At Munchmuseet, Expressionism Meets Bedroom Pop

Marie Ulven Ringheim, better known to bedroom pop lovers as girl in red, will team up with Oslo’s Munchmuseet early next year for an exhibition pairing a selection of Edvard Munch paintings with a new, custom-composed soundscape by the 27-year-old indie icon. 

In an Instagram reel published by the museum, girl in red—renowned for her moving explorations of queer love—is shown holding up a print of Munch’s Two Reclining Nudes (1917–1919). The painting shows two women reposing on a bed, their elbows resting on red, plush-looking bedding. 

With a mischievous grin, the singer explains her selection process for the exhibition she is co-curating to the camera: “I was like: Yo, show me the picture with the two ladies in bed.”

Two Reclining Nudes is one of 22 paintings going on show at the museum next February, where they will be accompanied by girl in red’s musical contribution, Norwegian Summer. The 10-minute musical piece, composed in response to the paintings on display, is described as moody and exploratory.

The exhibition’s curator, Trine Otte Bak Nielsen, described the composition as offering the opportunity to experience Much through a new artistic perspective. “girl in red highlights the breadth of the paintings and shows us that light and bright motifs are also central to Munch’s artistic practice,” she said.

Visitors to the exhibition might be surprised to find this uncharacteristically joyous side to Munch’s practice, a body of work famously marked by illness and bereavement. Featured paintings such as Solbad (1920–1925) and Såmannen (1912–1913) show, respectively, the peaceful bodies of sunbathers and the gracious movements of a sower, with colourful expanses of Norwegian landscapes in the background.

For girl in red, the coexistence of light and dark—joy and sadness—was central to the project. “Because even the brightest Norwegian summer harbours the darkest of minds,” she said in a statement.

girl in red rose to fame following her breakout hit i wanna be your girlfriend, recorded in her bedroom and uploaded to SoundCloud in 2017. Scoring music to the paintings of an Expressionist master marks the next step in a rapidly growing career built on internet culture—what Much aficionados will make of the Gen Z tunes, however, remains the be seen.

girl in red & Edvard Munch: Norwegian Summer (6 February 2027—9 May 2027) at Munchmuseet, Oslo