Herman Stilling was born in 1925 in Denmark. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen (1945–1951). After graduating, he cultivated a pictorial world characterised by the adventurous and fantastic.
Trolls, in particular, were a hallmark of Stilling’s work for decades. According to folklore, trolls are often simple and easy to fool. If a man does a troll a favour, it can be rewarded with wealth. It seems the artist made a deal with the little (or large) creatures to be rewarded with endless creativity. The troll motif completed the artist’s overall compositional structure of solid shapes and simple colours, becoming more and more visible as the lighting became stronger and the colours brighter. The earliest troll images were incorporated into graphics and often contained features that seemed to suggest self-portraits, as was also the case in the artist’s later works. Between 1962 and 1968 (and again after 1972), Stilling entered a period during which he created collages, made from the cheapest materials he could lay hands on: old wallpaper, books and coloured paper, from which he tore out the desired shapes. Once again, they were layered so as to represent … trolls. Stilling and trolls are so synonymous, in fact, it is difficult to know whether Stilling was behind the trolls, or if he was the troll behind the art.
Despite the cultural and visual importance trolls hold in his practice, they are not the only motif that populate his oeuvre. Somewhat surprisingly, furniture legs make recurrent appearances. Critics and observers have interpreted these ‘legs’ as stand-ins for people – the chosen piece of furniture embodying different morphologies.
An an illustrator, Stilling provided illustrations for his and other authors’ published volumes. He embellished the works of Grethe Risbjerg Thomsen, Frank Jæger and Halfdan Rasmussen, among others. He also illustrated his own biographical work, A Boy Named Herman (1974).
Stilling showed work in the following exhibitions: Grafisk Kunstnersamf. Charl.borg (1949); Kystens Malere (1949-1951); KE (1949, 1951-55, 1958, 1960-1961); Charl. Eft. (1949-1950, 1952-1956, 1958, 1960-1961, 1966, 1971); Nord. Grafik, Helsingfors (1951); Peintures, gravures danoises, Mus. Galliera, Paris (1953); KP (1953-1956, 1958-1961); Charl. Forår (1954, 1960-1961, 1963); Expo. de sculptures et art graphique danois, Det da. Hus, Paris (1958); Nord. grafikunion, Sth., with others (1960); Da. illustratorer (1910-1960), Fr.berg Rådhus (1960); grafikbien., Lugano (1962); Koloristerne (1964-1965, 1967-1984, 1986-1996); De fabulerende, Nikolaj, Copenhagen (1979); 19 da. grafikere, Skovhuset, Værløse (1986); Verden som vi er vokset fra og som vi er groet til, Gal. Bram, Hobro (1986); Separatudstillinger: Fyns Kunstbygn. (together with Peder Linnet, Hans Lollesgaard and Palle Nielsen) (1950); Athenæum, Copenhagen (1954, 1956); Abels Kunsthdl., Aarhus (together with Lis Hooge Hansen) (1957); Lilla Konstsalongen, Malmö (1961); Clausens Kunsthdl., Copenhagen (1962-63, 1966, 1969); Sammenslutn. af da. Kunstforen., vandreudst. (together with Jørgen Brynjolf and Ib Geertsen) (1968); Aarhus Kunstbygn. (together with Jørgen Brynjolf) (1971); Det da. Centralbibl., Flensburg (together with Olivia Holm- Møller, Vibeke Mencke Nielsen and Palle Nielsen) (1973); Gal. Ved Åen, Aarhus (1977); Gal. Sct. Agnes, Roskilde (1978); Henning Larsens Kunsthdl., Copenhagen (1979); Nikolaj, Copenhagen (1984-85); Gal. Bentzon, Ribe (together with Sven Okkels, Dea Trier Mørch and Merete Zacho) (1986); Skovgaardmus. (1989); Gl. Holtegaard (together with Kenn André Stilling) (1991); Marienlyst Slot, Helsingør (1995).
Stilling passed away in 1996.
