Mie Olise Kjærgaard lives and works in painting, installation, and sculpture. She explores the different stages of womanhood and the fierce energy that accompanies them. Her work often shows women riding animals, playing sports, balancing, falling, or just on their way. She works in rough brushstrokes and on a large scale. @Mie_olise-_studio
How did growing up in Denmark influence your art and your thinking about the world? I grew up partly on an island in Denmark and on a big wooden ship. I was often so bored that I would shout it out to the ocean. That made me start drawing and making up stories for them. I had a big inner life, and drawing made sense in order to make new space in my head.
Was there a particular moment that solidified your desire to become an artist? For you, what is the importance of the arts? I had many years not knowing of Art at all, just drawing and making things up, wondering about how to get off the island I grew up on. At one point, I realized that one could be an artist; I was 15. It sounded like the most fun and only way for me. I was not good at anything else. I tried to look for schools and had to find out if I would have talent outside of the island I knew. When I realized I might have a chance, I went kind of bananas, and worked day and night. It was a great energy, of search, escape and a trying to find a new place to belong. That would take me decades.
Can you describe your studio and how it influences your work?
At the moment I am working in my 28th studio. It’s above where I live, so I go up every time I feel like it, and finally this works for me. 20 years ago it did not work.
I love painters days in the studio, where I don’t have any phonecalls or meetings. I work on several pieces at the same time, in different stages. I start off with a rough idea and along the process I get more and more torn around in the ring by the pairing, and what it asks for. I am very confident in letting go of control and often feel like thing happens on its own. I also count on that I can step back in at some point, which makes my process very free.
What projects are you at work on at the moment? And what themes or ideas are currently driving your work? I am in a longer span of themes that I find might stay for long. I like repetition and to go deep. When trying things out, there are so many options, and I like going the same road and take different departures.
I am always trying to make an interesting painting, that challenge my judgement painterwise. After that comes the strokes and the energy of the strokes and the movements of the brushwork. I really try to free my hand and allow myself to be loose, but also to have a fierce energy of aggressive movement.
I want the works to evoke the same energy when I am gone. For years I have been painting the idea of womanhood, motherhood as a portrait of myself and the singlemums I know. I try to play on the fun moments of togetherness, and to have a good portion of self irony.
What do you hope people feel when they experience your art? What are you trying to express? I hope they feel liberated to express themselves in s no-holding-back way, or just enjoy the painterly, which can sometimes feel like candy;)
Which artists, past or present, would you like to meet? And why? Marisol, Louise Nevelson, Leonora Carrington, Leonor Fini, Louise Bourgeois, and totally Rose Wylie.
I like to meet contemporaries like Annie Morris, Cecily Brown, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, Elisabeth Peyton, Chantal Joffe, Claire Tabouret - could be a fun dinner party;)
Do you draw inspiration from music, art, or other disciplines? I listen to a lot of music while painting, to underline the moves and energy. I also enjoy architecture, and fun objects a lot. I am inspired by sports and vintage photos from the years of early leisure activities for women.
A great thing about living in my city is… The harbour is clean, and you can jump in anytime. You can sit on the harbourfronts and eat and drink wine, accessible for all.
Can you describe a project that challenged you creatively or emotionally—and how you worked through it? I just opened a big museum show that will be up for almost a year (Trapholt Museum of Art and Design, Denmark), and to balance a dynamic between painting, bronze sculpture, installation with sound, huge drawings over 4 rooms, was really fun and challenging. I felt like I pushed myself a lot, and when the show opened, I felt a great sense of relief, that the ship got to harbour;)
Tell us about important mentors in your life. Katherine Bradford has been the greatest inspirer and mentor for me. She really saw me and is one of the most generous people I have met. I think she changed my life - very grateful that we met when she was faculty and I was a student at Showhegan in 2009, when we both painted ships;)
How does nature inform your creative process? I think that painting is very much bodily and that body is nature. Recently I have been seeking nature much more. The big cities and social crowds can take over, and to immerse oneself in the ocean or in nature is like ajusting back to the body’s pace again, the older I get, the more difficult to ignore that. It’s kind of a cliche, still important;)
What are your reflections about AI and technology? What is the importance of human art and handmade creative works over industrialized creative practices? I guess that I am just such a maker that AI feels very far from my headspace.
Exploring ideas, art, and the creative process connects me to…
A timeless world of energy, that for me is the reason to jump out of bed in the morning. It’s how I connect to myself and the world. Feel very privileged and grateful.
