Michael Kuvium

Michael Kvium's dystopian paintings depict grotesque humanoid characters which reveal the
latent ugliness of humanity. His works hold a mirror up to society, as the viewer responds to these darker elements with morbid fascination. Inextricably linked to the artist's background in performance art, Kvium's creatures evoke comedic archetypal characters - the nun, the clown, the ballet dancer. Consistently portrayed with loose resemblances to the artist's own appearance, the androgynous, bald-headed figures take on a dual nature, functioning as a representation of the universal everyman and a reflection of the artist himself. In recent years, his signature media has been painting. Kvium has also done stage design for the theatre and has exhibited all over the world.

 

Michael Kvium (b. 1955, Horsens, Denmark) lives and works in Copenhagen. In 2001 he was the recipient of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art's prestigious Eckersberg Medal. In 1981, together with Erik A. Frandsen and Christian Lemmerz, he was one of the co-founders of Værkstedet Værst, a collaborative workshop for performance art. From the 1980s, his works include virus-like shapes as part of the growth cycles. Works from the 1990s also include bandaged figures depicting paralysis and claustrophobia. Solo exhibitions at ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum (2006) and Ordrupgaard (2007) have included large works evoking relationships with the landscape and nature. His works also include videos, comic strips and performances. He has created stage sets in collaboration with Katrine Wiedemann. Together with Christian Lemmerz, in 2000 he created an eight-hour-long silent film titled "The Wake" inspired by James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake. Kvium's works are included in the collections of many of Denmark's museums and galleries. Selected exhibitions include: 'Pale Male Tales', NILS STÆRK, Copenhagen, Denmark (2020); 'Point of No Return' Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo, NO (2019), etc.