Sverre Bjertnæs (b. 1976, Oslo) lives and works in Oslo, Norway. He made his mark as a young artist working in figurative painting and drawing after attending the Norwegian Nerderum School as a teenager, later furthering his education at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo and AKI Academy of Fine Art in Enschede, Netherlands. In recent years, Bjertnæs has been a rising star in Norway's contemporary art scene, cultivating a strong artistic identity. He frequently works in portraiture, developing a playful tone that juxtaposes the complex relationships within the images. Bjertnæs' first solo exhibition was at the Norwegian gallery Anarchist Fraction in 2000, a natural starting point as Bjertnæs had developed a close personal and creative relationship with its director and fellow artist Bjarne Melgaard. This in turn led to A Projective Identification, Bjertnæs' first international solo exhibition at White Columns Gallery, New York, in 2012. Curated by Melgaard and named one of the 10 best exhibitions in New York in 2012 by the New York Times, the gallery walls were covered in bold colours and patterns and featured portraits of a variety of subjects, from Jesus Christ to the artist's wife. This curated style of exhibition - rooms brimming to the edge with paintings, drawings, films and wooden and bronze sculpture - has become one of Bjertnæs' trademarks.
Solo exhibitions include Slik du forlater et bål, Gallery Brandstrup, Oslo, Norway (2023); Mennesker i speil, BGE Contemporary Art, Stavanger, Norway (2022), Du finnes, Gallery Brandstrup, Oslo, Norway (2021); Avestand, Kunsthall Trondheim, Trondheim, Norway (2021); Skogen trekker seg tilbake, BGE Contemporary Art, Stavanger (2020); Ikke alt, som har være med videre, Haugar Vestfold, Kunstmuseum, Tønsberg, Norway (2019); Veien igjennom, in collabpration w/ Bjanre Melgaard, Gallery Brandstrup, Oslo, Norway (2018); Den brogelige byrde, in collaboration w/ Bjanre Melgaard, Rod Bianco Gallery, Oslo, Norway (2018); Silent Conditions, Beers London, London, UK (2017); Det kollektive mennesket/ Minner om oss, gallery Branstrup, Oslo, Norway (2016); New Sentiments II, BGE Contemporary Art Projects, Stavanger (2015); New Sentiments, Michael Janssen Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2015); Nå. Ingenting. To. (Galleri Brandstrup), Oslo, Norway (2015); Nervous fluid, Stenersenmuseet, Oslo, Norway (2015); Nervous fluid, Stenersenmuseet, Oslo, Norway (2014); Cold Reading, James Fuentes, New York, USA (2014); Cold Reading, Galleri K, Oslo, Norway (2014); White Columns, New York, USA (2013); The Armory Show, New York, in collaboration w/ Bjanre Melgaard (2013); Climate Confusion Assistance, in collaboration w/ Bjarne Melgaard, Galleri K, Oslo, Norway (2012); Art Brussels , Brussles, Belgium (2012); Happiness of Henry Darger, galleri K, Oslo, Norway (2010); Gråmølna,Trondheim Kusntmuseum, Trondheim, Norway (2010); Volta, New York, USA (2010).
Group exhibitions include Where the Wild Roses Grow, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Schloss Görne, Berlin, Germany (2023); Summer Salon, Beers London, UK (2018); Njarne Megaard & Sverre Bjertnes: Noa Maa Gaa I Stykker, Galleri Golsa, Oslo, Norway (2018); Sverre Bjertnes & Bjarne Melgaard: Den borgerlige byrde, Galleri brandstrup, Oslo, Norway (2018); Works on Paper, Beers London, London, UK (2016); Brandstrup STAVERN, Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo, Norway (2016); SKJERP DEG!, Kristin Hjellegjerde, London (Wandsworth), London, UK (2016); Fantasy of Representation, Beers London, London, UK (2015); Fresh Paint, Stenersenmuseet, Oslo (2012); DRAWINGS: Sverre Malling, Bjarne Melgaard, Sverre Koren Bjertnes, Andreas Wide Røe Hagen, Thomas Falstad, Rod Bianco Gallery, Oslo, Norway (2011); After Shelley Duvall ’72 (Frogs on the High Line), Maccarone, New York, USA (2011); Sverre Bjertnes and Bjarne Melgaard, Rod Bianco Gallery Copenhagen, Denmark (2010)
Highlights and Collections
In 2010, Sverre Bjertnæs was the Junior Prize Winner of the Anders Jahres Culture Prize. His work can be found in public and private collections such as the Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo ,Norway; Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum, Tønsberg, Norway; The Art Museum of Northern Norway (Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum), Tromsø, Norway; Trondheim Kunstmuseum, Trondheim, Norway; Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Vestfossen, Norway St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.