Learn Hardcore Norwegian: På galleriet vises et nytt maleri av en ung kunstner. - At the gallery a new painting by a young artist is shown.

På galleriet ≈ “at the gallery” (as a place/event, like på kino – at the cinema, på skolen – at school).
I galleriet would focus more on being inside the physical space of the gallery, and is less usual in this kind of sentence about what is being shown there.

In practice, for places like galleries, cinemas, schools, offices, Norwegians very often use på when talking about what happens there as an activity or event.

Why is it galleriet (definite) and not et galleri (indefinite)?

Galleriet is the definite singular form of et galleri (a gallery):

et galleri = a gallery
galleriet = the gallery

In På galleriet, Norwegian normally uses the definite form for known or specific institutions/places, especially with på:

på skolen – at the school
på kontoret – at the office
på museet – at the museum
på galleriet – at the gallery

So the sentence talks about a specific gallery that both speaker and listener can identify (or that context has already made specific).

What exactly is vises grammatically, and how is it different from viser?

Both forms come from the verb å vise (to show):

viser = present tense, active voice
- Galleriet viser et nytt maleri.
  = The gallery shows a new painting.
vises = present tense, passive voice
(this is the -s passive, very common in Norwegian)
- Et nytt maleri vises på galleriet.
  = A new painting is shown at the gallery.

In your sentence:

På galleriet vises et nytt maleri ...
= At the gallery, a new painting is being shown ...

So vises here means “is shown / is being shown”; it’s passive, focusing on what happens to the painting, not on who is doing the showing.

Why does the verb vises come before et nytt maleri? I expected the subject first.

Norwegian has a V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb must be in second position in the sentence.

The first element here is an adverbial phrase:

På galleriet – first position (place phrase)
vises – second position (finite verb)
et nytt maleri av en ung kunstner – the rest (subject phrase)

Even though et nytt maleri is the logical subject, it comes after the verb because something else (here, På galleriet) is placed in the first position.

If you start directly with the subject, the order changes:

Et nytt maleri av en ung kunstner vises på galleriet.
(Now the subject is first, so the verb is still second.)

Both orders are correct; only the focus/emphasis and rhythm change slightly.

Can I say Et nytt maleri av en ung kunstner vises på galleriet instead? Is there any difference in meaning?

Yes, that sentence is completely correct.

På galleriet vises et nytt maleri av en ung kunstner.
– Slightly more emphasis on the location: “At the gallery, a new painting is being shown...”
Et nytt maleri av en ung kunstner vises på galleriet.
– Slightly more emphasis on the painting itself: “A new painting by a young artist is being shown at the gallery.”

The basic meaning is the same; this is mostly a question of word order for focus and style. Both sound natural.

Why is it et nytt maleri and not en nytt maleri or et nye maleri?

This is about gender and adjective agreement.

Noun gender and article
- maleri is a neuter noun in Norwegian.
- The indefinite article for neuter is et, not en.
- So: et maleri (a painting), not en maleri.
Adjective agreement with neuter
- The base form of the adjective is ny (new).
- With a neuter singular indefinite noun, the adjective takes -tt:
  - et nytt maleri – a new painting
  - et stort hus – a big house
Why not et nye maleri?
- nye is used for plural or definite:
  - nye malerier – new paintings
  - det nye maleriet – the new painting
- With indefinite singular neuter, you must use nytt.

So the correct combination is et (neuter article) + nytt (neuter adjective form) + maleri (neuter noun): et nytt maleri.

Why is it en ung kunstner and not et ung kunstner or en ungt kunstner or en unge kunstner?

Again, this is gender and adjective agreement, but now with a common-gender noun.

Noun gender and article
- kunstner is masculine/common gender.
- The usual indefinite article is en.
- So: en kunstner – a (male/unspecified) artist.
Adjective form with common gender singular
- Base form of the adjective: ung (young).
- For indefinite singular common gender, you use the base form:
  - en ung kunstner – a young artist
  - en ung mann – a young man
Why not et ung kunstner?
- et is used with neuter nouns; kunstner is not neuter.
Why not en ungt kunstner?
- ungt is the neuter form of the adjective (used with et-words), not with en-words.
Why not en unge kunstner?
- unge is the plural or definite form:
  - unge kunstnere – young artists
  - den unge kunstneren – the young artist

So en ung kunstner is the grammatically correct indefinite singular phrase.

What does av mean here, and why not fra?

In this sentence:

av en ung kunstner = “by a young artist”

The preposition av is used in Norwegian to mark:

the agent in passive sentences (who does the action), and
the creator of a work of art, book, music, etc.

Examples:

Boken er skrevet av henne. – The book is written by her.
En film av Christopher Nolan. – A film by Christopher Nolan.
Et maleri av en ung kunstner. – A painting by a young artist.

fra mainly means “from” in a spatial or origin sense:

Han kommer fra Bergen. – He comes from Bergen.
En gave fra vennen min. – A gift from my friend.

So here, since we mean “a painting by a young artist” (creator), av is the correct choice, not fra.

Is this word order (På galleriet vises et nytt maleri av en ung kunstner) more formal or literary than other options?

It is slightly more formal or written-sounding, but still very normal, especially in:

news reports
exhibition descriptions
articles, brochures, information texts

Spoken Norwegian would also often use:

Et nytt maleri av en ung kunstner vises på galleriet.

Both are acceptable in speech and writing. Starting with the place phrase (På galleriet) just makes the sentence feel a bit more like a written report or announcement, where the location is the first piece of information.