The Moon Is Yours, The Daylight Is Mine by Mads Rafte Hein

Mads Rafte Hein (DK)
The Moon Is Yours, The Daylight Is Mine
September 25 – October 23 2026
Main Gallery

Galleri Christoffer Egelund is proud to present the 4th solo exhibition by Danish artist Mads Rafte Hein. The Moon Is Yours, The Daylight Is Mine features 28 new paintings on canvas alongside 10 new ceramic works.

Mads Rafte Hein’s paintings move between interiors, still lifes, houses, and landscapes. Luxurious homes and elegant living rooms with chandeliers, large windows, and sunlight streaming through the spaces fill his canvases. The motifs evoke the salons of the bourgeoisie, where architecture, furniture, and decorative details suggest a world of abundance and beauty. The colour palette is vivid and saturated: shades of pink, yellow, purple, turquoise, and green heighten a sense of opulence that borders on the dreamlike.

Colourful interiors have been a central focus of Hein’s practice over the past six years. 

In this exhibition, however, a new development emerges: a human presence enters the paintings. Hein refers to these presences as human figures, as they do not appear as conventional protagonists or vehicles for a narrative. Instead, they exist within the same pictorial universe as the rooms, objects, and surroundings – as a presence among other elements.

Hein’s works revolve around the tension between the familiar and the elusive. His houses and interiors appear concrete and richly detailed, yet they also evoke a sense of distance, as though they belong to a memory or a dream. This duality is also reflected in the exhibition title, The Moon Is Yours, The Daylight Is Mine. Daylight represents what is clear, visible, and immediately accessible, while the moon points towards a more introspective and unattainable dimension.

As Hein himself describes it: “It is also about my own state of mind – my paintings are very much in daylight, but there is still something more introspective within them.”

The rooms can thus be seen as inner landscapes: places where moods, memories, and imaginings take shape. Like dreams, they can feel both familiar and foreign at the same time. The new human figures continue this ambiguity. They introduce a human presence, yet without revealing who they are or what narrative they belong to. They do not appear as characters with a fixed identity, but rather as part of the atmosphere of the rooms. They are  figures that create a sense of presence while maintaining a feeling of distance.

Not all of the paintings contain human figures, yet across all of the motifs, there are traces of life. These might take the form of candlelights, green plants, or cut flowers in vases, small signs of human presence, even when the human figure itself is absent. The rooms may therefore appear empty of people, yet they never feel entirely deserted. Like traces left by someone who has just been there, or signs of a presence just beyond the reach of the image, these elements contribute to the tension between presence and absence that runs throughout Hein’s work.

As part of the exhibition, ceramic works in the form of vases and platters are presented. Placed on platforms at varying levels, they exist in close dialogue with the paintings. Here, forms, patterns, and atmospheres from the world of the paintings reappear as physical objects in the space. The ceramics can be seen as objects that might have existed within the interiors Hein depicts, while at the same time it is precisely the world of the paintings that has been transferred onto them. What previously existed only as an image is given a material body, while still retaining its connection to Hein’s imagined world.

We look forward to welcoming you to the opening reception, where there will be an opportunity to meet the artist. The reception will take place at Bredgade 75 on Friday, 25 September 2026, from 4–7 pm.

For further information and enquiries, please contact the gallery at hello@christofferegelund.dk or +45 33 93 92 00. Visit us at Bredgade 75, 1260 Copenhagen K. Opening hours: Wednesday–Friday 3–6 pm, Saturday 12–4 pm, or by appointment.

[DK]

Mads Rafte Hein (DK)
The Moon Is Yours, The Daylight Is Mine
September 25 – Oktober 23

Galleri Christoffer Egelund er stolte af at præsentere den danske kunstner Mads Rafte Heins fjerde soloudstilling i galleriet. Med The Moon Is Yours, The Daylight Is Mine præsenterer Hein 28 nye malerier på lærred og 10 keramiske værker.

