Bjarne Melgaard is a Norwegian artist whose work has occupied a singular and confrontational position in contemporary art since the 1990s. Trained in Warsaw, Oslo, Maastricht and Amsterdam, he has developed a multidisciplinary practice spanning painting, drawing, sculpture and installation, addressing desire, marginality and the social tensions of the present.
His paintings are characterised by a raw, instinctive handling of acrylic, where gesture and excess convey psychological intensity. Early installations, informed by underground subcultures, brought him international recognition and established a deliberately abrasive, deeply personal visual language.
Melgaard represented Norway at the Venice Biennale in 2011 and has exhibited widely in major international institutions.
His work is held in major public and private collections, including MoMA (New York), the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), the Munch Museum and the Astrup Fearnley Museum (Oslo), and the Rubell Family Collection (Miami).