Odd Nerdrum

(Norwegian, born 1944)

Odd Nerdrum is a contemporary Norwegian painter known for his dogged commitment to the traditional techniques of painters like Caravaggio, Titian, and Rembrandt. His chiaroscuro portraits and figurative Judeo-Christian scenes have a theatrical quality akin to, but without the irony of, John Currin’s paintings. Nerdrum qualifies his practice as kitsch, a self-described philosophy, separate from contemporary art, which blends historical painting techniques with emotional imagery and narratives. “Contemporary art is based on [the idea] that an artist is supposed to go into art history in the same way as an art historian. When the artist produces something, he or she relates to it with the eye of an art historian or critic,” Nerdrum’s said. “I have the feeling that when I am working it is more like working with a soap opera or glamour. It is emotional and not art criticism or the history of art.” Born on April 8, 1944 in Helsingborg, Sweden, his childhood was rife with turmoil, his unstable parents divorcing and then orphaning the artist and his brother. He went on to attend the Art Academy of Oslo followed by a period of time studying under the famed Conceptual artist Joseph Beuys at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Over the course of his career, Nerdrum's work has been met with both scorn and praise from critics. In 2011, Nerdrum’s difficulties with the Norwegian government began, he was convicted of tax evasion in 2012 and sentenced to 34 months in prison. His paintings are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.

Odd Nerdrum Artworks

Odd Nerdrum (192 results)
Selvportrett med lukkede øyne (Self-portrait , 2009

Odd Nerdrum

Selvportrett med lukkede øyne (Self-portrait , 2009

Sale Date: February 22, 2024

Auction Closed

Rekonvalensen

Odd Nerdrum

Rekonvalensen

Sale Date: October 10, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled

Odd Nerdrum

Untitled

Sale Date: July 2, 2023

Auction Closed

Godnattkyss (Brun variant)

Odd Nerdrum

Godnattkyss (Brun variant)

Sale Date: June 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Linn, 1977

Odd Nerdrum

Linn, 1977

Sale Date: June 6, 2023

Auction Closed

Skisse til, 1985

Odd Nerdrum

Skisse til, 1985

Sale Date: March 21, 2023

Auction Closed

Self-Portrait, 1983

Odd Nerdrum

Self-Portrait, 1983

Sale Date: November 19, 2022

Auction Closed

“Venninder” (Girlfriends), 1974

Odd Nerdrum

“Venninder” (Girlfriends), 1974

Sale Date: December 20, 2022

Auction Closed

Man In Boat, 1975–1999

Odd Nerdrum

Man In Boat, 1975–1999

Sale Date: October 27, 2022

Auction Closed

Selvportrett med sløyfe, 2003

Odd Nerdrum

Selvportrett med sløyfe, 2003

Sale Date: October 18, 2022

Auction Closed

Portrait of a Young Girl, 1992–1993

Odd Nerdrum

Portrait of a Young Girl, 1992–1993

Sale Date: July 19, 2022

Auction Closed

Isola

Odd Nerdrum

Isola

Sale Date: February 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Solen vender tilbake

Odd Nerdrum

Solen vender tilbake

Sale Date: February 16, 2022

Auction Closed

Selvportrett

Odd Nerdrum

Selvportrett

Sale Date: February 16, 2022

Auction Closed

Sigmund i rød kappe, 1983–1995

Odd Nerdrum

Sigmund i rød kappe, 1983–1995

Sale Date: December 14, 2021

Auction Closed

Solen vender tilbake

Odd Nerdrum

Solen vender tilbake

Sale Date: October 21, 2021

Auction Closed

Profililandskap

Odd Nerdrum

Profililandskap

Sale Date: May 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Selvportrett

Odd Nerdrum

Selvportrett

Sale Date: May 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Dawn

Odd Nerdrum

Dawn

Sale Date: May 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Woman's Back, 1977–1978

Odd Nerdrum

Woman's Back, 1977–1978

Sale Date: November 25, 2020

Auction Closed

“Mann mot åpen himmel”

Odd Nerdrum

“Mann mot åpen himmel”

Sale Date: November 3, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled

Odd Nerdrum

Untitled

Sale Date: November 10, 2020

Auction Closed

“Mann mot åpen himmel”

Odd Nerdrum

“Mann mot åpen himmel”

Sale Date: October 6, 2020

Auction Closed