Kjell Erik Killi-Olsen (b. 1952, Trondheim) has had a diverse and notable career, working primarily with painting, sculpture, and printmaking. Recognized as one of Norway’s most prominent contemporary artists, his grotesque, primal, and yet humorous subject matter is well known to many. His work contains comments on the human condition, encouraging proximity to the time and world we live in, and through subjects such as war and forced migration, he presents encounters with the dark corners of humanity in a simultaneously unreserved and layered manner.
Killi-Olsen received his artistic education from Trondheim Art Academy, Academia Sztuck Pieknyck in Krakow, Poland, and the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Art in Oslo. He has exhibited extensively throughout Europe and America, and his work is held in most major museum collections in Norway, including the National Museum, and KODE Bergen. The Museum of Modern Art in Campiñas, Brasil is amongst other collections where Killi-Olsen is represented.