Sijun Forums :: View topic - Odd Nerdrum Exhibit at the forum gallery in L.A.

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 4:18 pm

hi..

went to the opening of the Odd Nerdrum exhibit at the Forum Gallery in LA...was very much impressed...wanted to let those of you in So Cal know that the show is up and very much worth seeing. There are at least 15-18 large paintings with lifesize figures and all sorts off surreal subject matter. There is also two little head paintings by Steven Assael in the office there.

head on over if you are in the area...tis really good stuff.

take care

jason

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:28 pm

oh wow jason..that show was great...there were all sorts of good stuff to see down there.

thanks

j

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:29 pm

oh man...that show was worth the three hour drive..it was very interesting to see all his abstract marks and his use of color and value in composition.

j

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:30 pm

that show stinks. I could do that in photoshop any day. Just give me some photos to color pick from and I could paint circles around that amatuer.

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:31 pm

slow down jason...you know as well as I do that if odd nerdrum made just one painting in that painter program on your machine that he would make you look like a fool.

jm

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:32 pm

jerk. go back and do some drawing manley...you are just stinking up this great thread.

jsm

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:33 pm

holy crap...did you see the painting of three women taking a dump? the title was hilarious...shi# rock. that caused a bit of a stir...it was horrendous subject matter but it was painted well.

jason M

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:36 pm

the piece with the dancing triplets was SOOOO good. it looked like it was painted with no effort. really great mark making variety to describe form

the surreal qualities of his work is wonderful. He really captures dreamlike moments in his work...though I dont always understand his symbolism.

Im not too fond of the shock value subject matter though...but his paint textures are fantastic.

jason manley

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:38 pm

odd nerdrum stinks. his paintings are dumb.

I only like henri matisse. he could draw such amazing little pictures with is 15 foot brush on a stick. really made odd look stupid.

jman

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:39 pm

jason...could your comments be any more cliche??

didnt his paintings make you think about anything at all?

burn0ut · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:40 pm

where is this at?

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:43 pm

thats it..you guys are driving me nuts. i did think about his work a lot...honestly..I loved the paint handling and the technical aspects...I did feel like they were painted very consistently in terms of quality...the subject matter was amusing at times...intense during others...his ability to capture expressions is definitely worth admiring. He has great figure work...

goodnight

jason

davi · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:45 pm

my cat's breath smells like cat food.

burn0ut · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:46 pm

Location! _(@$ :O

Jason Manley · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2002 11:53 pm

my cats have the same issues.

its at the forum gallery in L.A. you can do a search to find the address. Its near beverly blvd and santa monica blvd...just south of there about a mile.

burn0ut · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2002 12:00 am

8069 Beverly Boulevard at Crescent Heights in L.A.

HawkOne · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2002 12:16 am

Jason,

"You Da Man!!!", Schizophrenia is the word of the day. Nice method of getting some sensible feedback, write it yourself.

What is the point of talking to people if you already know what they are going to say ?

Poor Odd is not quite right upstairs, as can be seen in some of his motifs, but he is a great painter, carrying on the classic style, and he should be making enough money to be comfortable while doing what he likes. Was the boner-picture
(Self-portrait in Golden Cape)
in the exhibition ... heheh ... hilarious ... I think he has a tendancy towards the pinhead syndrome, whether it is concious or not, maybe he wants to live up to his name, who knows, but it does look a bit odd (pun intended) ...

[ January 22, 2002: Message edited by: HawkOne ]

Lunatique · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2002 3:11 am

Don't worry Jason, When I did the same thing for the John Singer Sargent exhibit in Feb last year, the response was similar. BUT, in the end I managed to get Nova and a couple of her lurking friends to meet me in Seattle for the show. It was a blast. Seeing Sargent's paintings up close made me want to cry.

Then, a couple more guys went because of the little "reporting" I did after the show.

[ January 22, 2002: Message edited by: Lunatique ]

strata · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2002 8:34 am

isn't he the norweigan guy who paints himself and his penis all the time? There was a biiiig rage about that in sweden a year or two back... people thought he was just an advanced type of voyeur or dirty old man or something like that... humm

Jason Manley · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2002 10:11 am

he paints a lot more than his penis...he has other more sensible subject matter and truly is one of the 20th century masters.

his paintings were going for about 120-175 THOUSAND dollars each. inc case you wanted to feel underpaid.

jason

Anthony · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2002 11:21 am

This thread seems a bit odd....70% of the posts are attributed to Jason in my browser...it's like a schizo having an argument with himself. :] Weirdness, must be the spirit off Odd doing this

mza · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2002 11:45 am

All Right, I'm someone who is a fan of Nerdrum, and would like to make the drive down to LA this weekend (from SF). Is it worth it??
Yeah,I'm not a fan of his subject matter, but the portraits...Damn! That boy can paint!!! I'm curious to see if the originals are as impressive as the reproductions.
Where exactly is the show?

