CONCEPT ART
Vincenzo Agnetti, William Anastasi, Marcel Broodthaers, On Kawara, Joseph Kosuth, Les Levin, Yokuta Matsuzawa, Lawrence Weiner
Stalke Galleri,
Vesterbrogade 15a, Copenhagen
6.12.1988 to 24.2 1989
Concept Art
Stalke Galleri, Copenhagen, 1989
in cooperation with Brigitte March
In 1989, Stalke Galleri presented the exhibition Concept Art, bringing together some of the most significant international figures within conceptual art. The exhibition was realized in cooperation with gallerist and curator Brigitte March and included works by Vincenzo Agnetti, William Anastasi, Marcel Broodthaers, On Kawara, Joseph Kosuth, Yutaka Matsuzawa, Lawrence Weiner, and Les Levine, among others.
At the time, the exhibition was widely regarded as a strong statement on the continued relevance of conceptual art. In his review in Politiken, Øystein Hjort noted that with this exhibition Stalke Galleri contributed to a renewed focus on a movement that had been dominant in the 1970s and now once again proved pertinent to contemporary discussions of language, cognition, and the function of art. Hjort particularly emphasized the artists’ use of text as image and the idea as the primary material of art.
In Berlingske Tidende, Henrik Wivel described the exhibition as an ambitious and intellectually demanding project, highlighting Stalke Galleri’s ability to present a coherent exhibition spanning diverse artistic strategies. He pointed to the productive tension between Joseph Kosuth’s analytical language-based works, Lawrence Weiner’s precise textual statements, and Marcel Broodthaers’ poetic and critical engagement with institutional forms.
Several reviews underlined that the exhibition functioned not only as a historical overview but also as a contemporary reactivation of conceptual art’s foundational premise: that art does not necessarily manifest itself as an object, but as an idea, structure, or linguistic action. This approach was seen as particularly relevant at a moment when art’s relationship to institutions, audiences, and communication was undergoing significant change.
The exhibition was accompanied by an extensive catalogue, published in collaboration between Brigitte March, Espace des Arts (Chalon-sur-Saône), and Stalke Galleri. The catalogue included essays and texts by Evelyn Weiss as well as contributions by several of the participating artists, and remains an important document of the exhibition’s international scope.
With Concept Art, Stalke Galleri consolidated its position as a key venue for the presentation of international conceptual art in Denmark and as a platform where idea-based practices were articulated with both historical depth and contemporary relevance.
Invitation for the exhibition Concept Art 1988 featuring portraits of key conceptual artists including On Kawara, Joseph Kosuth, and William Anastasi.
Joseph Kosuth, installation view from an exhibition at Stalke Galleri
Les Levine, CREATE YOURSELF, from the exhibition Concept Art 1988 at Stalke Galleri.
Faxed working sheet showing a Lawrence Weiner statement instruction for a work exhibited at Stalke in 1988.
Catalogue page 33 from Concept Art (1989), featuring Lawrence Weiner’s statement rendered in English, German, French, and Danish.