About Lars Elling
Lars Elling (1966) was educated at the Bergen National Academy of the Arts (1988-92).
Elling is a storyteller. His layers of imagery evoke memories of childhood, with possible disturbance and trauma written between the lines. Family is the repetitive theme in Elling’s works; familiar moments infiltrated by surprising or unpleasant elements. The formalistic aspect of Lars Elling’s paintings is characterized by the erased and the broken. The pure visual expression serves a meaningful function, with story and poetry as strong fundamentals. The paintings can be seen as a burst of memory, a description of a moment. The almost experienced or almost seen is presented in a dreamlike and poetic expression, which can be compared to the poetic expressions in the works of Francis Bacon. Similar to Bacon, Elling's works depict the logic of emotions, illustrating a narrative structure with a beginning, middle, and end, albeit not necessarily in that order.
Elling’s works search in a layered paradox of the intentional/unintentional, though based on a personal pilgrimage into concentrated work and moments of surrender. Lars Elling works with language, but not in the traditional sense. This point can be illustrated by comparing Ellings way of painting to a film by Chantal Ackerman, who is the director of “Toute Une Nuit”. Neither Ackerman nor Elling's works can be decoded using rigorous structuralism; their works are rich in symbolism, often imbued with aspects of melancholy.
The film is one of the simplest visual films ever made, featuring about 50 different people whose actions are primarily limited to embracing each other on a summer night. Still, Ackerman was very precise in writing the scripts of her film, which is surprising, as it is only natural to assume that such a pure visual expression does not require a language. There is a language that can’t be read in a linear way; the language is an emotion or a symbol that only can be expressed through an aesthetic matter.
ABOUT
Galleri Brandstrup, founded by Kim Brandstrup and Marit Gillespie in 2000 at the historic Madserud Gård in Oslo, was a pioneer in relocating to Oslo's emerging gallery district, Tjuvholmen, in March 2010, where we continue to thrive. Our gallery is renowned for its representation of Nordic masters and influential figures in contemporary Nordic art. We proudly collaborate with some of today’s most innovative and globally recognized artists, including our exclusive representation of Marina Abramović and Joseph Kosuth in Scandinavia, reflecting our close ties with the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York.
Committed to showcasing artists with distinctive conceptual and visual expressions, we host monthly exhibitions year-round in our gallery space. We maintain strong relationships with Norwegian and Scandinavian museums and foundations, leading to numerous significant exhibitions. Notably, we organized the "Mark Quinn" exhibition in collaboration with White Cube Gallery, London, and Kistefos Museum, Norway, in 2011.
Our extensive museum collaborations include Marina Abramović's "Entering the Other Side" at Kistefos Museum (2014), Sverre Bjertnæs at Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum (2018), and Per Kleiva's memorial exhibition at Kunstnernes Hus (2018). Recent projects include Steinar Haga Kristensen at Trondheim Kunstmuseum (2021), Lars Ramberg at Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall (2021), Apichaya Wanthiang at the Munch Museum (2022), Diana Al Hadid at Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall (2023), Sverre Bjertnæs with Fredrik Værslev at Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium (2024), and Steinar Haga Kristensen at Kunstnernes Hus (upcoming 2025).
In addition to our gallery exhibitions, we specialize in bringing contemporary art to both public and private spaces. Our focus lies in site-specific and thematically driven installations, often realized in collaboration with in-house or external artists. Our site-specific projects prioritize meticulous planning and consistent regulation throughout the process. These projects entail close cooperation with artists, clients, and, at times, architects, interior designers, and landscapers.
Among our memorable site-specific projects is Joseph Kosuth's "A Monument of Time" at Krona Kultur og Kunnskapssenter in Kongsberg, Norway. It stands as the largest commissioned contemporary art project in Norway, featuring 136 neon elements integrated into the walls as a tribute to the town's history. Another remarkable endeavor is Kjell Erik Killi Olsen's large-scale bronze sculpture "Woman Seeking the Wind" in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Fredrik Raddum's installation "The Sky is the Limit" at Skatt Øst for the Norwegian Ministry of Finance.
In 2014, Galleri Brandstrup, in collaboration with Eli Lilleng Ertvaag, established our sister gallery, BGE Contemporary Art Projects in Stavanger, Norway. For more information, please visit www.bgeart.com.
CONTACT
Galleri Brandstrup
Tjuvholmen allé 5
N-0252 Norway
View Map
Phone +47 22 54 54 54
galleri@brandstrup.no
Opening Hours
Mon: Closed
Tue – Thursday: 12 – 5 pm
Fri – Sat: 12 – 4 pm