Michael Kvium

b. 1955 - Horsens

Michael Kvium (*1955) conjures a kind of theatre of cruelty in his paintings, populated by representatives of humanity, revealing what he calls “the naked truth.” Kvium tests the limits of how far one can go in terms of rawness and the grotesque in our contemporary world. In doing so, he maintains the connection between artwork and viewer. It is not Kvium who is at fault. It is the times.

What's for Sale?

This presentation features a curated selection of works by Michael Kvium. The presentation consists of sold works.

Submit an enquiry to receive access to a showroom showcasing all available works.


Paintings

The presentation consists of sold works.
Submit an enquiry to receive access to a showroom featuring all available works.

Evening Eye

150 x 150 | 2025 | Oil on Canvas

Dude (I)

150 x 150 | 2025 | Oil on Canvas

Darkland II

140 x 140 | 2023 | Oil on Canvas

Dude III (2025)

50 x 50 | 2025 | Oil on Canvas

Dude (II)

150 x 150 | 2025 | Oil on Canvas

Baghånden

100 x 100 | 2024 | Oil on Canvas

Sculptures

This presentation consists of sold works. Send an enquiry to receive access to a showroom with all available works.

Crybaby 5

19 x 60.5 | 2024 | Bronze

Monster

70 x 40 x 40 | 2016 | Bronze

Crybaby 1

18 x 47 | 2024 | Bronze

Shithead

50 x 53 x 34 | 2020 | Bronze

Crybaby 3

17 x 44 | 2024 | Bronze

Crybaby 2

19 x 52 | 2024 | Bronze

Lithographs

This presentation consists of sold works. Send an enquiry to receive access to a showroom with all available works.

Bloody View

68 x 74 | 2024 | Lithographs

Dude

49 x 68 | Lithographs

The Entertainer

70 x 100 | Lithographs

Confrontation II

70 x 48.5 | 2023 | Lithographs

Confrontation I

70 x 48.5 | 2023 | Lithographs

Danebrog

100 x 68 | 2016 | Lithographs

Unique Works on Paper

This presentation consists of sold works. Send an enquiry to receive access to a showroom with all available works.

Above The Horizon I

33 x 19 | 2021 | Water Colour

Dobbelt tydelig fortælling

32 x 33 | 2023 | Water Colour

Sky Piece

31 x 33 | 2023 | Water Colour

Den femte årstid I

49.5 x 28 | 2021 | Water Colour

Den femte årstid III

49.5 x 28 | 2021 | Water Colour

Short Story (2)

25 x 25 | Water Colour

Collages

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Collage (1)

60 x 45 | 2017 | Collage

Collage (3)

84 x 50 | 2017 | Collage

Paper Tale I

57 x 41 | 2023 | Collage

Collage (2)

66 x 49 | 2017 | Collage

Collage (4)

63 x 52 | 2017 | Collage

Paper Tale II

48 x 35 | 2023 | Collage

Drawings

This presentation consists of sold works. Send an enquiry to receive access to a showroom with all available works.

Blæsevejr

22 x 25 | 1994 | Oliekridt & maling på papir

CC

25 x 25 | 2000 | Oliekridt & maling på papir

CCCC

24 x 14 | 2009 | Oliekridt & maling på papir

C

25 x 25 | 2007 | Oliekridt & maling på papir

CCC

25 x 25 | 2002 | Oliekridt & maling på papir

DC

25 x 25 | 1998 | Oliekridt & maling på papir

Videos

Background

Michael Kvium (1955, Horsens) is one of Denmark’s most prominent and uncompromising visual artists. Educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (1979–1985) and originally trained as an illustrator and satirist, Kvium has, since the 1980s, developed a distinctive figurative visual language in which the darker sides of human nature and existential blindness are depicted with raw aesthetics and grotesque precision. His works — populated by idiots, monsters, vacant stares, and distorted bodies — are not caricatures of “the others,” but unsettling mirrors turned back on ourselves.

Exhibitions

Dive deeper

Gain a rare and intense insight into visual artist Michael Kvium’s creative universe. In this documentary film, we follow Kvium over a three-year period, as director Peter Klitgaard, through an intimate and observant lens, documents the creation of new works — from the first ideas and sketches to the final paintings.

The Naked Eye offers a close exploration of the artistic process and the mental and technical layers underlying Kvium’s distinctive and uncompromising visual language. The film is not merely a story about paint on canvas; it is a poetic examination of how thoughts and emotions are transformed into figurative works infused with existence, absurdity, and human vulnerability.

