Kenneth Blom

KENNETH BLOM (born 1967) is considered one of Norway’s most successful artists, with education from Einar Granum Art School and the Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo and Düsseldorf. He is represented by Gallery Haaken, where he has had sold out entire exhibitions a number of times. When Sotheby’s decided to bet on contemporary art, the choice fell on Kenneth Blom, who in 2007 became the first contemporary artist with a solo show at the prestigious auction house. Since then he has exhibited regularly in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Kenneth Blom belongs to a generation of artists who graduated from the Oslo Academy of Fine Arts in the early 1990s. At this time, the academy and art scene in Oslo was characterized by conflict between a figurative and a conceptual and postmodern art direction. On the one hand, the Nerdrum School, led by Odd Nerdrum, was demanding craftsmanship and classical paintings. On the other, spokesmen demanded a more theoretically-inspired approach to art, where the idea and reflection around the art were in focus. Blom explored the painting as a combination of these. An important inspiration was Professor Stian Grøgaard’s view that one could use a figurative language without using the classic figurative vocabulary.

Blom’s subjects are in between the abstract and the figurative. Solitude and melancholy are still recurring themes, “Norwegian” themes in this regard. We see thoughtful human figures, often with architectural backdrops, the colors suggest a drama that lies and lurks under the surface.

(source: https://www.fineart.no/kunstner/kenneth-blom)