Tag: denmark

Nina Saunders

Nina Saunders: Sculptural Works

Born in 1958 in Odense, Denmark, Nina Saunders studied Fine Art and Critical Studies at Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design. Working across a wide range of materials, her artwork and installations play with the functions of objects, which appear familiar but question our preconceptions.

Saunders strips domestic objects of their comfort and use, turning them into odd, subversive works of art which project a disturbing sense of humor. Reclaimed sofas and chairs with floral patterned upholstery seem to melt into amoebic forms flowing across rooms, or take the form of bizarre creatures with swelling cushions and awkward angled legs.

Saunders’s work range from small objects such as upholstered hairbrushes and oddly-shaped, vinyl-wrapped dust pans with zippers to larger works, such as the 2017 “She May Not Be Your Friend But She is Your Hairdresser”, a sculptural work fashioned from a 1950s hairdressing chair, a deer head, plywood, foam, and deerskin.

Even when a Saunders installation scene seems normal, the effect can be mildly disturbing. In Saunders’s 2002 installation “Forever”, the scene is an ordinary middle-class room with limited-budget furniture, containing a potted plant, a gash in the wall, and a rocking swing suspended from the ceiling. Playing in the background is a loop of singer Engelbert Humperdinck singing the Demis Roussos song “Forever and Ever”. Although containing normal, recognizable objects, the scene is strikingly reminiscent of a Twilight Zone episode.

Nina Saunders has exhibited her works at many international locations including the Pallant House in London,;Note Art Contemporanea in Arezzo, Italy; and The British Council in Brussels. Her work was in the group show “Hidden Histories, Untold Stories” at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; the Nordic and Danish Pavilion at the 53rd Venice Biennale; and the Museum of Modern Art in Vaasa, Finland.

Hendrick Goltzius

Hendrick Goltzius, “Cadmus Slaying the Dragon”, 1573-1617, Oil on Canvas, 189 x 248 cm, Museet pa Koldinghus, Denmark

Hendrick Goltzius was renowned as a graphic artist and produced prints and drawings using a variety of techniques, including metalpoint, brush and ink, and chalk. He was also a pioneer in the art of “pen-painting,” a technique he invented in which pen is used directly on canvas to mimic the look of a print. Goltzius impressed his contemporaries with these large, monochromatic works, which were admired for their high degree of detail and innovative process of execution.

In about 1600 Goltzius added painting to his already long list of talents. It has been speculated that the artist’s failing eyesight played a part in his decision to begin painting, which did not require the precision of printmaking. It is possible, however, that his decision was prompted by his friend and biographer Van Mander, for whom painting was the highest form of art. In 1612 Goltzius was visited by Peter Rubens, who had come to the Haarlem master in search of a reproductive engraver to make prints after his paintings. Rubens hired Lucas Vorsterman, one of Goltzius’ assistants, to fulfill this role. Rubens’ visit had an important impact on Goltzius’ painting style, which subsequently became more assured and classical in character.

Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen, “Jason and the Golden Fleece”, 1828, Marble, Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark

Bertel Thorvaldsen created a life-size clay version of this statue in 1803 for the Copenhagen Academy to demonstrate his progress at sculpture. It is considered to be his first great work. This marble version of “Jason and the Golden Fleece” was commissioned by Thomas Hope, a wealthy English art patron. The marble statue, at a height of ninety five inches, was completed in 1828.

Expressing both physical and mental calm, Jason is the prototype of the classical hero. The sculpture is fully balanced: no matter where your eyes fall, you can find a corresponding element. For example, the lance is reflected in the chest strap, the fleece in tree stump. and the curled tip of the helmet in the horns of the ram.

In 1917, Thomas Hope’s  heirs dispersed the holding of his estate at Deepdene, Surrey. “Jason and the Golden Fleece” was acquired by Copenhagen’s Thorvaldsen Museum at the auction.

 

Kenneth Bager, “Fragment Eight”

Kenneth Bager, “Fragment Eight”

Camera: Christopher Haering; Editing: Felix Drawe; Production Coordinator: Trung Le Kien

Kenneth Bager is a Danish musician and record producer with hsi beginnings as a DJ. In 1994, he released a compilation called “Music for Dreams” which featured Peter Gabriel and Michael Nyman and other musicians. His critically acclaimed debut album “Fragments From a Space Cadet” in 2006 won him the Danish Statens Kunstfond Award.

Calendar: March 2

Year: Day to Day Men: March 2

Windows to the City

The second of March in 1842 marks the birth date of Carl Christian Hillman Jacobsen, a Danish brewer, art collector and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, regarded as one of the preeminent museums in Denmark.

