Bjørn Melhus

German artist of Norwegian ancestry (born 1966)

Bjørn Melhus is a German artist of Norwegian ancestry known for experimental short films, videos and installations.

Bjørn Melhus studied photography at the Adolf Lazi Schule in Stuttgart German from 1985 to 1987. After completing his technical education, Melhus went on to study film and video at HBK Braunschweig School of Arts, Braunschweig Germany from 1990 until graduating in 1997. During his time in Braunschweig, Melhus took part in the European Media Artist in Residence Exchange through the EMARE Program in Budapest, Hungary (1996). After completing his education Melhus went on to additional residency programs at the California Institute for the Arts, Los Angeles through a DAAD Fellowship (1997–1998), Prize of the Art Association, Hanover (2000), the International Studio & Curatorial Program, ISCP, New York (2001–2002), the Kyoto Art Center, Japan (2005), Civitella Ranieri, Italy (2006) and Goethe Institute Mexico City (2009).

In his works Bjørn Melhus focuses on general global ideas and themes and the direct effects they have on people. Many works find their inspiration from the tension between freedom and violence or repression. Melhus uses footage from film, video and television excessively and deconstructs stereotypical themes, figures and patterns of perception through means of exaggeration. At the same time, he breaks up a seemingly fixed relationship between media and audience, thus opening up the view on the essentials of human interaction. In his work he has developed a singular position, expanding the possibilities for a critical reception of cinema and television. His practice of fragmentation, destruction, and reconstitution of well known figures, topics, and strategies of the mass media opens up not only a network of new interpretations and critical commentaries, but also defines the relationship of mass media and viewer anew. Melhus embodies all roles by himself as if he reflects "our character as something forced upon us by external relations of media and power, regardless of who we are". Originally rooted in an experimental film context, Melhus's work has been shown and awarded at numerous international film festivals. He has held screenings at Tate Modern and the LUX in London, the Museum of Modern Art (MediaScope) in New York, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, amongst others. His work has been exhibited in shows like The American Effect at the Whitney Museum New York, the 8th International Istanbul Biennial, solo and group shows at FACT Liverpool, Serpentine Galleries London, Sprengel Museum Hanover, Museum Ludwig Cologne, ZKM Karlsruhe, Denver Art Museum among others. Since 2003, Bjørn Melhus has been a professor for Fine Arts and Virtual Realities at the Kunsthochschule Kassel, Germany. Bjørn Melhus has been living and working in Berlin since 1987.