ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Bradley Long is a drawing artist and printmaker. Alongside his art qualifications, he holds two master’s degrees and has a professional background in theology and education. In Oslo, he founded and directed the Long Space Gallery, supporting emerging artists, and served as an Art & Design consultant for a prominent Norwegian artist–singer–songwriter. For many years, Long developed his artistic practice alongside other professional commitments, but following the onset of Long Covid in December 2022, he has devoted himself fully to his art.

Long is a landscape artist who is renowned for his expertise in ink and charcoal drawings, and for his expressive woodcut printing. Working in monochrome, he evokes the raw essence and timeless qualities of nature — its textures, forms, and patterns. Through striking contrasts, he invites the viewer the freedom to imagine colour in their mind’s eye. The beauty and wildness of Norwegian nature permeates his work, from majestic mountains and fjords to tranquil lakes and ancient forests. Long flows with ease between panoramic scenes, to close up studies of nature, organic forms, and patterned renderings. The joy of mark-making emanates throughout his work as a rhythmic dance between free-flowing gestures with the orchestrated hand. His landscapes combine both objective and abstract representations, often interwoven with symbolic motifs drawn from nature and religion.

Following in the footsteps of the Romantic movement, Long is captivated by the beautiful and the sublime, seeing art as a window to the transcendent. He draws deeply on the Jungian collective unconscious, where archetypal symbols give shape to human experience. Moreover, Long draws upon the biblical metanarrative of creation and redemption myths, exploring themes of sin and atonement, suffering and hope, creation, fallen creation and new creation. 

In an age increasingly shaped by the digital and postmodern, Long’s work calls us back to the elemental — a rediscovery of what it means to be human. His landscapes remind us that we not only inhabit nature, but we are nature – part of the natural cycle of life of germination, growth, decay, death, and new life. Confronted by this reality, his art becomes a space for existential reflection, evoking humanity’s timeless quest for meaning.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Is there more to life than this? Existential longing and hope lie at the heart of my drawings and prints. I invite the viewer into wild landscapes and archetypal symbols to explore life’s profound mysteries — kindling visions of light within darkness and inspiring hope in the face of suffering.

PERSONAL DETAILS

Born in 1965 in London, England
Resides and works in Oslo, Norway

ART EDUCATION

09/1991—07/1992 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Fine Art, The University of Creative Arts (formally West Surrey College of Art &
Design) Surrey, England
Focused on contemporary art, combining experimental and intellectual practice. Specialised in drawing,
printmaking, and painting.

09/1985—07/1987 Bachelor’s Programme in Fine Art, Trent University, Nottingham, England
Innovative, interdisciplinary course exploring the role of the artist in the 21st century. Included drawing,
printmaking, performance art, photography, painting, sculpture, film production, textile art, and installation.

09/1984—07/1985 Foundation in Art & Design, Kingston University, Kingston-Upon-Thames, England
Preparatory course covering visual communication, fashion, 3D design, and fine art. Specialised in
drawing, painting, printmaking, and performance art.

ARTIST RESIDENCY

05/2024—06/2025 Printmaker’s Residency, Nordstrand Kulturarena, Oslo, Norway

SOLO EXHIBITION

10/2025 Life Force: In Search of Meaning, Kulturarena Nordstrand, Oslo, Norway
(outcome of residency)