For decades Else Alfelt (1910-1974) and Carl-Henning Pedersen (1913-2007) subsisted on a bare minimum, and not until their international break-through did a studio by the western coast of Jutland become a reality. In 1958 Carl-Henning Pedersen received the International Guggenheim Award, which included a substantial cash prize. Accepting monetary remuneration on such a large scale ran against the couple’s principles, but they decided to compromise by investing it in the studio in Bovbjerg and in large quantities of glass plates for their often-monumental mosaic works. Thus in the early 1960s the local population were left in open wonder when the train carriages bearing these glass plates from Murano in Italy arrived at Bovbjerg in Western Jutland.
Else Alfelt and Carl-Henning Pedersen used the many glass plates over the years. In their studio they chopped the plates into mosaic pieces by hand and used the pieces in their numerous mosaics works. Among these are Carl-Henning Pedersen’s “Cosmic Sea” measuring 3 by 13 metres and created for the H.C. Ørsted Institute in Copenhagen as well as Else Alfelt’s “Globes in Golden Space”, a commission by the Danish Arts Foundation.
The coastal landscape of Western Jutland inspired the artistic couple to experiment with the materials. Carl-Henning Pedersen completed more than 700 paintings during his time here. Bovbjerg was also where he first created figurines sculpted from the clay found just outside the studio. The art created here was conceived directly from nature, which also features prominently in Else Alfelt's watercolours "Bovbjerg Suite" painted during the early 1960s.
The Exhibition “BOVBJERGET – Artistic Lives by the North Sea” is shown at Bovbjerg Lighthouse, Else Alfelt and Carl-Henning Pedersen’s Bovbjerg neighbour and as such a constant presence during their time on the Western Jutland coast. Volunteers from Carl-Henning Pedersen & Else Alfelt’s Museum will be present in the exhibition during opening hours and look forward to talking to visitors about both the art on display and the artists behind.
The opening hours of Bovbjerg Lighthouse are Tuesdag-Sunday 12-17 in September and 12-16 in October.