It is not every day that a Danish artist graduates from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and, just a year later, opens their first exhibition at a major art museum. But this is exactly the case for Eva Helene Pade, who is exhibiting at ARKEN from 10.4.25 to 31.08.25. For many, Eva Helene Pade (b. 1987) may still be an unfamiliar name, but pay close attention—her work is already making waves in international art circles.

Here are three things you should know about Eva Helene Pade:

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1. In 2017, Eva Helene Pade won the Carlsberg Foundation’s Young Talent Prize, and even during her studies at the Academy, she signed a contract with one of Denmark’s leading art galleries, Galleri Nicolai Wallner. In the fall of 2024—just six months after graduating—she signed a collaboration with one of the world’s top three galleries, Thaddaeus Ropac. Since then, Eva Helene Pade has been on a trajectory toward international recognition, with a series of successful solo and group exhibitions both in Denmark and abroad. The exhibition at ARKEN marks her first museum show

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2. Eva Helene Pade often works on large canvases. For instance, her painting Moments of Transition (2022) measures an impressive 4 meters in height and 5 meters in width. The work depicts an overwhelming crowd of people whose emotional chaos merges and is absorbed into the sky, while a white horse floats above them, surrounded by flaming skulls. This was her first work for Galleri Nicolai Wallner, and art critics agreed that it was an astonishing achievement for a student to create a piece of such scale. The painting became her breakthrough work.

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3. As an artist, Eva Helene Pade masters traditional painting techniques with a confidence rarely seen at her age. She draws inspiration from old masters such as Gustav Klimt, Edvard Munch, and the lesser-known James Ensor—three artists known for their expressive and emotionally charged works. She also finds inspiration in the dark aesthetics of Scandinavia, which is evident in her paintings that often tremble with anxiety, dissolve into disarray, or exude melancholy.

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^{Eva Helene Pade. Photo: Petra Kleis}

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References‍

Linea Maria Andersen, “19-årig kunstkomet flytter til Berlin: Skal turde tage springet”, Fyens Stiftstidende, 28 May 2017.
Ludovica Colacino, “Eva Helene Pade: In Conversation”, Artuner, 2023.
Bodil Skovgaard Nielsen, “Et frækt skolebord og en dans ved afgrunden: Kunstsæsonen lægger ualmindeligt stærkt ud”, Information, 31 August 2022.
Galleri Nicolai Wallner, “Eva Helene Pade – Moments of Transitions”, 2022.
Galleri Nicolai Wallner, “Eva Helene Pade – Biography & Bibliography,” 2024.