I love Franklin Einspruch‘s snarky take on Odd Nerdrum’s paintings at Forum Gallery. Warming to Nerdrum’s new work, Einspruch reports in the NY Sun that the Norwegian painter studied with Joseph Beuys. Who knew? His review ran in April and the show is already down, but here’s an excerpt and some images from the gallery’s website:
Odd Nerdrum exemplifies a widespread problem in contemporary realism:
its practitioners have as much skill as anyone could ask for, but little
to say with it, and the more drama they try to infuse into their work,
the more histrionic the results. Nearly every Nerdrum I have ever seen
struck me, at first, as fundamentally silly. I understand the temptation
to reach into narrative in order to give a sense of purpose to a
figurative scene, but why this post-apocalyptic Renaissance fair? Read more.
“Odd Nerdrum” Forum Gallery, New York, NY. Through May 5, 2012.
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Exactly.
There was some idol worship for him where I went for my MFA and on one occasion was scoffed at for not buying into it.
really like this picture.