Bjarne Melgaard: Fin de Copenhague

Bjarne Melgaard is now showing his second solo exhibition at Galleri Faurschou. This is an exhibition underlining his excellent ability to create visually expressive and highly sensuous settings. Paintings, drawings, film, animation, photographs, furniture and other objects are combined in an aesthetically striking and very personal universe.

The exhibition title is a tribute to Asger Jorn and Guy Debord and their book project "Fin de Copenhague"; a collage of text and images, poured over with lithographic ink and put together by Jorn and Debord in 24 hours in 1957. This book is, with its many cards and names of places, a kind of psychological landscape, an intoxicated cartography, and Jorn's final good-buys to Copenhagen.

Bjarne Melgaard's exhibition can also be seen a kind of collage, a narrative, or a landscape, and the exhibition will show many different expressions and materials. There will be his very expressionistic paintings and drawings, as well as references to past exhibitions, films or projects he has done, photos of actors and other people he cares for, together with personal items such as Norwegian antique furniture.

The exhibition is a juxtaposition of different memories and references, pointing to both the past and the future of his artistic practice. A new feature in his work is his collaboration with different fashion houses - and from this works in silk, cashmere and fur.

When talking about his new large paintings (among others portraying his Chihuahua dog), Melgaard has found it very important, and talking of Jorn, to rediscover his own initial experience when painting: As a free and joyful process where the stroke of the brush is governed by the direct response to the canvas surface. These paintings are therefore more typical for Melgaard than ever: Extremely expressive and dark - combined with playful poetic brush strokes in light clear colours.

Masculine sexuality and identity are still revolving themes in Bjarne Melgaard's works of art. Other issues currently dominating our culture, like the phenomenon of prolonged adolescence, have also been under his scrutiny. His exhibitions have, in the latest years, created a lot of attention by focusing on the "Black Metal" scene, homoerotic sexuality, suicide, bodybuilding and illegal use of drugs.

It seems though as if Bjarne Melgaard is striking a slightly softer tone in more of these new works. There is a good deal of innocence especially in the Chihuahua portraits and there is a huge amount of humour in the drawings.

Still, it is the power and the vigour of Bjarne Melgaard's work that strikes the viewer, and his capacity of turning the whole gallery space into an aesthetically inviting atmosphere.

Pressetext

Bjarne Melgaard
"Fin de Copenhague"
Paintings, Drawings, Installations