My friend Christopher Rådlund, who has died aged 52 after taking his own life, was a painter based in Oslo. He set himself against contemporary trends but unflinchingly faced up to current crises in ecology, architecture, technology and ethics.
Exhibiting in London (at Nordic Artworks gallery in 2007 and 2008), New York and throughout Scandinavia, Christopher had a particular ability to capture the melancholy of a fleeting moment in a shoreline, a stand of trees or a swirling cloud. His depiction of the new Oslo opera house in a state of ruin became controversial in 2011 when the terrorist Anders Breivik’s bomb attack made central parts of the Norwegian capital resemble the just-exhibited painting.