Mads Rafte Heins malerier bevæger sig mellem interiører, opstillinger, huse og natur. Overdådige hjem og luksuriøse stuer med lysekroner, store vinduer og sollys, der strømmer ind gennem rummene, pryder hans lærreder. Motiverne leder tankerne hen på det bedre borgerskabs saloner, hvor arkitektur, møbler og detaljer vidner om en verden af overflod og skønhed. Farvepaletten er intens og levende; lyserød, gul, lilla, turkis og grøn understreger en overdådighed, der nærmer sig det drømmeagtige.

Farverige interiører har gennem de seneste seks år været et centralt omdrejningspunkt i Heins praksis. I denne udstilling opstår dog en ny bevægelse: mennesket træder ind i motiverne. Hein betegner dem selv som menneskefigurer, fordi de ikke fremstår som klassiske hovedkarakterer eller bærere af en fortælling. De indgår i stedet i samme billedlige univers som rummene, objekterne og omgivelserne – som en tilstedeværelse blandt andre elementer.

Heins værker kredser om spændingen mellem det genkendelige og det utilgængelige. Hans huse og interiører fremstår konkrete og detaljerede, men rummer samtidig en følelse af afstand, som om de befinder sig i et erindringsbillede eller en drøm. Denne dobbelthed kommer også til udtryk i titlen The Moon Is Yours, The Daylight Is Mine. Dagslyset repræsenterer det klare, synlige og umiddelbart tilgængelige, mens månen peger mod en mere indadvendt og uopnåelig dimension.

Som Hein selv beskriver det: “Det handler også om min egen tilstand – mine malerier er meget i dagslys, men der ligger stadig noget mere indadvendt i dem.”

Rummene kan således ses som indre landskaber; steder, hvor stemninger, minder og forestillinger tager form. Som i drømme kan de være både velkendte og fremmede på samme tid. De nye menneskefigurer viderefører denne tvetydighed. De tilfører en menneskelig tilstedeværelse, men uden at afsløre, hvem de er, eller hvilken fortælling de indgår i. De fremstår ikke som karakterer med en fast identitet, men som en del af rummenes atmosfære; figurer, der både skaber nærvær og fastholder en følelse af afstand.

Det er dog ikke i alle malerierne, at menneskefigurerne optræder. Alligevel synes alle motiverne at rumme spor af liv. Det kan være levende lys, grønne planter eller afskårne blomster i vaser – små tegn på en menneskelig tilstedeværelse, selv når mennesket selv ikke er synligt. Rummene kan således være uden mennesker, men fremstår aldrig helt forladte. Som spor efter nogen, der netop har været der, eller som tegn på en tilstedeværelse lige uden for billedets rækkevidde, bidrager disse elementer til den tvetydighed mellem nærvær og fravær, der præger Heins værker.

Som en del af udstillingen optræder keramiske værker i form af fade og vaser. Placeret på plateauer i forskellige niveauer står de i tæt forbindelse med malerierne. Her genopstår former, mønstre og stemninger fra maleriernes univers som fysiske objekter i rummet. Keramikken kan ses som objekter, der kunne have eksisteret i de interiører, Hein skildrer, men samtidig er det netop maleriernes verden, der er blevet overført til dem. Det, der tidligere kun eksisterede som et billede, får en materiel krop, men bevarer stadig forbindelsen til en forestillet verden.

Vi glæder os til at byde velkommen til ferniseringen, hvor der vil være mulighed for at møde kunstneren. Det sker i Bredgade 75 fredag den 25. september 2026 kl. 16.00–19.00.

For yderligere information og henvendelser, kontakt galleriet på hello@christofferegelund.dk eller på +45 33 93 92 00. Besøg os på Bredgade 75, 1260 København K. Åbningstider: onsdag-fredag ​​15.00-18.00, lørdag 12.00-16.00 eller efter aftale.