Contra Natura 1990

Curator: Odd Nerdrum's "Contra Natura," painted in 1990, offers a fascinating example of his unique vision. What are your first thoughts? Editor: It’s stark. The figure emerging from the rock with a knife is visually dominant, yet there’s something vulnerable and almost plaintive about the small figure in the boat. The color palette emphasizes a world seemingly outside of conventional, safe color relationships. Curator: Absolutely. Consider Nerdrum’s relationship with Neo-Expressionism—his figures often occupy desolate landscapes. Oil paint is clearly key here. His characteristic impasto technique allows light to model the figures but also grounds the composition with weight and volume that makes his themes particularly poignant. What does it tell us? Editor: I'm interested in the construction of masculinity here. The large figure's stance, weapon in hand, juxtaposes rather starkly with the seated figure’s more precarious position and relatively powerless torch. The interplay feels less a celebration of prowess, but more a melancholic examination of existential struggle. Curator: Nerdrum openly rejected modernism. Instead, he aligned himself with what he termed "kitsch painting," deliberately embracing narrative and figurative art, even exploring themes some might call archaic. How does the oil paint support Nerdrum's kitsch aesthetic and rejection of modernity, exactly? Editor: Nerdrum’s skill in using the oil paint gives form and shape, literally embodying figuration in this canvas. To the first point, I also sense how he may be inviting critique by utilizing classical compositional techniques but then intentionally disrupting them through this choice of figure groupings. The surface quality adds an interesting dimension; one can sense his engagement in the manipulation and movement of this particular material. Curator: His process becomes paramount, then. Nerdrum used oil paint and explored its capacity for figuration as a mode to address social ideas. This Neo-Expressionistic leaning offers commentary on a contemporary turn, the beginning of the collapse of modernity itself. Editor: Perhaps. By using that dense application and chiaroscuro effects he emphasizes drama and elevates these painted characters from the everyday, charging them with a sort of theatrical, though unsettling, presence. Well, Nerdrum certainly gives us much to unpack within these painted materials. Curator: Indeed. It's rewarding to explore these figures. Ultimately, this is why the piece draws viewers so effectively into dialogue with the image itself.