Eirik Lütken

"I am a gallery owner and art broker running my business from Oslo (Norway). As an art broker I am dealing with the art of Edvard Munch and Scandinavian 19^th century art. In the respect of exhibitions in the gallery locations I am specialized in what New York is known as the Norwegian School.

The Norwegian School has its origin in the art of the Norwegian contemporary painter Odd Nerdrum who today is represented in more than fifteen museums in the USA (two paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art). For thirty years Mr. Nerdrum had been the most controversial painter in Norway and without doubt he is the most outstanding Scandinavian painter of today. He is painting within the traditional style of the old masters, but creating his own iconography. He is regularly exhibiting in New York and his art has been presented in a lot of museums all over the world as well.

Through the years Odd Nerdrum has had a lot of pupils learning from him and assisting him in his work. In this way there has developed an environment of young artists in Norway, painting in the classical style. It is this environment, under the leadership of Odd Nerdrum, that is called the Norwegian School. The expression appeared for the first time in New York, among students and professors at the art academics.

Odd Nerdrum has exhibited several times in my gallery in Oslo. Most of his pupils have had their debut there. Two years ago, Mr. Nerdrum exhibited in my gallery together with one of them; Mr. Eirik Lütken.

Mr. Lütken started his career as a painter rather late, but has shown an astonishing progress in his efforts as an artist. It has been stimulating to follow him from the beginning, not only to see his achievements within the technical aspect of the art of painting, but to see his ability of maintaining a personal expression as well.

The essence of his expression appears to be the inner turbulence of mind, related to personal experiences and expressed in a direct and dramatic way. In this context it has to be regarded as a more than a coincidence that Mr. Lütken for several years was one of the leading kick-boxers of the world and achieved a bronze medal in the World Championship. And moreover important, his career as an international sportsman learnt him about the necessity of working methodically and with discipline, experiences that he has brought into his profession as an artist."

-Bjørn Li, artdealer at Kunsthuset AS, Oslo