Danish painter Eva Helene Pade is challenging the static nature of traditional painting by infusing her canvases with the kinetic energy of dance and performance art. The 26-year-old artist, who became the youngest artist ever represented by prestigious Thaddaeus Ropac gallery last fall, is currently showcasing her groundbreaking work in her first solo exhibition with the gallery at its historic Ely House location in London.
Pade's exhibition, titled "Søgelys" (searchlight), runs through December 20th and features a compelling mix of her signature monumental paintings alongside rare smaller works. The show follows her acclaimed institutional debut "Forårsofret" (The Rite of Spring) at the ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art, which established her as one of Europe's most promising emerging artists. Her large-scale paintings, some measuring 8 feet tall by 9 feet wide, occupy the proportions traditionally associated with historical masterpieces.
Born and raised in Odense, Denmark, Pade earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Danish Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 2021. Her rapid rise in the art world began even before completing her Master's degree at the same institution last year, when she signed with Galleri Nicolai Wallner, which continues to co-represent her alongside Thaddaeus Ropac. Her auction record was set in November with her 2021 work "A Story to Be Told 14."
The artist's style has undergone significant evolution since her first solo show with Wallner in 2022. "Time can make all the difference," Pade explained. "You have less you need to prove, so everything doesn't have to be as stylized, and you become better at expressing what you want to say, faster." Her earlier works featured more defined figures, but she has since developed a softer, more fluid approach that captures the essence of movement and dance.
Pade's artistic breakthrough coincided with her relocation to Paris in 2023, a move that proved transformative for her creative practice. "I didn't feel challenged" in Copenhagen, she recalled. "I spent time in my studio but without feeling the energy that needs to be there." After initially painting in her Paris apartment, she established a studio in the suburb of Pantin, where she and her neighbors host rooftop barbecues and foster a vibrant artistic community.
The Paris experience also introduced Pade to dance and ballet, which became crucial influences on her work. "I'd always gone to the opera or classical music, but I never really did the ballet," she said. "That's become a bigger part. Also, watching more performance art." This exposure to time-based art forms fundamentally changed her approach to painting, as she began seeking ways to breach the traditional boundaries between two-dimensional art and the temporal realms of dance, theater, and music.
Her ARKEN exhibition demonstrated this innovative approach through both content and presentation. The ten canvases stood freely throughout the museum's subterranean gallery on metal stands rather than hanging on walls, each offering narrative vignettes from German choreographer Pina Bausch's interpretation of Igor Stravinsky's controversial 1913 ballet "The Rite of Spring." The original ballet had infuriated audiences with its dissonant choreography and pagan themes.
The presentation included strategic spotlighting that illuminated the backs of the paintings, allowing visitors to see Pade's initial markings showing through. "The artist found it fascinating that her initial markings shone through so decisively, displaying her work's beginning and final stages at once," she noted. This technique, which she describes as revealing both the genesis and completion of each piece simultaneously, has become an integral part of her current practice.
Building on this success, Pade is presenting "Søgelys" using a similar innovative approach, mounting works on ceiling-to-floor metal beams throughout the 18th-century Thaddaeus Ropac venue. This unconventional display method transforms the viewing experience into a form of choreographed movement as visitors navigate through the space.
Pade's work is notable for its sophisticated art historical references, consciously and unconsciously evoking masters like German Expressionist Otto Dix and Vienna Secessionist Gustav Klimt. "Some of it is conscious, and some of it is unconscious," she commented. In her ARKEN show, her piece "Forfædrenes ritual" (Ritual of the Ancestors) (2024-25) directly referenced French Impressionist Édouard Manet's "The Execution of Emperor Maximilian" (1867-69), which depicted the violent conclusion of French colonialism in Mexico.
Symbolic elements, particularly smoke and haze, have become increasingly important in Pade's recent work. She views these atmospheric effects as metaphors for the current state of global affairs, where social media conspiracy theories, actual corruption, and overlapping crises create widespread confusion and exhaustion. "Everything is confusing and ambiguous," Pade explained. By avoiding linear narrative in "Søgelys," she adds, "You stay in that confusion and violence a bit more."
The exhibition's opening piece, "Skygge over mængden" (Shadow above the crowd) (2025), exemplifies this approach. The large-scale work features a golden haze enveloping a surging crowd of nude figures, with weightless shadows that resolve into the shape of an airplane when viewed from a distance. This atmospheric quality continues throughout the show's frenzied dance floors, where masses of figures tangle and dance, challenging the distinction between individual identity and collective experience.
Pade employs recurring archetypes across multiple canvases, transforming "Søgelys" into a unified ensemble rather than a collection of separate works. This approach allows her to explore themes of connection and isolation across various scales. Her larger paintings particularly showcase her mastery of light manipulation, often deceiving viewers about the true focal points of her compositions.
In "Den fundne" (The found one) (2025), for example, viewers initially focus on the dancers performing on stage, missing the actual center of the composition: a collapsed reveler in the crowd, positioned like a figure from a Renaissance pietà. This technique demonstrates Pade's belief that "there's always more going on in a scene than meets the eye," encouraging viewers to look more carefully and discover hidden narratives within her complex compositions.
The exhibition presents perhaps Pade's most high-contrast work to date, with dramatic interplays of light and shadow that charge her sprawling scenes with what critics describe as "electrifying tension." Her paintings actively balance between states of anguish and ecstasy, creating dynamic visual experiences that challenge painting's traditionally static nature.
Pade's rapid ascent in the international art world reflects both her technical skill and conceptual innovation in addressing contemporary themes through classical painting techniques. Her ability to capture the rhythm and energy of dance while commenting on current social and political confusion has established her as a significant voice among emerging European artists. As she continues to push the boundaries of what painting can achieve, Pade proves that the medium still has the power to teach viewers "how to look, and look again."
