Bjarne Melgaard was born in Australia in 1967 to Norwegian parents. He was educated in Norway and the Netherlands and is currently living in New York. His career began in the mid 1990s with paintings, sculptures and installations executed in a striking neo-expressionist style.
In Melgaard’s art we encounter a highly personal poetry mixed with chaotic and provocative messages. He is an artist whose vibrant paintings often linger on subjects that border on social acceptability. His art repeatedly explores subcultures and has through the years dealt with shocking and provocative issues such as drugs, sex, violence and death. Yet, the searching and tender side of humanity and above all our desire for love and intimacy is just as often the focus. Melgaard’s art is based on fundamental human needs. It is often difficult for the observer to determine what are wild fantasies and what are actual personal histories - from the artist’s perspective very private ones. Recurring themes are sexual experiences and homosexual love, his characters often representing one of the artist’s many alter egos.
The two bronze sculptures look like adult males but with the body proportions of children. They come in pairs and are designed to stand close together in configurations that radiate protection and solidarity rather than representing sexual positions.
Melgaard’s work is represented in many important public collections, for example at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Moderna Museet in Stockholm and in the National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen.