Ovartaci takes center stage at Kunsten with one of the most distinctive bodies of work in Danish art history
For many years, Kunsten has embraced the original, the overlooked and the extraordinary. With Ovartaci, that story continues. In her captivating universe, audiences encounter clear connections to Kunsten’s renowned collection of Surrealist art and to Asger Jorn’s search for the original and uncultivated in artistic expression.
For Ovartaci, drawing, painting and creating sculptures were both a refuge and a necessity for life. In autumn 2026, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg opens its doors to Ovartaci – I Began as a Bird of Paradise. A major exhibition dedicated to one of the most distinctive artists in Danish history, who spent more than 50 years as a patient at the Psychiatric Hospital in Risskov.
Through more than 100 paintings, sculptures, drawings, poems, films and archival materials, audiences are invited into an artistic universe in which art was the reality Ovartaci inhabited. As a patient at the Psychiatric Hospital in Risskov, and with a strong desire to live as a woman, her life experiences shaped both the art she created and the world she built around herself.
The exhibition presents the enigmatic narratives Ovartaci created through a fantastical and surreal visual language. Her universe is populated by peculiar creatures, elongated female figures and dreamlike landscapes, where the boundaries between human and animal, fantasy and reality, life and death are constantly dissolved.
“Among the finest things about art is its ability to give us access to another person’s way of experiencing the world. Ovartaci does exactly that. You step into a wonderfully original universe that is entirely her own. It unfolds a life filled with a longing for freedom, love and acceptance that is deeply human. This makes the exhibition both moving and remarkably relevant today, as it connects to conversations about inclusion, identity and originality at a time when AI and social media threaten presence and precisely that sense of originality in the world,” says Lasse Andersson, Director of Kunsten.
Over six decades, Ovartaci (1894–1985) created a unique body of work under extraordinary life circumstances, which today forms part of both Danish and international art history. In recent years, interest in the artist has grown significantly, particularly following her inclusion in the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale, which marked the beginning of her international recognition.
Art was not separate from life – it was life
Ovartaci was a self-taught artist, poet, engineer, nature lover and psychiatric hospital patient for 56 years.
For Ovartaci, the works in her collection were not art in the traditional sense. They were images of her reality and an integral part of her life. In her hospital room, she created a universe in which her figures became more than mere motifs – they became animated beings and companions.
“For Ovartaci, art was a way of living an authentic life. The artist’s work was not separate from life – it was life. This is why her life story is also an important part of the exhibition. We are not only inviting audiences into an artistic practice, but into a very particular worldview,” says the exhibition’s curator, Amalie Marie Laustsen.
From the early 1950s, Ovartaci expressed a strong desire to live as a woman. Her longing for freedom, transformation and the right to be who she experienced herself to be permeates her work, where female figures, animals and hybrid beings move freely between fixed categories and identities.
The role of art in wellbeing
Ovartaci’s story demonstrates the impact art can have on people living with mental health conditions. This is also a subject Kunsten is exploring through the new three-year project Creative meeting place, making space and safe space, developed in collaboration with, among others, Psykiatriens Hus, Lærkereden, Det Grønlandske Hus in Aalborg and Aalborg Municipality’s Housing and Street Outreach Team.
“We know that art and creative processes can open up spaces for conversation, reflection and community. Through this project, we want to create safe and meaningful encounters with art for adults who often do not experience the museum as a place for them. We are doing this in close collaboration with social professionals who know the target group and their everyday lives,” says Peter Juul, Head of Learning & Public Engagement.
Ovartaci – I Began as a Bird of Paradise can be experienced at Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg from September 8th 2026 to March 29th 2027.
The exhibition is presented in collaboration with Kunstmuseum Brandts and Museum Ovartaci and is accompanied by a research-based catalogue.
Read more about the exhibition at kunsten.dk/ovartaci
About Ovartaci
Ovartaci (1894–1985) was a Danish artist, poet and self-taught image-maker. She spent most of her adult life as a patient at the Psychiatric Hospital in Risskov, where she created a unique artistic universe through more than six decades, comprising paintings, sculptures, drawings and poetry.
Her work explores identity, transformation and freedom, and is populated by elongated female figures and mythical beings. Inspired by, among other things, Buddhism, animism and reincarnation, Ovartaci developed a highly distinctive visual language in which art and life were inseparably intertwined.
In recent years, Ovartaci has gained significant national and international recognition. In 2022, her work was included in the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale, The Milk of Dreams, and her work has since been presented at institutions including the Cobra Museum in Amsterdam. Today, Ovartaci is considered one of the most prominent figures in modern Danish art history.
Ovartaci at Kunsten
With Ovartaci – I Began as a Bird of Paradise, Kunsten once again turns its attention to an artistic practice in which life story and art are closely intertwined. In 2022, the museum presented the exhibition Tal R & Mamma Andersson – Around Hill, which centred on the Swedish artist C.F. Hill, whose artistic practice was shaped by a life with schizophrenia.
At the same time, the exhibition builds on Kunsten’s ongoing work with art and wellbeing. The museum has just launched the three-year project Creative meeting place, making space and safe space, exploring how art and creative communities can strengthen wellbeing and create new opportunities for adults in vulnerable situations.
Ovartaci’s imaginative universe also enters into dialogue with Kunsten’s collection of Surrealist art and with Asger Jorn’s interest in spontaneity and the uncultivated in artistic expression.
Read more at kunsten.dk
Press photos are available at kunsten.dk/presse
Press contact
Amalie Bejstrup, PR Manager
+45 24 62 99 93
presse@kunsten.dk