Born in 1988, Frederik Næblerød grew up in Frederiksberg. As the son of a lawyer and an economist, he did not grow up with art being a major part of his childhood. On the contrary, Næblerød himself has described how he was a restless child, bursting with energy and unable to ever sit still, right until art made its entry into his life and thereby suddenly presented his parents with a golden solution. Because they happened to discover that their ever-energetic son had no problem sitting still for hours and hours when it came to drawing. Later on, his parents have always supported their son’s ambitions and artistic endeavours, though it was especially after he began selling his works and thereby demonstrated an ability to actually provide for himself through his practice that it became easier for them to accept that life as an artist could offer him a stable career.

“When you are as restless as I am, then drawing and painting is like a bubble that you can go into, where there is freedom to express yourself,” he said in an interview with Børsen in 2020, explaining that his parents could suddenly see that “I could actually make a living, and that I was comfortable in this world.”

Nevertheless, when Næblerød was not admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts at the first attempt, his parents initially suggested that he might seek out different career paths. His rejection was coloured by a rather familiar theme in Næblerød’s life. Impressed by his artistic work, the committee was more uncertain in regards to his ability to concentrate. The Academy’s rector at the time, Mikkel Bogh (later director of the National Gallery of Denmark from 2014-2021), told him that they had doubts as to whether he would be able to sit still, but encouraged him to apply again the following year. Næblerød himself, however, was determined and got into an Art School called Spektrum, a private school that often serves as a preparation for the Art Academy. It was here that he learned to adapt a different and much more professional approach to his artistic work. He began referring to his paintings as works, and by the time he entered the Academy in his second attempt, he already possessed his own studio in the Meatpacking District of Copenhagen and hadsold several works.

In Næblerød’s art, nothing is truly normal. Humans and animals can be quite difficult to separate with the naked eye due to their matchstick limbs and teasing grins. We encounter large whales, bizarre insects, balloon-shaped spirits exiting exhaustion pipes, monsters, prams, distorted masks, dinosaurs and large cats. Næblerød works primarily with painting, though his work also spansceramics, bronze, drawing and larger installations. His universe has been called expressionist, absurd, grotesque, playful, humorous, and what it for certain is that it is instantly recognisable. Especially due to the fact that all of the works have been created in the same manner as he lives: at a tremendous pace.

The artist described his own style and wild pace of work in an interview with ALT in 2020, saying “I have always had a wild energy and I work really fast… But you have to remember it’s taken me 10 years to get here.”

Næblerød’s artistic practice also hit the Danish tv-screens in 2020 when he took part in the first edition of Danish Radio’s tv-series Artist Colony, where six of the country’s most renowned visual artists gathered in Skagen to form their very own artist colony. More recently, Næblerød has also been the main focus of the DR documentary series titled Undiluted from 2021, in which we follow the successful artist up close over the course of 14 days on his whirlwind journey through the art world. However, he himself highlights his time at the Art Academy as a key moment for him and “a huge gift.”

“It was the best space to work in, and it’s all about getting better and finding yourself,” he told Børsen in 2020, adding “It was like a pocket to jump into where I could refine my own expression.”

After leaving the Art Academy in 2018, he began a collaboration with the gallery Alice Folker, and he has subsequently enjoyed great success with solo exhibitions at Horsens Kunstmuseum, Gl. Holtegaard Museum and Artissima in Turin. He has also participated in duo or group exhibitions in Berlin, Brussels and at The Telegraph in the Czech Republic. In 2018, Næblerød, along with artist Casper Aguila, was nominated for the AICA prize, also known as the Art Critic’s Prize. Their joint exhibition, titled Off-Grid Gallery (2019), at Alice Folker in Copenhagen also received an award from the Danish Art Foundation.

Frederik Næblerød currently has a studio in the Copenhagen district Sydhavn. His solo exhibition here at the museum can be experienced from 06.02.25 to 27.07.25.‍

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^{Frederik Næblerød. Photo: Kavian Borhani}

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^{Frederik Næblerød. Photo: Kavian Borhani}

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Frederik Næblerød:‍

Born in 1988 in Frederiksberg. Lives and works in Copenhagen.
Graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 2018.
Represented in the collections of the Skovgaard Museum, Horsens Kunstmuseum, the Kastrupgård Collection, Vejle Kunstmuseum, the Danish Art Foundation and Ny Carlsbergfondet, and more.
Exhibited at Trapholt Museum in 2024.
Exhibited at Gl. Holtegaard Museum, Holte, in 2023
Exhibited at Horsens Kunstmuseum in 2022.
Exhibited at Vejle Kunstmuseum in 2022.
Exhibited at Alice Folker Gallery, Copenhagen, in 2021.
Received an award from the Danish Art Foundation in 2019 along with Casper Aguila.
Nominated for the AICA Prize along with Casper Aguila in 2018.‍

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^{Frederik Næblerød. Photo: Kavian Borhani}

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^{Frederik Næblerød. Photo: Kavian Borhani}

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References‍

Andreas Bro, ” Frederik er så besat af sit arbejde, at han kun sover fem timer hver nat: 'Det er næsten manisk’ ”, DR, 20 September 2020.
Alice Folker, ”Frederik Næblerød”, 2024.
Bodil Skovgaard Nielsen, “DR’s serie om kunstnerdrengerøven Frederik Næblerød er ’Bamses Julerejse’ for voksne”, Information, 25 June 2021.
Michala Rosendahl, ” Kunstner Frederik Næblerød: “Det er jo lidt fy, fy selv at sige, at man er succesfuld” ”, ALT, 24 September 2020.
Missu Schneidermann, ”Frederik Næblerøds første værk blev for nylig gensolgt for 34.000 kr.: “Når jeg vågner om morgenen, springer jeg op og hører høj techno, mens jeg steger to spejlæg med fødderne. Det synes jeg godt, man kan se på mine billeder” ”, Børsen, 2 May 2020.