Gregor Espen Hagen

Espen Greger Hagen (Trondheim, 1964 – Amsterdam, April 10, 2008) was a Norwegian painter. He spent much of his childhood in Tanzania. In 1980, he studied drawing in his hometown and subsequently studied painting and sculpture at Emily Carr College in Vancouver. After completing his studies in Vancouver, Hagen studied painting and sculpture at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, from which he graduated in 1990. Both during and after his studies, Espen was always drawn to foreign countries. He regularly undertook long journeys through North America and Mexico. During these travels, Espen created portraits of the distinctive North American Native Americans and the indigenous Mexican people.

The striking and expressive style of his work—and the way Espen Hagen captures the character of his subjects through a combination of different techniques—did not go unnoticed. Many exhibitions followed, including in Vancouver, Oslo, Croatia, Massachusetts, Cologne, and Trondheim. In Amsterdam alone, his work was exhibited at venues such as the Vondelpark, the Beurs van Berlage, Het Magazijn, and the Hotel Okura, as well as in The Hague, Maastricht, and Naarden (the Arsenaal).

Starting in the mid-1990s, Espen Hagen worked closely with his friend Herman Brood. Espen exhibited twice at Café Dante, once together with Brood. In 1997, they exhibited together again, this time at Jan des Bouvrie’s Arsenaal in Naarden. Due to their regular joint appearances and the many paintings they produced together, Espen Hagen is often referred to as Herman Brood’s successor. Espen Hagen was regarded as the rising star of Dutch painting. Thanks to his frequent exhibitions both at home and abroad and his regular television appearances, this talented artist’s star was rising rapidly.

The Norwegian, who was living in Amsterdam at the time of his death, passed away on April 10, 2008, from cardiac arrest.