hillbilly epicurean.

So, Bjarne Melgaard - I never heard of him before today.  I know.  Hard to believe that I have never heard of someone with such a totally awesome name.  Well, today I remedied that error - thank-you Google!  Basically, I was looking, as I often do, for expressionist artists to draw inspiration from and bring up at cocktail parties with people who wear primarily black and embroidered flowers.  And, naturally, I found a man who - well, let me quote my friend Wik E. Pedia:

Bjarne Melgaard (born 1967) is an artist based in Berlin.


Melgaard was born in Sydney, raised in Norway and works and lives in Berlin. Early in his career Melgaard created controversial installations referencing subversive subcultures such as S&M and heavy rock music. Currently, his practice consists of an emphasis on expressionistic paintings and drawings, often containing text.

Okay, totally cool right - Australian-Norwegian-German?  DAMN.  I'll bet he wears lederhosen and plays rugby and drinks lutefisk and Jagermeister milkshakes. 



Okay, that is totally pointless.  Let's get to the meat.  Like so many of my favorite contemporary expressionist artists Melgaard dabbles in the use of pop imagery  - sometimes brushy, sometimes very refined.  His work is often sexual, often verging on cartoony, and very frequently filled with boy-parts.  Yeah, that's right.  boy parts.  If you didn't know, that's a sign you might not want to Google Mr. Melgaard in the public library - or with whippersnappers around.  Regardless, his imagery is power, often political, and just as often indecipherable.   Melgaard isn't afraid of mixed media either - his use of texture is one of his hallmarks, whether or not it is actual impasto or inferred through shading.   Also he is obsessed with dogs. Utterly obsessed.  And penises. 



Honestly, however, the only way I can describe Melgaard's work accurately is to insist you imagine the palette and political intentions of Anselm Kiefer and Keith Haring - now integrate them, imperfectly and in different quantities over time and over evolving movements and sexualize them (think Gary Basing's more sexual works and Philip Guston's paintings of Klansmen).  Really, truly wonderful work.  So Google Mr. Melgaard if you don't mind a little risque.  You'll appreciate what you see.