LARS ELLING
(b.1966, Norway)
Lars Elling is a leading contemporary Norwegian painter and an acclaimed author with several award-winning books. He was born in Trondheim, Norway, and now lives and works between Oslo (Norway) and Elgin (South Africa).
Like a meticulously staged one-act play, Elling’s compositions are intentional, classical, and tightly constructed, with the climax emerging through the tension of layered images and objects that slowly reveal themselves to the viewer. The paintings read as bursts of memory - palpable impressions of moments in time. The almost-experienced or almost-seen is rendered in a dreamlike and poetic manner; each scene is a considered and calculated unravelling of truths hidden in plain sight. Family is a recurring theme in Elling’s work; familiar moments are often disrupted by unexpected or unsettling elements that catch the viewer off guard.
His first novel will be published in English translation in 2026 - The Princes of Paupers Pond.
EDUCATION
Bergen Academy of Fine Arts
Professorship at Shanghai Institute of Fine Arts
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026 Dreams of Reason, Everard Read, Franschhoek, South Africa
2025 ‘Nei, dette husker vi’ part 2, Galleri BGE, Stavanger
‘Nei, dette husker vi’ part 1, Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo
2024 Triumph Gallery, Beijing
2023 ‘Sett deg et mål, gå dit i søvne’ Papirarbeider, Kunstverket galleri, Oslo
2022 ‘Risset på øyet’ Peer Gynt på Gålå
2021 ‘Overganger’ Works on paper. BGE, Stavanger
2020 ‘Blindkontur’ Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo
2016 Michael Janssen, Berlin
2015 Galleri Ismene, Trondhjem
Haugar Museum of Art, Tønsberg
2013 “Samtidig – like i nærheten, Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo
2012 Litografier, Galleri Norske Grafikere, Oslo
2011 Galleri Ismene, Trondheim
“Oppenheimer’s Garden”, Thomas Williams Fine Art, London
2010 Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo
2009 Nicholas Robinson Gallery, New York
“Fiksjoner”, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo
Bærum Kunstforening
2008 Bodø Kunstforening
2005 Briggs Robinson Gallery
2004 Galleri Norske Grafikere
2002 Hå Gamle Prestegård
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 A Mysterious Vision, Robilant+Voena, Milan, New York
2023 Høstutstillingen
2022 Peder Balkesenteret med Håvard Homstvedt
Everard Read Gallery, Cape Town
Whitechapel Gallery, Christen Sveaas Collection cur. Hurvin Anderson
2021 Kagge collection, Museion Bolzano, Siena
The Armory Show, NYC
2018 Contemporary Chaos, Vestfossen
2017 Fondazione Stelline, Milano cur. Demetrio Paparoni
2016 Blaafarveverket, with Kai Fjell
2014 Munch by Others, Haugar Museum
2013 “Meshes of the Afternoon”, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, USA
MARKET Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden
2012 Edsvik Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
MARKET Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden
Østfold Center of Art, Norway
2011 Copenhagen Art Fair, Copenhagen, Denmark
2010 “Portretter“, Galleri Ismene, Trondheim, Norw
2009 “Hamsun“, Galleri Ismene, Trondheim
2008 “Norske bilder», Oslo Municipal Hall, Oslo, Norway
Gamle Ormelet, Tjøme, Norway
2007 Art Chicago, USA
Lillesand Kunstforening, with Frank Brunner
“Norske bilder», Oslo Municipal Hall, Oslo, Norway
2002 ”Contents”, Briggs Robinson Gallery, New York, USA
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Oseania Grieg collection, Bergen
Oslo Municipality Collection
Kistefos-Museet, Jevnaker
The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, Oslo
Trondheim Kunstmuseum
The National Library of Norway, Oslo
Nord-Trøndelag County Council
The National Museum, Oslo
Arts Council Norway, Oslo
European Commission
New National Hospital, Oslo