Born in Copenhagen, Carl Jacobsen was the son of Danish industrialist Jacob Christian Jacobsen who, in addition to serving a period as Member of Parliament, founded the Carlsberg Laboratory, a biochemical research center that examined the process of brewing. Carl Jacobsen’s initial education was at the Borgerdyd School in the Christianshavn neighborhood of Copenhagen. Beginning in 1866, he began a four-year study abroad of Europe’s leading breweries.

Upon his return to Denmark, Jacobsen was employed at a brewing annex of his father’s Carlsberg brewery; however, bitter conflicts developed between father and son. His father, due to the family tensions, founded the Carlsbergfondef (Carlsberg Foundation) which he endowed with the controlling shares of the business. In 1882, Carl Jacobsen founded his own brewery, the Valby Brewery, and later changed its name to Ny Carlsberg (New Carlsberg). Jacob Jacobsen changed the name of the original brewery to Gammel Carlsberg (Old Carlsberg).  

A reconciliation between Carl Jacobsen and his father was eventually achieved in 1886. Upon the death of his father in April of 1887, Carl did not obtain control of the Gammel Carlsberg brewery. It was not until 1906 that the two Carlsberg breweries merged into one entity with Carl Jacobsen chosen as Chief Executive Officer by the Carlsberg Foundation, the majority owner. Jacobsen would remain as CEO of the newly established Carlsberg Group until his death in 1914.

Carlsberg Brewery finished its first brew in November of 1847; the exportation of Carlsberg beer began in 1868 with one barrel shipped to Edinburgh, Scotland. Since then, the Carlsberg Group has become a multinational brewer whose flagship brand is Carlsberg beer. Currently it is the sixth largest brewery in the world based on revenue. The Carlsberg Group has facilities throughout European and Asian countries; it is the brewer of such beers as Tuborg, Kronenbourg, Somersby Cider, Holsten and more than five hundred local beers.

Carl Jacobsen was not a political individual as was his father, but rather a cultural enthusiast. Known for his interest in Greek and classical art, he was an avid antique collector. His collecting led to the 1897 founding of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek to which he donated his entire collection of antiques. Jacobsen was also interested in architecture and employed the leading Danish architects of the time, including historical architect Jens Vilheim Dahlerup, to design his brewery sites. He was responsible for the restoration work done on several public buildings and churches in Copenhagen as well as financing the city’s 1913 iconic harbor sculpture “The Little Mermaid”. 

Jacobsen was a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and Académie des Beaux-Arts as well as honorary member of the Société des Artistes Français. He was awarded a Knighthood in the Order of Dannebrog in 1888 and received in 1912 the Grand Cross, a reward for meritorious service to Denmark. Carl Jacobsen died in January of 1914 and was buried in the family’s mausoleum at Jesus Church in Copenhagen.

Vilhelm Tetens

Vilhelm Tetens, “Evening, Bathing Boys”, 1905, Oil on Canvas, Regional Psychiatric Center, Viborg, Denmark

Born on November 21, 1871 in Copenhagen, Vilhelm Tetens was a Dutch painter of still-life, architectural forms, and figurative works. He was a student of painter Malthe Odin Engelsted and studied at the Kunstnernes Frie Studieskoler,  Artists; Free Study School, under painter Kristian Zahrtmann.  While at the school, Tetens developed friendships with painter and draftsman Christian Kongstad Petersen and the Norwegian painters Thorvald Erichsen and Oluf Wold-Torne.

In 1896, Vilhelm Tetens had his first exhibition in the city of Charlottenborg. Two years later he took a trip to Norway to visit his friend Oluf Wold-Torne. Despite the close friendship, Tetens work did not show the boldness of form and color that was present in the work of Wold-Torne. However, even at a young age, his portrait work showed an understanding of the medium and an empathy for the sitter. Tetens painted portraits of his friends Wold-Torne and Petersen in the 1890s which were done in the popular symbolist style.

In addition to his painting, Vilhelm Tetens was also a costume designer; his first assignment was in 1902 to design the costumes for Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s opera “Saul and David”. For a number of years after that, Tetens was the costume designer for the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen. 

Between 1903 and 1919, Tetens produced several major works which include “The Family in the Green” executed in 1903; “Evening, Bathing Boys” in 1905; the “Young Man” in 1909, “Portrait of My Mother” in 1907; and the 1919 “Portrait of Professor Folberg”  which was awarded an Exhibition Medal.  

Vilhelm Tetens died in Hillerød, Denmark, on the 13th of January in  1957. His work is in the collections of  the Museum at Koldinghus, the Statens Museum for Kunst, the Horsens Art Museum, and the Sorø Art Museum.

Rudolph Tegnér

Rudolph Tegnér, “Hercules and the Hydra”, 1918

Rudolph Tegner) was a Danish sculptor linked to the Symbolist movement. In the early 20th century his work caused considerable controversy in Denmark. A large number of his works are on display in the Rudolph Tegner Museum north of Copenhagen.

