Being Human – Contemporary Art in Conversation with Ovartaci

At Museum Ovartaci you can currently experience an exhibition where contemporary artists reach back in time. “Being Human” brings together twelve contemporary artists, each in their own way interpreting Ovartaci as a human being, as an artist and as the special voice he put into the world.

The exhibition revolves around identity, fragility, the lust for life and all that makes us human. It doesn't feel like a traditional exhibition, but more like a quiet conversation between Ovartaci and those who have come after him.

There is something special about entering an exhibition space where everything is still and yet makes noise. Not with sound, but with looks, colors, shapes and thoughts. Museum Ovartaci has brought together twelve contemporary artists, each in their own way entering into dialogue with the man who today stands as one of the most significant artistic names in Denmark, Ovartaci.

The exhibition unfolds across three different rooms in the museum. It begins in the square in front of the museum shop, continues in the courtyard and ends in the special exhibition room, where I personally experienced the strongest part of the exhibition. It is also from here that my experience takes off, a room full of colors, stories and eye-catching objects that linger.

First Ovartaci – then all this

I would actually recommend that anyone visiting the exhibition start at the beginning. Literally. Go in and see Ovartaci's own works first in the museum's permanent exhibition. The machines, the figures, the pointed hats and the intense gazes. Because that's where you really understand what the twelve contemporary artists have been inspired by.

The eyes that stare back

I didn't quite know what to expect, but one of the works that struck me the most was Jacob Hoff's paintings. Three green portraits in a triptych, painted in deep shades, where the eyes look right through you. There's something alive about them. As if they're not just hanging on the wall, but alive. It was the eyes that spoke to me, not the brushstrokes.

I stood there for a long time and just looked. And was looked at.

A room in conversation

The whole exhibition feels like a conversation. Not a neatly coordinated one, but a lively, colorful and honest conversation, where each artist has their own language. In the middle of the room hangs Marie J. Engelsvold's large yellow construction, a sculpture that almost seems weightless. Around her, the works stand and hang in layers. Jonna Pedersen's red room, Stig Weye's color-saturated towers, Jette Dalsgaard's metallic eye, and Bjørn Eriksen's ringing instrument, which you are welcome to play.

There is something playful about it all. As if Ovartaci's joy of creation has rubbed off on everyone.

Stig Weye's colors stick to the body

One of the works that I stay in front of for a long time is Stig Weye's colorful paintings. Four tall panels in bright, strong colors that dance between the playful and the serious. The longer I look, the more the symbolism emerges. Small figures and details unfold in layers, like a story that you slowly become a part of. There is a special energy in the work, a warmth and a strength that goes through your body. I can feel myself being drawn back to it, even after I have moved on.

The person behind

What makes the exhibition strong is that it doesn't try to explain Ovartaci away. It doesn't point to diagnoses, life course and biography in capital letters. Instead, it feels as if each artist enters his universe and sits next to him. Listening and speaking back with their own artistic language.

Ovartaci was both artist and patient. A person who shaped his own world. Here in the room you will meet twelve artists who dare to step into that world and create further.

A quiet experience

This is not an exhibition you should rush through. There are no arrows on the floor, no natural ending. Just a room. And if you take your time, the works will begin to speak. Some loudly and others quietly.

I left with a feeling of having participated in a conversation in which I had no say. And yet I felt heard.

Practical

October 3, 2025 - January 31, 2026

The Artists' Association PRO with guests

Tip: See Ovartaci's own works first, it gives the exhibition a whole new dimension.

The 12 artists in To be human

The exhibition is created by twelve contemporary artists, each of whom has interpreted Ovartaci's life, thoughts and aesthetics in their own way. Each work is a small story in itself, a personal interpretation of what it means to be human.

Marie J. Engelsvold – Body and Deconstruction

Marie J. Engelsvold's hanging installation is a sensual play between balance and fracture. Inspired by Ovartaci's airplane, she works by sawing, separating and reassembling, a poetic image of control and loss, body and mind. The yellow work appears both fragile and strong at the same time.

Jacob Hoff – V., L., P. (You are my sister)

Jacob Hoff portrays three fictional sisters in a captivating triptych where the gazes almost feel alive. Inspired by Ovartaci's special relationship with her dolls, the work explores the boundary between fantasy and reality.

Jette Dalsgaard – When you recognize, Solemne, I catch you if you fall

Jette Dalsgaard explores the fragility of identity and the connection between people. Her works move between light and shadow, strength and vulnerability. Inspired by Ovartaci's view of the world, she unfolds symbols and shapes in both metal and textile with a poetic lightness that hits right in the gut.

Jon Gislason – Tornado Belly, Desperation, Monkey

Jon Gislason paints with a raw honesty, where desperation, power and emotion mix in intense colors. His works feel like an open mind, filled with unrest, strength and movement. Inspired by Ovartaci's boundless expression, he creates images that draw you in very close.

Jonna Pedersen – The Red Room – Confront Your Anxiety

An entire room is bathed in intense red. Jonna Pedersen invites us into a safe, homely universe, where the color and all that we fear can stand out and be explored. The work feels like a breath in the midst of the difficult: a place where courage grows quietly.

Stig Weye – Oh God forbid – the mad man cannot lose his mind

Stig Weye combines technique and poetry in four colorful works that tell the story of Ovartaci's life. With hospital buildings, doors, windows and crooked figures, he creates a visual world full of both light and darkness, precision and imagination. A captivating work where the colors almost sing.

Bjørn Eriksen – Flame Soul incognito, Flame Soul (audio work) & Ova

Bjørn Eriksen is inspired by Ovartaci's idea of ​​the "flame soul" - the person who burns intensely for life. His work unites Botticelli's Dante's Inferno with Ovartaci's visions and creates a powerful image of human struggle. The sound, colors and music merge into a strong, sensual experience.

Henriette Lorentz – Strength and vulnerability

Henriette Lorentz's masks balance between strength and fragility. Inspired by a poem written by Ovartaci, she explores the many layers of emotions, from hope and joy to sorrow and darkness. The masks are open to touch and interpretation, like a silent conversation between art and man.

Annette Sjølund – Fragmentation and body

Annette Sjølund explores the fluid boundaries between gender, identity and human fragility. Her hand-sewn figures in light shades balance between vulnerability and strength, inviting us to see the body as an open symbol rather than a fixed form.

Hans Kjær – Friends of Ovartaci

Hans Kjær has created a series of sculptures in a naïve style, inspired by Ovartaci's inner universe and annual trips to Ghana. Here, recycled wood, myths and faith meet in a poetic space, where the figures feel like little greetings from another world. A meeting between the visible and the invisible.

Simon Grimm – My Bed / Before Sleep

A wooden piece of furniture with soft, embroidered words invites you to relax and to dwell on your last thoughts before night falls. Simon Grimm captures the moment between light and darkness, when the world becomes silent and you feel yourself the most.

Ole Bach Sørensen - Birds, Meeting, Castle in the Air, Hommage à Ovartaci

Ole Bach Sørensen has been inspired by Ovartaci's visionary drawings and watercolors. His works play with shapes and symbols that balance between reality and fantasy. The colorful, graphic motifs feel like open narratives, as if something is hiding just below the surface, ready to be reinterpreted.