The young painter Else Alfelt and the poet Carl-Henning Pedersen met in the International Højskole in Elsinore in Denmark in 1933, marking the beginning of an artistic partnership that lasted over 40 years, during which they were both critics and sources of inspiration for each other. Shortly after their first encounter, they married, and Alfelt encouraged Pedersen to pursue painting as well. Both left a significant mark on a fractured postwar world, one struggling to overcome the trauma of World War II. Pedersen developed an expressive, gestural visual language that drew from myths, children's drawings, as well as Scandinavian and non-European traditional art practices, significantly contributing to the dominant CoBrA aesthetic. Alfelt's work, on the other hand, is characterized by the transformation of landscapes into crystalline, abstract forms, opening up for a spiritual dimension in our surroundings.
After the dissolution of the CoBrA collective in 1951—a brief but intense period of artistic renewal—Alfelt and Pedersen gained increasing recognition as central figures in the postwar avant-garde. Initially, they drew artistic inspiration from literature, Scandinavian landscapes, mythology, and ethnographic museums due to financial constraints, but from the 1950s onwards, grants and financial stability enabled them to embark on numerous joint and individual trips to Greece, Italy, India, and Japan. These travels introduced them to new techniques, such as mosaic art, and infused their works with new atmospheric and landscape elements. Knowledge and visual elements from other cultures now flowed into their work in new ways, shaped by personal experiences.
In 1974, the passing of Else Alfelt marked a pivotal moment for Carl-Henning Pedersen, who continued to draw inspiration from their shared artistic legacy while venturing into new directions.His later works, featuring more monumental formats and altered color schemes, revisited familiar symbols and reflected his lifelong pursuit of freedom through a mature and balanced expression.
This large-scale exhibition is dedicated to the Danish artist couple and spans the different phases of their work—from their beginnings in Danish avant-garde art collectives to the transnational CoBrA movement and continuing through their evolving works in the following decades.It presents over 150 works from all phases of their careers to offer a detailed overview of the artistic oeuvre that emerged from their decades-long partnership, and document a deep personal bond and a shared artistic journey that crossed cultural and geographical boundaries.
Developed in cooperation with the Carl-Henning Pedersen Foundation, the Carl-Henning Pedersen & Else Alfelts Museum, curator and former director of the ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art Christian Gether, and the Institute for Cultural Exchange, this is the first international and long-overdue retrospective of the Danish artist couple.