He travelled to Greece and to Italy as a young man, where he was particularly impressed by Michelangelo’s sculptures in the Medici Chapel. His first major work, A Faun (1891) was installed at Charlottenburg Palace. From 1890 to 1893 he collaborated with the Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland, and then moved to Paris, where he resided until 1897.

Tegner’s sculptures developed the stylistic innovations of Art Nouveau and the erotic realism of Auguste Rodin. This caused widespread debate in Denmark, which was still heavily influenced by the restrained neo-classical ideals of Bertel Thorvaldsen. Tegner, in contrast, emphasised violent monumental forms which were both eye-catching and provocative.

The Raveonettes, “Killer in the Streets”

The Raveonettes, “Killer in the Streets”

The Raveonettes are a Danish indie rock duo, consisting of Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments, and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals. Their music is characterized by close two-part vocal harmonies inspired by The Everly Brothers coupled with hard-edged electric guitar overlaid with liberal doses of noise.

Their songs juxtapose the structural and chordal simplicity of 1950s and 1960s rock with intense electric instrumentation, driving beats, and often dark lyrical content (e.g., crime, drugs, murder, suicide, love, lust, and betrayal), similar to another of the band’s influences, The Velvet Underground.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Cornelis van Haarlem

Cornelis van Haarlem, The Fall of the Titans”, Oil on Canvas, 1588-90. Statens Museum for Kunst (National Gallery of Denmark)

The Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses relate the story of a reigning race of gods consisting of the titans, the cyclopes, and the giants who were challenged to a cosmic battle by the Olympian gods headed by Zeus. The fierce battle, the so-called titanomachia, ended with the defeat of the titans whom Zeus cast down into Tartaros, the underworld, from where they cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem brought all his artistic ideals to bear in the naked muscular bodies and the complicated poses. Studies from the nude did not become common until the late 17th century; but in Haarlem, Karel van Mander (1548-1606) founded an academy that did not only use academic nudes for practice, but which also debated art theory.

This painting is an example of the resultant Haarlem Mannerist style. Mannerism is a designation used for a style between the Renaissance and the Baroque that celebrated the artificial and the sensual. The style was cultivated in places such as the court of Rudolph the Second. (1552-1612) in Prague. The style travelled north, winning over royals such as the Danish King Christian the Fourth. (1557-1648). The Fall of the Titans was among the Dutch paintings purchased by King Christian the Fourth in 1621.

Insert Image: Cornelis van Haarlem, “Two Wrestlers”, circa 1600s, Etching, Rijksmuseum

Christian August Lorentzen

Christian August Lorentzen, “Model Class at the Copenhagen Academy of Arts”, Oil on Canvas, 1824

Christian August Lorentzen was born in August of 1749 as the son of a watchmaker. He arrived in Copenhagen around 1771 where he frequented the Royal Academy of Fine Arts; but it is unclear whether he received any formal training. From 1779 to 1782 he went abroad to develop his skills, visiting the Netherlands, Antwerp and Paris where he copied the paintings of the masters. In 1792 Lorentzen traveled to Norway to paint.

In a number of paintings, such as “Slaget på Reden” and “Den Rædsomste Nat”, Lorentzen documented key events from the English Wars between 1801 and 1814. Later in his career he mainly painted portraits, landscapes and scenes from Ludvig Holberg’s comedies. As a professor at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen from 1803 and until his death in 1828, he exercised great influence on the next generation of painters such as Martinus Rørbye among others.

Oluf Gravesen

Sculptures by Oluf Gravesen

Oluf Gravesen was a Danish visual artist, both in printmaking and in sculpture. In 1961 the 18-year-old Gravesen became the youngest person to be admitted to the Danish Royal Academy’s Spring Exhibition at Charlottenborg, exhibiting three small scrap metal reliefs.

A successful solo exhibition at Den Permanente in the mid-60s brought his work to the attention of Copenhagen’s stylists and led to its inclusion in room settings for their promotions. Later he worked on his artworks, all made entirely of nails, in Paris, London and New York.

Gravesen’s exile meant he was not widely known in Denmark, so when he returned home from New York in the mid-1980s with a deadly disease, his tragically premature death was marked only by his family and closest friends and came, in the words of Pittsburgh’s Concept Art Gallery, “before he could see the influence his work would have on the late 20th and early 21st century New York art scene”.

Thomas Petersen, “Francis J Smith”

Francis J Smith:  Photography by Grundvold (Thomas Petersen)

Thomas Petersen, known as Grundvold,  is a second year student studying Fine Art and Photography at Glasgow School of Art, Scotland. Group exhibitions:
2011 – Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling, Den Frie, Copenhagen, Denmark
2015 – Wet Denim Trackie, SWG3, Glasgow, Scotland
2016 – Syzygy, Grace and Clark Fyfe Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland

Thanks to http://grundvold.tumblr.com. Check out the photos.