Odd Nerdrum, known for his figure, still life, and allegorical painting, studied traditional classical painting at The Art Academy in Oslo, Norway, and later studied with Joseph Beuys in Dusseldorf. He had his first one-person gallery exhibition in New York at the Martina Hamilton Gallery in 1983.

Nerdrum's method of painting is an old world discipline of mixing and grinding his own pigments, stretching his canvas and the exclusive use of models. He has been using this method since he was 16 years old.

His work falls into three basic categories: Small still life paintings that depict a single image such as a baby, a brick or a set of dentures. These images are never placed on what appears to be a supportive but gain their sta...