Watch the movie here

Spotlight

Please contact the gallery for further information.

Skulptur af Michael Kvium med titlen Tearfall, skabt i 2024, opført i blandede materialer og måler ca. 240 x 150 cm i diameter. Værket består af et centralt tårn af forvredne menneskefigurer og groteske former, afsluttet med fade fyldt med hænder og øjenkugler.
Tearfall
150 x 240 | 2024 | Skulptur

Webshop

Explore the gallery’s selection of posters, textiles, and books by Michael Kvium in Galleri Franz Pedersen’s webshop.

The webshop also features works by other renowned artists. We offer secure payment and fast delivery within 3–5 business days.


Watch more here

CV

Curriculum Vitae

  • Education

    1. 1979 - 1985

      The Royal Danish Academy, Copenhagen, Denmark

  • Solo Exhibitions

    1. 2025

      BGE Contemporary Art, Stavanger, NO

    2. 2025

      Trapholt, Kolding, DK

    3. 2024

      Wetland, The Nivaagaard Art Collection, Nivå

    4. 2023

      The Noise of Silence, Oluf Høst Museum, Gudhjem, DK

    5. 2022

      Darkland Blues, Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo, NO

  • Group Exhibitions

    1. 2023

      IN CLAY AND PAPER, Killi-Olsen & Kvium, Trapholt Museum of Modern Art, Kolding, DK

      IN CLAY AND PAPER, Killi-Olsen & Kvium, Bomuldsfabrikken Kunsthall, Arendal, NO

    2. 2020

      Duo Exhibition with Michael Kvium and Christian Lemmerz, Tang Contemporary Art, Bangkok, TH

    3. 2019

      Circus, Gl. Holtegaard, Gl. Holte, DK

      Walking Through Walls, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, DE

    4. 2017

      FOCUS ON – Danish and International Art after 1900, National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen, DK

      Eight Artists, Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Skärhamn, SE

    5. 2016

      "Reunione", Erik A. Frandsen, Michael Kvium & Christian Lemmerz, Fondazione Aldega, Amelia, Italy

  • Performance

    1. 1997

      "Failagain Wake”, with Christian Lemmerz, Arken Museum for Moderne Kunst, Ishøj, Denmark

    2. 1989

      "Luxus/Fluxus”, (Performance group Vaerst),

      "The Musicians Paints-The Painters Make Music and The Writers Shut Up,” Kulturministeriet, Copenhagen, Denmark

      "Body”, (Performance group Vaerst), Aarhus Festival, Aarhus, Denmark; Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark

    3. 1988

      "A Twin”, (w. Sonny Tronborg), Billedfabrikken, Odense, Denmark

      "Work in Progress”, (Performance group Vaerst), The Festival Permutant Wurst, Copenhagen, Denmark

    4. 1987

      "Afasi I”, (Performance group Vaerst), Café Kellerdirk, Copenhagen, Denmark

      "Afasi II”, (Performance group Vaerst), Sveaborg, Finland

      "Afasi III”, (Performance group Vaerst), Roskilde Festival, Roskilde, Denmark

    5. 1986

      "Afasi”, (Performance group Vaerst), Sole, Stavanger, Norway

  • Films

    1. 2008

      The Wake, 11th Cairo International Bienniale, Cairo, Egypt

    2. 2001

      The Wake, a film by Christian Lemmerz and Michael Kvium The Wake on Tour: 13/11-00 - 30/1-2001 Pinacoteca, Sao Paulo, Brazil 16/11-00 - 30/1-01 Bienal de Arte de la Habana, Cuba 6/12-00 — 31/1-01 Bienal Arte de Buenos Aires, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Argentina 16/1 — 10/2-01 The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburg, England 9/2-4/3-91 Horsens Museum of Art, Horsens, Denmark 30-31/3-01 Centro de Arte Moderna, Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian, Lissabon

    3. 1999

      ”The Wake”, film by Christian Lemmerz and Michael Kvium The Wake on tour: 13/9, Royal Museum of Art, Art Biennal 2000 16/12 — 15/10, Amsterdam, World Wide Video Festival 4/11 - Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany

    4. 1992

      "Voodoo-Europa,” 35mm., w. Chr. Lemmerz

    5. 1991

      "Albert at Andy's,” Portrait of (the danish artist) Albert Mertz

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