Born 1976, Trondheim, Norway. Lives and works in Oslo and New York.

Sverre Koren Bjertnæs is one of Norway’s most significant contemporary artists, whose practice spans painting, drawing, sculpture, and installation. He first gained attention in the 1990s with his psychologically charged teenage portraits, which established him as a distinctive figurative painter early in his career. Rooted in classical technique yet open to experimentation, Bjertnæs combines figuration with abstraction and conceptual approaches, creating works that explore themes of memory, mortality, spirituality, and the human condition.

A defining aspect of Bjertnæs’s career has been his openness to collaboration. Early on, he was mentored by Odd Nerdrum, whose influence grounded his practice in figurative traditions. Later, his close connection with Bjarne Melgaard proved pivotal: Melgaard championed his work, invited him to exhibit, and collaborated with him on projects that expanded Bjertnæs’s expression beyond strict figuration. Their joint projects—such as the 2013 exhibition If You Really Loved Me You Would Be Able to Admit That You’re Ashamed of Me at White Columns in New York—mixed painting, drawing, film, furniture, and collaborative works, challenging conventional exhibition formats. In 2014, Bjertnæs furthered his U.S. presence with Cold Reading at James Fuentes, affirming his international standing.

Bjertnæs’s works balance intimacy and universality. His figures and compositions carry psychological depth and symbolic weight, addressing vulnerability, cultural memory, and identity, while situating his practice firmly within the evolution of Norwegian art. Exhibitions are often conceived as total environments—blending different media and collaborative voices—underscoring his belief that art is both a personal and shared experience.

Educated at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts and the AKI Academy in Enschede, the Netherlands, Bjertnæs has exhibited widely across Norway and abroad, with shows at Haugar Kunstmuseum, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Gråmølna Trondheim Kunstmuseum, White Columns, and James Fuentes. His works are represented in important public and private collections, and he remains a central figure in shaping Scandinavian contemporary art today.