Ellen Ehk | Just efter regnet

We are happy to present Ellen Ehk’s fourth solo exhibition at Berg Gallery. The exhibition Just efter regnet becomes the first one at the gallery since Ehk’s last acclaimed exhibition Geomancy (Berg Gallery, 2020).

Ellen Ehk’s artistic practice is characterized by an interplay between various different materials, textures, and forms. It features a contrast between shiny, smooth surfaces and matte, rough textures, as well as heavy, solid shapes and fragile, shell-like ones. Ehk’s distinct, organic expression is partly related to her personal background, while indicating a deeper understanding of nature as a reflection of our human reality. In this sense, her art is a testimony to the notion of nature as a boundless source of inspiration and knowledge.

The works in the exhibition include mushrooms, mosses, and trees – forms that have appeared in Ehk’s art for many years. These are accompanied by moss-covered stones, lumps of soil, and rock formations, collectively constituting a poetic and playfully deconstructed nature. The main piece in the exhibition, For Alice, is a two-meter-long tree trunk from which wondrous glass mushrooms sprout. The title of the work refers to Lewis Caroll’s children’s classic, and the work itself acts as a reminder of a child’s innocent view of nature.

Ehk moves seamlessly between different materials, skillfully utilizing the distinct qualities of clay, bronze, glass, wood, and stone. The latest works have emerged through improvisation and Ehk’s tireless desire to renew her expression and explore new methods. Leftover material from previous casting processes can give rise to new ideas, and existing sculptures occasionally provide a basis for new, remodeled pieces.

The individual character of the materials help to inspire new works that often challenge our expectations. The sculpture Terra, for example, features an exceptionally complex external form and a volcanic surface, while revealing a glossy inside. The monumental spruce tree branch titled Breathe, has been shaped into a pair of lungs, blurring the boundaries between body and nature.

Just after the rain, our experience of nature is particularly strong and intense, almost elevated. And perhaps this feeling is what best describes Ellen Ehk’s artistic expression.

Ellen Ehk (b. 1976) lives and works in Nybro, Sweden. She holds an MA in Ceramic Art from HDK University of Design and Crafts, Gothenburg (2002), and has presented several solo exhibitions at Berg Gallery, VIDA Museum, Öland, Galerie NeC, Paris, and PULS Gallery, Brussels. Additionally, her work has been exhibited at the Swedish Institute, Paris, CHART Art Fair, Copenhagen, Nordic Art Center, Xiamen, Galerie Da-End, Paris, Röhsska Museum, Gothenburg, and COLLECT Saatchi Gallery, London, and throughout Japan, United Kingdom, South Korea, China, the Netherlands, and Spain. Ehk is represented in a large number of public collections, including Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Röhsska Museum, Gothenburg, Shanghai Arts and Crafts Museum, and Public Art Agency Sweden. In 2019, she became the first artist to receive the Ulrica Hydman Vallien Memorial Grant.