Ovartaci at auction: The Art Brut master behind surreal figures and smoking phantoms

On September 23, Bruun Rasmussen will put ten works by Ovartaci up for auction. In recent years, his art has attracted a growing interest, particularly from international collectors and museums, as well as at auctions, where his works have often achieved surprisingly high hammer prices.

The artist Louis Marcussen is today better known as Ovartaci, a name meaning “overfool,” which he gave himself upon his admission in 1929 to the psychiatric hospital in Risskov in Denmark, where he lived and worked for 56 years. Surreal figures, abstract female forms, and the so-called “smoking phantoms” – handcrafted cigarette holders transformed into magical, living beings within the artist’s universe – form the core of Ovartaci’s art. His work emerged from an undeniable creative drive that thrived despite – or perhaps precisely because of – the exceptional conditions under which he lived.

Ovartaci was born male but identified as female for part of his life and was granted gender reassignment surgery in 1955 and 1957, before returning to identify as male some 20 years later. His life and work resonate with contemporary discussions of gender, identity, and tolerance, highlighting the transformative potential of art.

Breakthrough as an “Outsider”

His breakthrough came in 1979, when Louisiana Museum of Modern Art invited Ovartaci to the groundbreaking exhibition Outsider. The recognition marked a turning point both nationally and internationally, and since then, Ovartaci has been represented at events such as the Venice Biennale and the Dutch CoBrA Museum of Modern Art.

“Ovartaci is today a name that reaches far beyond Denmark. His works are highly sought after by collectors in both Europe and the USA, and we are witnessing growing demand that reflects the unique originality and authenticity of his art,” says Simon Hyldig, specialist in modern and contemporary art at Bruun Rasmussen.

Connections to the CoBrA movement and the Art Brut genre place Ovartaci among the most significant artistic figures in the history of psychiatry. Through his distinctive visual language, he created an extraordinary body of work that is recognized not only in Danish art history but also internationally, where it continues to inspire and challenge. The ten works in the auction offer a rare opportunity to acquire unique pieces that combine outsider art with universal appeal.

The online auction will take place at Bruun Rasmussen on September 23, but bidding is already open. All works can be viewed at a preview before the sale in Aarhus, Denmark, at Søren Frichs Vej 34D.