Bjarne Melgaard was born on October 7th, 1967 in Sydney, Australia.
He started his artistic career in mid 1990s with a neo expressionistic, frantic style of painting, sculpture and installation. Social, political and ideological issues are at the core of Melgaard’s ouvre. Often in the form of marginal and subcultural phenomena, Melgaard’s art raises provocative and critical questions. Bjarne Melgaard’s art deals with the dark side of humanity, such as self-destruction, deviant sexuality and odd religious beliefs. It discusses, investigates and pushes the boundaries of societal acceptance. Melgaard has had more than fort-five solo exhibitions in leading galleries around the world. His work has been seen in numerous group shows and at international art fairs; he is a frequent curator and collaborator, has written more than a dozen novels and produced seven films. His latest book, A New Novel (2012), is the first English language novel published by Norwegian publishing giant Aschehoug. Melgaard’s work is owned by leading museums and art collections.
Bjarne Melgaard lives and works in Oslo, Norway.
In 2011, Melgaard represented Norway at La Biennale di Venezia, 54th International Art Exhibition, Venice. He has twice participated in the Biennale de Lyon. In 2011, Melgaard was given a mid-career retrospective at the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo. In 2014, Melgaard participated in the Whitney Biennial and in January 2015 Melgaard was the focus of the first of six important exhibitions at the Munch Museum in Oslo. “MELGAARD + MUNCH The end of it all has already happened” placed Edvard Munch’s ouvre in direct dialogue with works by Melgaard. In late 2016, Skira Rizzoli published the first comprehensive monograph of the artist’s career. In 2023, Bjarne Melgaard will have a major retrospective exhibition at the new Munch Museum in Oslo. Curated by Lars Toft-Eriksen, it will be the first comprehensive survey of his career in his homeland at a major public institution.