(If you want to know how hard core I am about this stuff here's an idea:

I've been on a plane only 4 times in my life time.
The first time was to Boston for the Sargent exhibit & Rockwell's studio. Second, to Seattle for the Victorian Era exhibit. Third, to San Diego for more Rockwell, and finally back to Seattle for more Sargent.)

I know Nerdrum isn't as good as some of my classical hero's, but I've been studying his works a lot lately. I'm glad I saw this post.
Thanks for the heads up.

~molly

[ January 22, 2002: Message edited by: mza ]

jr · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2002 7:27 pm

jason,
have you ever met nerdrum? the dude is everything i hate about the fine art world, he's a total flake, it's too much about his image and less and less about his work. he spoke at the Art students league in new york a few years ago. he has torrettes syndrome, so he twitches. he wears robes everywhere as if he were rembrandt. when asked why he paints his figures in those baron landscapes his reply was that he doesn't like painting trees, which was actually the best thing he said all night. nerdrums older work had so much more humanity to it. Personally i like the work of steven assael much more. his painting show so much more skill without much of the gimmicks that nerdrum uses. they look better and are much more meaningful for me. work that i could relate to i mean. i would say this even if steve wasn't my painting teacher at sva. he's just a totally down to earth guy who has the uncanny ablity to paint like a master. anywho, which paintings of his were at the forum LA?

Lunatique · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2002 8:45 pm

Yeah, Steve is a cool dude. I called him up out of the blue a few years back asking him if he was interested in having his artbook published by my publisher(Sirius), and he sent me a bunch of his work in print in the mail. He was completely down to earth--not one bit of "I'm a Star" attitude.

My publisher passed since they thought he was too artsy, and even though had done some fantasy illustrations, he was not rooted deeply in sci-fi/fantasy enough for them.

He asked me to send him some of my work, from one artist to another. I was WAY too embarrassed to send him anything. I mean, he's STEVE ASSAEL, you know? I was just some comic book artist. . ..

[ January 22, 2002: Message edited by: Lunatique ]

Jason Manley · Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2002 12:25 am

its worth it...but be sure to leave time to see the getty and la county both are very close to where you will be...if you do the show and LA county...or the show and the Getty it would be more than worth it...

let me know what you think...enjoy the drive.

jason

ps..that rockwell show in SD was amazing...my favorite show ever next to the Sargent/Ingres show in washington dc three years ago...hundreds of paintings by those two guys made me feel like a chump. wow. ..rockwell did the same thing. I had no idea his paintings would look that good in person.

Jason Manley · Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2002 12:26 am

also..check the forum gallery website to be sure they will be open when you are going to go.

j

Torstein Nordstrand · Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2002 4:28 pm

I must admit that Nerdrum is a strange fellow... he has a weird sense of humour and clothing for sure. But do as Jason said, visit to see his technique and tone - if not for his themes. His humour and irony is clearly evident in some of his subjects - "the pissing woman" and his erected self-portrait to name a few - and in his scepticism to his own position. He calls himself the "Master of Kitch", he's not painting classical art, he's painting "kitch". Makes you think twice when you see his works... is it really that cool to mimick the ol' masters? Aren't we just reproducing other people's standards?

Jason Manley · Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2002 9:40 pm

yeah...assael kicks...well ya know....

hes one of the best figure painters alive. He has some of the most refined eyes and hands in the biz...totally admirable to me.

as far as the above quote...is it really that cool to mimick the ol' masters? Aren't we just reproducing other people's standards?

it has less to do with mimicking old masters then it does with developing ones eyes and understanding of what one is seeing. it is also about working hard, persistance, patience, concentration, observation, understanding of process...you name it.

learning to paint traditionally is like learning a language...a visual language...and it is one that once developed allows for intimate communication of ones perspective....if someone just does mastercopies and never reaches beyond that and finds his or her own voice..then that is boring...but nerdrum is far from just mimicking the masters...hes become one of them.

jason

jr · Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2002 6:47 am

torstein: nerdrum doesn't use the word kitch in a disparaging way. he co-wrote an essay a few years ago that was published in alot of magazines, in which he says kitch was and is what's good in the world and that he's the king of kitch. interesting stuff. he says he hates art and adores kitch.

mza · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2002 11:21 am

Was it worth the 12 hour round-trip drive?

Oh hell yeah!

I won't discuss subject matter... but on pure painting skills, I agree with you jason... Nerdrum has reach the status of a master.

His painting style is a fusion of Rembrandt and Monet.

I'm glad I didn't miss this one.