Michael Elmgreen was born in 1961 in Copenhagen, Denmark; Ingar Dragset was born in 1969 in Trondheim, Norway; they have been working as an artist duo since 1995. They live and work in Berlin. With the intention of revealing and redefining the art world, its cultural institutions and their fruition from the public, Elmgreen & Dragset draw inspiration from the everyday world, criticizing through a strong and unsettling sense of humor the contemporary social and political structure. They are well known for their numerous public architectural and performative installations, including Prada Marfa, a Prada shop located in the middle of the desert of Texas realized in 2005, and Short Cut, where due cars were rising out of Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in 2003, produced together with Fondazione Nicola Trussardi. Elmgreen & Dragset constantly challenge their public and its imaginary through the creation of images that are as shocking as spectacular.
What’s Left?, 2021.
Courtesy of Elmgreen & Dragset. Photo: Elmar Vestner.
The Outsiders
(installation view, Unlimited, Art Basel, Basel, 2021), 2020. Courtesy of Pace Gallery, New York. Photo: Sebastiano Pellion di Persano.
Action Painter, Fig. 1, 2022
SCULPTURE
bronze, stainless steel, aluminium, lacquer
Figure: 61" × 36-5/8" × 22- 7/16" (154.9 cm × 93 cm × 57 cm) Floor Plate: 3/16" × 70- 7/8" × 78-3/4"
© Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
The Rowdy Meadows Chapel, 2022-2023
INSTALLATION
Copper-cladded chapel, reclaimed wood door, stained glass window, morgue in wood and stainless steel, figure in silicone
19' 3/8" × 13' 6-3/16" × 23' 4- 5/16" (580.1 cm × 412 cm × 712 cm). © Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Short Story, 2020
Installation comprised of two human figures, one raquet and a tennis ball.
Figures casted in bronze and lacquered, ball in marble, 117.5 x 2,000 x 905 cm, photography by Roman Maerz © Elmgreen & Dragset, courtesy König Galerie
Short Story, 2020
Installation comprised of two human figures, one raquet and a tennis ball.
Figures casted in bronze and lacquered, ball in marble, 117.5 x 2,000 x 905 cm, photography by Roman Maerz © Elmgreen & Dragset, courtesy König Galerie
Prada Marfa, 2005, Adobe bricks, plaster, aluminium frames, glass, panes, MDF, paint, carpet, canvas, Prada shoes and bags, 480 x 760 x 470 cm, courtesy Art Production Fund, New York; Ballroom Marfa, Marfa; the artists, photography by James Evans & Lizette Kabré, on permanent display, Marfa, Texas, USA © Elmgreen & Dragset
Life Rings, Fig. 2, 2022
SCULPTURE
stainless steel, lacquer, plinth
23' 5" × 9' 10" × 9' 10" (713.7 cm × 299.7 cm × 299.7 cm)
© Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Short Cut, 2003, Courtesy: Galleria Massimo De Carlo; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Collection. Photo by: Jens Ziehen.
Bent Pool, 2019, Steel, stainless steel, aluminum, concrete, lacquer, lights, 600 x 392 x 344 cm, courtesy the artists, City of Miami Beach, photography by Andrea Rosetti, on permanent display, Pride Park, Miami Beach, USA © Elmgreen & Dragset
Black Socks, 2019
INSTALLATION
aluminum, steel, lacquer, socks
46-7/8" × 24-7/16" × 31-1/2" (119.1 cm × 62.1 cm × 80 cm)
© Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
The Painter, Fig. 3, 2021
SCULPTURE
bronze, lacquer, linen, paint
250 cm × 255 cm × 60 cm (8' 2-7/16" × 8' 4-3/8" × 23- 5/8")
© Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Gay Marriage, 2010
SCULPTURE
Earthenware, metal
110 cm × 100 cm × 70 cm (43- 5/16" × 39-3/8" × 27-9/16") Edition 1 of 3
© Elmgreen & Dragset / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
