Kitsch painting is an international movement made up of classical painters, a result of a 24 September 1998 speech and philosophy given by the Norwegian figurative artist, Odd Nerdrum,[1] later clarified in his book On Kitsch[2] with Jan-Ove Tuv and others.[note 1] The movement incorporates the techniques of the Old Masters with narrative, romanticism, and emotionally charged imagery. The movement defines Kitsch as synonymous with the arts of ancient Rome or the techne of ancient Greece. Kitsch painters embrace kitsch as a positive term not in opposition to "art", but as its own independent superstructure. Kitsch painters assert that Kitsch is not an art movement, but a philosophical movement separate from art. The Kitsch movement has been considered an indirect criticism of the contemporary art world, but according to Nerdrum, this is not the expressed intention.[3][4][5]
The philosophy originated by Nerdrum first manifested into a group among Nerdrum's circle of students[6] Jan-Ove Tuv, Helene Knoop, Hege Elizabeth Haugen, Monika Helgesen, Jeremy Caniglia, Kjetil Jul, Brad Silverstein, Carlos Madrid, Stefan Boulter, Brandon Kralik, Nanne Nyander, and soon expanded. Many kitsch painters were featured in and contributed essays to Nerdrum's book Kitsch: More than Art[7]
The Kitsch Movement has collaborated with The Florence Academy in a 2009 biennale exhibition titled "Immortal Works".[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] a traveling exhibition which includes painters from around the world.