eggs roll upwards

Melanie Kitti
03.10.25 - 16.11.25

eggs roll upwards

Melanie Kitti
03.10.25 - 16.11.25

Fredag den 3. oktober åbner Skal Contemporary den nyproducerede soloudstilling eggs roll upwards af billedkunstner og forfatter Melanie Kitti.

Centralt i Melanie Kittis praksis står freskoen som medie. Her smelter maleriet og det skulpturelle sammen som en fundamental og narrativ byggeklods. eggs roll upwards er en undersøgelse af kalkmaleriet som udtryksform i Nordjylland, og udstillingen bearbejder komplekse historier og identiteter i et reflekterende rum, hvori mytologi, fortid og samtid sammenflettes i et personligt puslespil.

De nordjyske kalkmalerier fra senmiddelalderen er kendt for sine, for tiden, usædvanlige motiver og har i Danmark og Europa været en måde at formidle kristendommen i middelalderen. Freskoerne var malet på kirkernes vægge og hvælvinge og havde til formål at formidle religiøse budskaber, men fungerede også som en spejling af samfundet med motiver af narre og gøglere såvel som djævlefigurer og fabeldyr sidestillet med religiøse lignelser og fortællinger fra biblen. I eggs roll upwards sammenflettes de kunsthistoriske traditioner således med en samtidig kontekst, som fremskriver personlige fortællinger og skaber rum for eftertanke, sårbarhed og fællesskab.

Melanie Kitti er uddannet fra Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi og Kunstakademiet i Oslo samt Forfatterskolen i København. Hendes debutbog Halvt urne, halvt gral udkom i 2022 (Gyldendal). Hun har på det seneste bl.a. udstillet på Carl Eldhs Ateljémuseum (Stockholm), Andersen’s (København), Overgaden (København), Rønnebæksholm (Næstved) og Nasjonalmuseet (Oslo). I 2024 modtog hun desuden et Bernadottestipendium fra Marianne och Sigvard Bernadottes Konstnärfond.

eggs roll upwards er kurateret af Anne Møller Christensen og Sara Løvschall Grøntved og er venligst støttet af Statens Kunstfond, Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen, Augustinusfonden, Det Obelske Familiefond, Ny Carlsbergfondet og Frederikshavn Kommune. Tak til vores research-partnere hos Nordjyllands Kystmuseum og Skagens Museum.

On Friday, October 3rd, Skal Contemporary opens the newly produced solo exhibition eggs roll upwards by visual artist and author Melanie Kitti.

At the core of Melanie Kitti’s artistic practice is an engagement with the fresco as a medium where painting and sculpture converge as both formal and narrative infrastructure. eggs roll upwards constitutes an inquiry into the tradition of mural painting in Northern Jutland, articulating complex narratives and layered identities within a contemplative spatial framework. Here, mythology, historical memory, and contemporary experience are interlaced to form a deeply personal, poetic constellation.

The late medieval frescoes of Northern Jutland are particularly noted for their - at the time - unconventional iconography and served as a central visual means of disseminating Christian doctrine across Denmark and Europe during the Middle Ages. Executed directly onto the plastered surfaces of church walls and vaulted ceilings, these works functioned not only as didactic tools but also as mirrors of the social fabric. Motifs such as jesters, acrobats, demonic figures, and mythical beasts were portrayed alongside biblical parables and sacred iconography, revealing a visual culture where the sacred and the profane coexisted in a dynamic tension.

In eggs roll upwards, these art historical lineages are recontextualized through a contemporary lens, allowing for the emergence of personal narratives and affective registers. The exhibition opens a space for reflection, vulnerability, and collective resonance, foregrounding the fresco not merely as a historical technique but as a living medium for storytelling and aesthetic inquiry.

Melanie Kitti is a graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, and the Danish Academy of Creative Writing (Forfatterskolen) in Copenhagen. Her debut publication, Halvt urne, halvt gral (Half Urn, Half Grail), was released by Gyldendal in 2022. Recent exhibitions include Carl Eldhs Ateljémuseum (Stockholm), Andersen’s (Copenhagen), Overgaden (Copenhagen), Rønnebæksholm (Næstved), and the National Museum (Oslo). In 2024, she was awarded the Bernadotte Grant by the Marianne and Sigvard Bernadotte Artist Foundation.

eggs roll upwards is curated by Anne Møller Christensen and Sara Løvschall Grøntved and is generously supported by the Danish Arts Foundation, the Agency for Culture and Palaces, Augustinus Fonden, Det Obelske Familiefond, Ny Carlsbergfondet, and Frederikshavn Municipality. We too extend our sincere thanks to our research partners at Nordjyllands Kystmuseum and Skagens Museum.