Endre Aalrust Norway, b. 1973
Endre Aalrust (b. 1973, Hamar, Norway) is a Norwegian artist and filmmaker based in Berlin. He studied History of Ideas, Sociology, and Art History at the University of Oslo (1992–1997), before completing his art education at the National Academy of the Arts in Bergen (1998–2002).
Aalrust’s practice explores power dynamics and the politics of intimacy—whether within families, between lovers, or embedded in language, art, and everyday social codes. His paintings draw from a visual archive of awkward design, kitsch aesthetics, and emotional excess. While he references classical genres like portraiture, still life, and landscape, his source material is more likely to stem from memes, dating apps, or lifestyle feeds than from canonical art history.
Humor plays a central role in Aalrust’s work, often intertwined with undercurrents of vulnerability, shame, or melancholy. There’s a calculated ambivalence in his visual language—inviting viewers to ask whether what they’re seeing is sincere or sarcastic, tender or absurd. Much like the disoriented feeling after too many Instagram reels or a full day lost to mediocre streaming content, his work captures the tension between connection and detachment in the digital age.
Aalrust’s work is held in several public collections, including Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (Germany), Museum By Art Matters (China), Nasjonalmuseet and Oslo Kommunes Kunstsamling (Norway), as well as Equinor Art Programme, Innlandet Fylkeskommune, and NTNU in Trondheim.
