SMK presents the largest retrospective exhibition to date of Lene Adler Petersen (b. 1944), one of Denmark's foremost contemporary artists, running from 13 February to 29 August 2027 as part of the Spring Exhibition 2027.
Petersen's practice is rooted in the avant-garde movements of the 1960s and 1970s, shaped by the youth revolt and the women's movement, with a sustained focus on equality, freedom, and community. Everyday life — in its ordinary and profound dimensions — is the recurring anchor of her conceptual, poetic, and political work.
She is perhaps best known for the feminist action The Female Christ, in which she walked naked through the Copenhagen Stock Exchange carrying a cross. The act became an iconic image of its era, challenging prevailing ideas about power, gender, and religion.
The exhibition traces the full arc of her career: collective actions and films, original serial works and installations, and the expressive and minimalist paintings and public commissions of her later years, offering a broad view of the courage and continued relevance of her art.