Rising Painter Eva Helene Pade Captures the Rhythm of Dancing Bodies An interview with the artist on her first solo show in London

By Vittoria Benzine

The static medium of painting can feel a bit dissatisfying, according to Danish artist Eva Helene Pade. “It’s like a disappointing animal that doesn’t want to do all the tricks,” she quipped, “but it does so much—you could also say it doesn’t need to do more.” Pade’s latest paintings, however, do a little bit extra. Her dramatic command of balance and light charges her sprawling scenes with electrifying tension. Though still very much paintings, they actively teeter between anguish and ecstasy.

Last fall, Pade became the youngest artist represented by the major art gallery Thaddaeus Ropac. This week, she opens her first solo show with the gallery at its historic Ely House outpost in London, fresh on the heels of “Forårsofret” (The Rite of Spring), her star-making debut institutional show at the ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art. Pade’s London show, titled “Søgelys” (searchlight), on view through December 20th, will present a rare smattering of small works alongside her signature monumental paintings.

Pade grew up in the quaint Danish city of Odense and earned her BFA from The Danish Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 2021. She signed with Galleri Nicolai Wallner, which still co-represents her, before even finishing her MFA at the same academy last year. But, around the time of her first solo show with Wallner, in 2022, Pade’s work began shifting. The defined figures of earlier works (like A Story to Be Told #14, 2021, which set her auction record last November) gave way to softer edges. By the time “Forårsofret” opened at ARKEN, Pade had found her voice.