In May 2025, ARKEN will present an ambitious exhibition with the French artist Marguerite Humeau (b. 1986). The exhibition invites visitors into an immersive, resonant world where Humeau’s organic, sculptural works are brought to life through light and sound. Like a giant musical instrument, the works in the exhibition resonate and connect across times and places, vibrating with the rhythms of different worlds.

Through selected bodies of works, the exhibition unfolds like an opera with various scenes, each telling a speculative story. What if elephants had become the dominant species on Earth? What if the only way to survive on Earth was in its atmosphere? What if humans would become collective beings, attempting to synchronise with all life forms? In her work Marguerite Humeau examines the formation of life, ancient human history and possible scenarios for how life will survive in the future. The works in the exhibition beat with their own frequencies, creating a shared yet diverse vibrancy that reflects both the unity, contradictions and potentials of life on Earth.

The exhibition features new work by Marguerite Humeau presented alongside selected recent and earlier pieces. It constitutes her first solo show in Scandinavia and is also the third instalment in ARKEN’s exhibition trilogy Nature Future. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with HAM Helsinki Art Museum, which will subsequently show the exhibition.

About the artist
Marguerite Humeau (b. 1986, Cholet, France) lives and works in London. She received her MA from the Royal College of Art, London, in 2011. Solo exhibitions of her work have been held at ICA Miami (2024), Lafayette Anticipations, Paris (2021); Kunstverein Hamburg (2019); Museion, Bolzano (2019); New Museum, New York (2018); Tate Britain, London (2017); Haus Konstruktiv, Zürich (2017); Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin (2017); Nottingham Contemporary (2016); and Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2016). Humeau’s work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including the 15th Gwangju Biennale (2024); Hayward Gallery, London (2024); 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia The Milk of Dreams curated by Cecilia Alemani (2022); 23rd Biennale of Sydney (2022); Kunsthalle Basel (2021); the Istanbul Biennial (2019); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2019); MAMVP, Paris (2019); the High Line, New York (2017); Château de Versailles, France (2017); Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen (2017); FRAC Midi- Pyrénées, Toulouse, France (2017); Serpentine Galleries, London (2014); and Victoria and Albert Museum, Sculpture Gallery, London (2014).  In 2023, Humeau inaugurated a 160-acre earthwork, “Orisons,” in the San Luis Valley, Colorado, curated and produced by Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum. She is represented by White Cube and CLEARING New York/Los Angeles.

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The exhibition is supported by
Det Obelske Familiefond
Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond
Beckett-Fonden
Augustinus Fonden
William Demant Fonden