On 18 Aug, 2011 With
Artist Odd Nerdrum sentenced to jail Odd Nerdrum, one of Norway’s most famous and controversial artists, was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday after a local court in Oslo found him guilty of tax evasion. Nerdrum has earlier denied his guilt, and his defense attorney filed a quick appeal. The court’s prison sentence matched what state prosecutors had sought after mounting their case that Nerdrum had failed to declare around NOK 14 million in taxable income from the sale of paintings between 1998 and 2002. Nerdrum was also ordered to pay court costs of NOK 10,000. The 67-year-old artist, who boycotts Norwegian media and won’t allow his photograph to be taken or used, was not present when his…
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On 18 Aug, 2011 With
Odd Nerdrum Sentenced to Two Years in Prison “I am sadened to be the bearer of such shocking news. My mentor, Odd Nerdrum has been sentenced to two years in prison. He is a man who has dedicated his life’s work to defending human dignity, a man who has given his profound knowledge freely to thousands of students over the years without charging a single penny, a man who generously opened his home and family to my wife and I when we lost our jobs in New York City in the midst of the financial crisis and were quite literally homeless… This man has been sentenced to two years in jail for tax evasion for $1.5 million USD in taxable income….
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On 17 Jan, 2011 With
Robert Dale Williams interviewed by Signy Norendal For the Norwegian magazine Aktuell Kitsch, September 5, 2007 When, why and how did you start painting? My ambitions were centered on illustration when I was younger. I always loved to tell stories with my drawings. My favorites were the very romantic or morally driven stories – the more sentimental the better. I once illustrated The Phantom of the Opera because I loved the dark romantic element to the story. My adaptation was never published on a large scale – I just loved illustrating the stories so much that I did it without thought of financial gain. Although I’d never say I completely “mastered” illustration, I wanted a greater challenge when I began…
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On 7 Jan, 2011 With
Why “kitsch”? The painters invited to exhibit at The Kitsch Biennale 2010 in Venice have been chosen from their ability to create life on canvas – an idea deeply rooted in European Humanism that presupposes insight into anatomy and human psychology, a mind for pathos and a sense for the archetypical narrative. Yet, these values are rootless in contemporary art, which generally disregards skill and aims to reflect the time. They were not included in the modern concept of art (originally “fine art”), which was born about 250 years ago. Rejecting handcraft and sincerity, art represents a break with the values of the Renaissance and Baroque and not a continuation of them. Because of this situation an alternative to art…
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On 25 Nov, 2010 With
Odd Nerdrum´s self portrait is titled «The Savior of Painting». Almost life-size, it depicts the artist in a golden robe, armed with paintbrush and palette, against the soft Norwegian evening sky. On his palette is one single color: that of gold. «This is kitsch in its purest form,» remarks the artist in front of the nearly finished work, gracefully saving us the embarrassment. «Mind you, there´s absolutely no irony here.» The golden robe is for real. He had it made in New York a few years back, and it´s already a garment of international notoriety. His «Self Portrait in Golden Robe», first exhibited in Stockholm last winter and now showing in a retrospective at the Astrup-Fearnley Museum in Oslo, shows…
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On 24 Nov, 2010 With
The Importance of Being Odd: Nerdrum’s Challenge to Modernism By Paul A. Cantor The Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum is one of the greatest painters of the century. Unfortunately, according to his detractors, the century in question is the seventeenth. Thus Nerdrum has emerged as one of the most controversial artists of our day. His admirers praise him for his superb Old Master technique, while his critics condemn him as hopelessly reactionary. His work calls into question all our customary narratives about art history, and especially the modernist dogma that the artist can be creative only by turning his back on the past. Nerdrum has openly acknowledged his debt to the Old Masters. He uses heavy layers of paint to create chiaroscuro effects reminiscent of Caravaggioand Rembrandt,…
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On 18 Nov, 2010 With
Previous articles about Odd Nerdrum’s Oil Painting Methods: Part 1 Part2 OTHER PAINTING METHODS of ODD Nerdrum He started with a rough outline of the head and went straight to painting shadows, no hard edges in the beginning. During a break on the first day, he used a fan brush to soften the entire face. He turned the painting upside down a couple of times to see where the problem lies. At the beginning of the second day, before starting to paint, he applied a thin layer of linseed oil on the whole surface with the rag (oiling out) he then added green umber to the rag and applied that on the background. (no extra oil, except for the little…
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On 12 Nov, 2010 With
Click here to download The Must-have Guide for Successful Fine Artist This Book can give You only two things: FAME and WEALTH Odd Nerdrum Preparation (his student demoed it in class): size the canvas with rabbit skin glue. (PVA glue can be used as a substitute). Priming the canvas: Materials -Framer’s Whiting (ground chalk) -Linseed Oil?-Galkyd (just a little bit, to speed up drying time) -Turpentine (just a litte bit; and do not use OMS) mix with a thick long palette knife until the mix is the consistency of toothpaste. (it was more like pancake batter) add white and English Red (or transparent oxide red) so that the final mix is a pinkish brick color. Make sure the canvas is…
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On 10 Nov, 2010 With
Odd Nerdrum uses a small (less than 12″ on the longest side) homemade oval shaped palette cut out from foamcore. It is tinted brown. COLORS on the palette: (Old Holland brand) -Titanium White w/ a tint of Old Holland Blue (which he pre-mixed into a tube) -Briliant Yellow Light -Yellow Brown -Madder (Crimson) Lake Deep Extra -Brown Ochre (Deep?) -Green Umber?-Warm Grey (which he pre-mixed from Ti White/ Brown Ochre/ Green Umber) -Mars Black (warmer and less harsh than Ivory Black) -Scheveningen Orange? (I think that’s what he used. but I was surprised because I thought this color is fugitive)
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On 28 Oct, 2010 With
The number of visitors, 3.000 people, who have visited Palazzo Cini and seen Kitsch Biennale 2010 during the first 20 days bear witness of the public appreciation and its success. The Kitsch Biennale is an international exhibition for figurative and narrative painting. This year, the jury consisted of Bjørn Li (The Nerdrum Institute) and the kitsch painters Odd Nerdrum, Helene Knoop, Jan-Ove Tuv and David Dalla Venezia. They have focused on applicants displaying the serious and earnest expression. This sets the exhibition concept apart from the general trend of contemporary figurative painting. Works with an eternal outlook have been preferred.
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