Eva Helene Pade Opstand (Surge), 2026

In Opstand (Surge) (2026), strange yet familiar characters appear in the darkness, gathering around a female figure at the centre of the composition as though arriving from elsewhere – perhaps another painting or scene. Their overlapping bodies distort and coalesce, as Pade explores how, within a crowd, individual figures begin to lose distinction. While the title Opstand denotes an ‘uprising’ in a political, collective sense, it also carries a more subtle, poetic meaning – suggesting an inner rupture or rebellion, a breaking point within the self.

The indeterminate atmosphere evokes a nightclub as much as it does a demonstration, while a figure towards the far left recalling Masaccio’s Adam – with his head clasped in his hands and arms reddened with shame – suggests the immediate aftermath of sin. Figures raise their fists and sway, as Pade borrows equally from the language of dance and protest. Here, darkness serves to intensify perceptual experience, heightening the senses of touch, smell and taste. In densely-populated scenes involving complex configurations of figures and poses, Pade is as interested in rendering anatomical form as she is in prising open the spaces between bodies. ‘You could say that these are sort of gaps in life,’ she explains, ‘or spaces where little abstractions and poetry can sneak in.’