Endre Aalrust acquired by Equinor Art Programme

Artworks
3/15/2023

Endre Aalrust's works "Of Mice and Men" and "Nocturne" are acquired by Equinor Art Programme.

The works are part of the exhibition The New Cosy, QB 2023.

Endre Aalrust, Nocturne, 2023

Endre Aalrust (b. 1973, Hamar, Norway) is a Norwegian artist and film maker living and working in Berlin. He studied History of Ideas, Sociology, Art history at the University of Oslo (1992 – 1997) and art at the National Academy of the Arts in Bergen (1998 – 2002).

Aalrust’s work is driven by an interest in questioning hegemonic ideas and power structures - be it in intimate relations, in families, between friends and lovers, in art, language or politics. When painting, he borrows from a source book of awkward design, kitsch and maudlin sentimentality. Visually he plays with traditional painterly genres such as portrait, landscape and still life. His motifs, however, are more frequently collected from memes, dating apps and lifestyle blogs rather than art history or literature. Humor plays an important role in his works, often combined with feelings of bashfulness and shame. Despite his works’ often jokingly lightness, the onlooker is left with an undefined feeling, questioning whether the works are authentic and touching or silly and devious – not unlike the feeling one might get after scrolling through too many Instagram reels or having spent a whole sunny day inside watching an average series on Netflix.

Endre Aalrust, Of Mice and Men, 2022