Education and Development

Simonsen studied at Krabbesholm Højskole in Skive and Exeter College of Art and Design, with a period of study at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Following a residency in Venice in 1999, he returned to Britain and later earned an MA from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. He lived and worked in Brighton for thirteen years before moving to Berlin in 2013, establishing his studio in Kreuzberg.

Drawing and Process

Drawing is the structural core of Simonsen’s practice. Every botanical element is rendered freehand directly onto the surface. He deliberately avoids stencils and projection, preserving the natural variation, pressure, and movement of the hand. This drawn framework is developed through oil paint, translucent washes, poured pigment, and passages of concentrated color. Earlier marks are rarely erased completely. Each painting retains evidence of its making, allowing the image to appear as something that has grown over time rather than been executed according to a predetermined design.

Color and Influences

His close observation of botanical form is balanced by a palette that deliberately resists naturalism. Color functions not simply as description but as sensation, sometimes organizing the composition through sharp contrasts and at other times dissolving it into light and atmosphere. This tension between discipline and freedom places the paintings between figuration and abstraction.

Simonsen’s Scandinavian background is evident in his sustained attention to natural form, while his interest in Rococo ornament, the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen, and the chromatic and spatial liberties of decorative modernism broadens the historical field from which he draws. These references are absorbed rather than quoted, producing landscapes shaped as much by feeling and recollection as by sight.

Exhibitions and Collections

Simonsen has exhibited internationally since the late 1990s. In 2009, he was invited to create a work for the permanent collection of the Shoes or No Shoes Museum in Kruishoutem, Belgium. His work is also held in public and corporate collections including The Langham and the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London, Swissôtel Krasnye Holmy in Moscow, and Maersk.

In the United States, he has been represented by Findlay Galleries since 2012, with regular solo exhibitions in New York and Palm Beach. His most recent presentation with the gallery, Henrik Simonsen: Recent Works, was held in Palm Beach and New York in 2026.

Close biography