Sorø Kunstmuseum is opening an exhibition about Inge Ellegaard in collaboration with Esbjerg Kunstmuseum. This is the first museum exhibition in 24 years showcasing the artist’s works.

The painter Inge Ellegaard (1953-2010) was part of the 1980s ‘De Unge Vilde’ (Young Wild Ones) art movement, and her painting was, in many ways, exactly that – wild. However, it is also characterized by systematic patterns and repetition. During her 57 years, she developed an artistic talent that transcended the boundaries of the period. Her painting is both expressive and minimalist, textural and stringent, figurative and abstract. These contrasts lend her work great breadth while making it difficult to categorize.

Ellegaard often worked in series with simple motifs such as flowers, bees, hands, checks, and airplanes. Typically, the motifs float in the images like detached pictorial symbols, without any logical connection to the background. Often, motifs from one series intermingle with others – bees swarm around the flowers, the flowers are invaded by checks, and airplanes fly out from the checks. The images become a kind of image domino, where the different series’ motifs can be combined in various ways.

Although Ellegaard was highly productive and recognized during her lifetime, and her works are represented in collections of several Danish art museums, she has been on the verge of being forgotten. This exhibition renews the focus on Ellegaard’s painting and artistic work, unveiling new aspects of her extensive oeuvre.

The exhibition will be opened by Poul Erik Tøjner, Director of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and author of the book ‘Inge Ellegaard: A Selection of Paintings’ (1997), Sorø Kunstmuseum’s Director Marie Louise Helveg Bøgh, and the exhibition’s curator Helle Brøns on Thursday, September 5, from 17:00 to 18:30.

The exhibition will travel to Esbjerg Kunstmuseum in the spring of 2025.

The exhibition is supported by: Ny Carlsberg Foundation, Augustinus Foundation, and Lemvigh-Müller Foundation.

Top photo: Inge Ellegaard ‘Three Roses on a Checkered Background’ (1999). Owned by Sorø Kunstmuseum. Photo: Jakob Friis-Holm Nielsen.