Elmgreen & Dragset

Michael Elmgreen (born 1961; Copenhagen, Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (born 1969; Trondheim, Norway) have worked together as an artist duo since 1995. Their work explores the relationship between art, architecture and design.

Elmgreen & Dragset live and work in Berlin. They are known for art work that has wit and subversive humour, and also addresses social and cultural concerns.

Elmgreen & Dragset began their collaboration in 1995 after meeting in Copenhagen in 1994. They moved to Berlin in 1997 and bought a former water-pumping station, converting it into a studio. Their works, often titled ‘Powerless Structures,’ challenge traditional gallery spaces, with notable projects at the Istanbul Biennial (2001), Prada Marfa (2005), and the Welfare Show (2005–2006). They curated The Collectors for the Venice Biennale (2009) and created the sculpture Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 for Trafalgar Square (2011).

The duo continued to create large-scale, site-specific works, including exhibitions at the Whitechapel Gallery (2018), Nasher Sculpture Center (2019), and Fondazione Prada (2022). Their public sculptures include Bent Pool in Miami Beach (2019), Life Rings in Stockholm (2020), and The Hive in New York (2020). In 2021, they received the Robert Jacobsen Prize, and their latest exhibition, After Dark, is set for Hangzhou, China, in 2022.