ABOUT

Nicholas O’Leary is a painter based in Bergen, Norway, working primarily in landscapes, portraiture, and figurative art.

Born in 1986 in Gisborne, New Zealand, O’Leary began painting at an early age, before earning a degree in Architecture from the University of Auckland in 2009. That architectural background continues to shape his studio practice, informing his work through strong spatial composition, graphic clarity, and structural design.

After graduating, he relocated to Norway, where he found inspiration in the raw, untamed landscapes of Vestlandet. During the dark winter months, he deepened his understanding of figurative and portrait painting alongside painter Odd Nerdrum. 

Whether painting a sitter in the studio or trekking into the Norwegian fjords with an easel strapped to his backpack, he paints primarily from life. The unfiltered observations of previously unnoticed subtleties are prioritised. The recognition of these subtleties allows O’Leary to bend physical rules in his paintings and challenge our perceptions of truth and deception, reality and fantasy.

Alongside his studio and plein air painting, O’Leary teaches workshops across Europe and the United States. His work has been featured in group and solo exhibitions internationally, including at the Museu Europeu d’Art Modern (MEAM) in Barcelona, the Salmagundi Club and Sugarlift Gallery in New York, Principle Gallery in Virginia, Galleri Torekov in Sweden, and Galleri GEO and Salteriet in Norway. He maintains his studio practice as a fine artist and billedkunstner in Bergen.