Henrik Have
Stalke Project
Nørregade 7, Copenhagen
November-December 1987
Henrik Have
Henrik Have's art has never been easily accessible. It invites deep contemplation. Then, when one engages with it, it is not easy to let go. Confronted with his art, one is struck by the works' immediate presence and fascination, their beauty, and their concentrated energy, intuitively giving the impression that a message is being conveyed. The incentive for the viewer lies, among other things, in the effort to decipher it.
The expression and content of the images cannot be confined to a single style or a specific artistic tradition. Nor can the pictorial elements be tied to a specific historical period. The foundation is a German/Western European cultural heritage, but this should be understood in a very broad sense.
Henrik Have's art never sets out to "depict" already occurred events, specific individuals, statistical scenarios, or, generally speaking, traditional motifs, even when his imagery becomes motive-referential. Rather, it is the "extension" of these frameworks, the development of something new — images never seen before, creating connections and reflections across time, space, and manner.
Henrik Have's exhibition at Stalke Galleri in 1987 was the subject of extensive coverage in the Danish press and was noted as a significant reflection and repositioning of his practice within the contemporary art context.
In Politiken on 16 and 17 November 1987, Gunnar Jespersen wrote several articles, including a portrait and an art review, focusing on Henrik Have’s life, background, and artistic development. The coverage highlighted the tension between the mysterious and the sensuous in his works, as well as Have’s unique visual language, where painting, signs, symbolism, and experience merge. The articles placed Have within both avant-garde traditions and a more personal, experience-based practice.
The exhibition was also mentioned in Jyllands-Posten, where Henrik Have's work was presented in relation to his life in Western Jutland and his movement between painting, graphic art, and literature. The coverage emphasized his artistic method, his use of fragments, signs, and layered structures, as well as the connection between lived experience and visual expression.
Overall, the press coverage documents how Henrik Have’s exhibition at Stalke Galleri in 1987 was integrated into the contemporary critical art discourse. The reviews point to key themes in his practice and contribute to placing the exhibition within the artistic discussions of the time. The articles address the artist's practice and the themes of the exhibition, and can be accessed in the respective newspaper archives.
