JOIN US AT THESE OPENINGS:
Yang Zhenzhong: Light as ***, 2002
It is quite a scoop for Nikolaj, Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, to be able to present three spectacular video works by the internationally acclaimed Chinese artist Yang Zhenzhong. Zhenzhong lives and works in Shanghai - one of the most significant art centres in China - and his videos often take as their starting point the explosive economical development of the city. The main work in the exhibition - I Will Die - was presented at the Venice Biennial 2007 and consists of ten projections showing people of different nationality saying the words 'I will die'. The work thus focuses on a basic human condition and make us look beyond national and cultural differences. Zhenzhong's works have a certain poetic feel to them - but with a distinct touch of humour. They investigate the relation between the individual and the community and are a must-see.
Yang Zhenzhong
Kunsthallen Nikolaj, Nikolaj Plads 10, 1067 København K.
Opening Friday, February 22nd, 5 pm
Jesper Carlsen: No Title, Københavns Kunsthal, 2006
On Friday Factory of Art and Design in Amager opens a new art project by the Copenhagen based artist Jesper Carlsen. Carlsen works in different media such as animation, video, sound and installation but a common denominator is the unfolding and subsequent deconstruction of the conceptual and iconographic frame of the work. With his Untitled Sculpture for the Factory Showroom Carlsen will fold out the eight walls constituting the 'white cube'-exhibition space. The walls will be painted alternately black and white to produce a scale format which is comparable to a huge tape measure. This subtle intervention should be seen in relation to the changeable and process-oriented rhythm of the factory hall and the many studios located in the building.
Jesper Carlsen: Untitled Sculpture
Fabrikken for Kunst og Design / Produktionshallen, Sundholmsvej 46, 2300 København S
Opening Friday, February 22nd, 5-8 pm (with soup)
Ellinor Forsberg, fra serie præsenteret på Charlottenborgs Forårsudstilling, 2007
The shopping centre Waterfront in Hellerup, just north of Copenhagen, opened in September, 2007, and besides exclusive fashion by a.o. Paul Smith and Henrik Vibskov Waterfront also presents contemporary art. The design store Milk has created a vertical exhibition space - Milk Wall - that shows mainly experimental photographic art works, and the upcoming exhibition Willingness to Bend is a presentation of fluid fantasies and frozen forms by ten Scandiavian video artists and art photographers. They all examine the ideas of 'flow' and 'fluidity', of capturing and securing a motive or dissolving it and finding new forms.
'Fluidity' suggests a will to take shape or bend according to your surroundings but also a tendency to drift away if no one takes control. The photography freezes time and movement but due to its one-eyed perspective it also creates and organizes different spaces and makes a specific dynamic and flow visible that usually remain hidden in the haste of our daily lives. The exhibition is the result of a coorporation between Milk Contemporary, Spark Gallery and Senko Studio in Viborg - a non-profit forum for communication.
Willingness to Bend: Ellinor Forsberg, Kirstine Autzen, Lotte Fløe Christensen, Miska Knapek, Simon Bue Schrøder, Giles Gilbert, Kristina Bengtsson, Mette Juul Søndergaard, Sergei Sviatchenko & Tobias Toyberg
Milk Wall, Milk Contemporary, Waterfront Shopping, Tuborg Havnevej 4-8, 2900 Hellerup
Opening Saturday, February 23rd, 2-4 pm
Mie Mørkeberg: Untitled, 2007
The fabulative and figurative painting has received a lot of attention in recent years and now Ringsted Galleriet is exhibiting works by three of its most talented exponents: Mie Mørkeberg, Martha Kramær og Tommy Petersen. Instead of the usual focus on narratives and mode of expression the gallery has chosen to investigate the different ways in which the three artists construct spaces. This should be interesting so don't miss it!
Martha Kramær, Mie Mørkeberg & Tommy Petersen
Ringsted Galleriet, Bøllingsvej 15, 4100 Ringsted
Opening Saturday, February 23rd, 1-3 pm
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WE RECOMMEND:
Co-Lab is run by art historian Marie Kirkegaard and artist Jon Stahn and its international and bold exhibition profile makes it one of the most interesting galleries in town. Co-Lab is currently showing the exhibition LOFTNET by the Icelandic artists Margrét H. Blöndal, Rádhildur Ingadóttir og Tumi Magnússon. All three artists work site specifically and try to widen both our mental and physical perception of space. Go see it!
LOFTNET: Margrét H. Blöndal, Rádhildur Ingadóttir & Tumi Magnússon
Co-Lab, Nørre Søgade 17, basement, 1370 København K
February 9th - March 9th, 2008
Randi & Katrine, Gl. Strand, 2008
Randi & Katrine are among the most sensational young Danish artists of today. They have asserted themselves both in Denmark and abroad with their romantic installations and sculptures that often unfold as scenographical narratives. Randi & Katrine are deeply fascinated by houses both as settings for day-to-day living and as reflections of the lives being led inside. Their current exhibition at Gl. Strand presents two huge sculptures shaped as houses but at the same time resembling human faces. Based on the idea of carnival and masking the artists allow us to experience not only a facade but also an inner life.
Randi & Katrine
Gl. Strand, Gammel Strand 48, 1202 København K.
February 9th - May 4th, 2008
Petar Mirkovic: (from series) Movie Board, 2004
For the group exhibition FOR A HAPPIER TOMORROW at Gallery Tom Christoffersen artist Alexandra Croitoru has selected a range of photography and video works from Central-Eastern Europe. The works reflect the relations set up by artists between themselves and the public sphere - especially by performing interventions in the urban space. In their own different ways the artists challenge reality or create an alternative one as they show a critical but at the same time ironical and playful attitude to their social surroundings.
FOR A HAPPIER TOMORROW: Anca Benera, Kamen Stoyanov, Adela Demetja, Daniel Gontz, Kristina Lenard, Petar Mirkovic, Ivan Petrovic, Marek Kvetan & Erik Sikora
Gallery Tom Christoffersen, Skindergade 5, 1158 København K
February 15th - March 15th, 2008
Frans Jacobi: Is Another Society Possible?, 2008
From January 18th - May 1st the curators Pulsk Ravn and Mette Kit Jensen have converted the small showroom RACA at Gammel Kongevej into BRoOom! - a project space presenting both exhibitions and lectures, events and performances. Artists working specifically with the public space are invited to present their ideas at BroOom! thus establishing a forum for discussion of performative, conceptual, social, site specific and political art practices. Frans Jacobi has created a tiny, secret theatre for BroOom! which is closed off to the public and instantly excites the curiosity of the 'spectator'. A note on the door announces:
Anarchistic Late Night Entertainment
Magical Theatre
(only for the crazy)
Now playing: 'Is Another Society Possible?'
The first three lines are an extract from the novel Der Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse whose thoughts on community and tolerance won him cult status during the youth revolution in the 60s. The exhibition that is only visible from the street shows different 'props' alluding to riots and upheavals: a black banner, a purple flag and a milk case filled with cobblestones. In the night a light show gives the impression that something dramatic is going on in the room behind the specially hung curtain. Jacobi points to the extreme culture of demonstrations that have become part of our daily lives in the form of street fights and vandalism. He presents the demonstration both as an exclusive theatre play and as the magical dream of a new society worth fighting for.
Frans Jacobi: Is Another Society Possible?
BroOom! Exhibition II
RACA, Gl. Kongevej 37, 1610 København V
February 15th - 24th, 2008