawer than many of Melgaard´s pervious shows.
”En ost på en sydhavsøy og Chill Out med Kristina Lugn” will open on February 13 from at 6pm. The artist will be present during the opening.