© Davy Denke / Rytter & DenkeOrsolya Bagala (born 1976) is a Danish artist whose work evokes a visceral dialogue between the conscious and unconscious realms of the human psyche. Her psychologically charged paintings explore personal narratives and universal truths, investigating the tension between vulnerability and strength, beauty and decay, and the cyclical nature of life and death. Through her intuitive approach to traditional portraiture, her subjects, often hybridized female figures, serve as vessels of emotion, capturing ephemeral moments where boundaries between self, others, and the external world dissolve. Bagala often paints on unconventional surfaces such as discarded cardboard boxes and paper bags, adding a tactile dimension to her exploration of impermanence of the complexities of identity, memory and reality.
Born in Hungary, Bagala immigrated to Denmark in 1994. She earned an MFA from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 2005, studying under artist and professor Ursula Reuter Christiansen. Her work is held in the public collections of The National Gallery of Denmark (DK), Kunsten Museum of Modern Art (DK), and the Danish Art Foundation (DK). Her first institutional solo exhibition took place at Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in 2024. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including Duna Museum (HU), Galleri Maria Friis (DK), Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst (DE), KØN Gender Museum (DK), Medicinsk Museion (DK), M100 (DK), Rundetaarn (DK), and Willumsen Museum (DK).
Selected solo exhibitions
2024
Your Past Became Gold, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Denmark
2023
Your Skin is Soft Mud, M100, Denmark
Bargaining Souls, Duna Múzeum, Hungary
2022
Oh Girl! It Will Not Last, Galleri Maria Friis, Denmark
Selected group exhibitions
2025
Genklang, Sophienholm, Denmark
2024
Dreams & Desires vol. II – Heavy Breathing, Galleri Maria Friis, Denmark
Waves of Time, Galleri Maria Friis, Denmark
2022
Mama Mia, J.F. Willumsens Museum, Denmark
2021
Overgange/Transitions #2, Rundetårn, Denmark
W.T.F. Willumsen!, J. F. Willumsens Museum, Denmark
2019
Overgange/Transitions, Women’s Museum, Denmark
Public collections
The National Museum of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst)
Kunsten Museum of Modern Art
Danish Arts Foundation (Statens Kunstfond)
Awards
Jens Søndergaard and Wife’s Memorial Award
Selected press