The early years in Odder

Ejler Bille began his life in Odder, Denmark. His parents, Torben Holger Bille and Anna Kirstine Lysabild Jensen, raised him in a landscape that would later inform the organic shapes found in his work. After finishing school in Birkerød in 1930, he moved toward the craft and fine arts, studying at the arts and craft school in Copenhagen under Bizzie Høyer between 1930 and 1932. He later entered the Royal Danish Academy of Art in 1933.

His first appearance in the public eye came in 1931 at the Artists' Autumn Exhibition. During these early years, his hands were often occupied with small sculptures. It was a period of tactile exploration, working with physical mass and form before the flat surface of the canvas became his primary focus.

A shift toward abstraction

The movement from sculpture to painting took hold as he became part of various artist groups. In 1934, he joined Linien, followed by Corner in 1940. A significant change occurred in 1949 when he joined CoBrA. This period saw his work move away from the three-dimensional weight of sculpture and into the realm of abstract expressionism and primitive forms.

His canvases began to hold organic structures and imaginative figures. He drew inspiration from mythologies and the stories of Balinese art, creating compositions that felt both primordial and cosmic. His use of color and shape sought to capture a sense of the fundamental. Some of his notable works include:

• Composition in Red (1942)
• Fugl/Bird (1938)
• Untitled abstract compositions in watercolor

Recognition and later life

Throughout his career, Bille remained connected to the Danish avant-garde. He held a position as a guest professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in 1969. His contributions to the art scene were marked by several honors, including the Eckersberg Medal in 1960 and the Thorvaldsen Medal in 1969. Later in life, he received the Prince Eugen Medal in 1987 and the Amalienborg Prize in 2001.

His work is held in various collections, such as the SMK (Statens Museum for Kunst) and the Skagen Kunsthus. He passed away in Indland, Denmark, in 2004, leaving behind a body of work that spans painting, sculpture, printmaking, and poetry.