Mie Olise Kjærgaard: Off the Deep End

Mie Olise Kjærgaard paints women in motion – skiing, riding horses, playing tennis, and swimming, often carrying children as they go. They move with purpose, energy, and joy. In her work, Kjærgaard explores what happens when women act on their own terms and step beyond expectation. Her figures are active and powerful –  taking risks, having fun, and asserting their freedom. Her vigorous, expressive style underscores the strength and independence of the women she depicts. These are not narratives of perfection, but of persistence, invention, and the courage to act.

In her recent work, Kjærgaard extends this world into an underwater realm that defies gravity. Here, women swim through deep waters alongside fish and hammerhead sharks, in a space governed by its own laws. Freed from the rules of land, their bodies shift and transform on their own terms. Across these environments, her work asks a compelling question: what happens when we dare to surrender to play, risk falling, or defy gravity altogether – and what rises to the surface as a result?

The recurring motifs of horses, tents and hats in Kjærgaard’s new works evoke a nomadic way of life and the search for one’s place in the world – or what the artist describes as moving between nowhere and elsewhere. The paintings are centred on the fictional realm of Moirania, a post-deluge floating city conceived by the artist in 2018. Through this new body of work, Kjærgaard feels she is returning to the roots of her practice. Nomadism is not only a recurring theme in her art but also a defining aspect of her own life. For decades, she has moved from one country to another, living as a modern-day nomad in pursuit of something ultimately beyond words.

Mie Olise Kjærgaard (b. 1974) holds an MFA from Central Saint Martins in London, as well as MA degrees in architecture from the Aarhus School of Architecture and the Bartlett School of Architecture. She has exhibited widely internationally, including institutions such as the Trapholt Museum of Art and Design in Denmark, Foundry Seoul in South Korea, Museo de Arte Acarigua in Venezuela, and The Journal Gallery in New York. Her work is held in major collections including the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Pauline Karpidas collection, the New Carlsberg Foundation, and the Saatchi Collection in London.

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