COLLAGE

Collage

Poul Lillesøe, Arthur Köpcke, Erik Dietman, Henrik Pryds Beck, and Albert Mertz

Stalke Galleri / Kirke Sonnerup was pleased to present the exhibition Collage, bringing together five artists who had each explored and cultivated the many possibilities of collage from the 1960s to the present.

Poul Lillesøe presented a diverse artistic production that he had developed over many years, including through his involvement with the artist association PRO. His practice was driven by imagination and creativity, which he described as “everything that pours out through my hands.” His aim was to keep the process as direct and simple as possible, demonstrating life’s strength and resilience, with art functioning as an active force.

Arthur Köpcke was one of the most significant representatives of the Fluxus movement. His work consistently challenged reality through contrasts between the banal and the absurd, often resulting in compositions that took the form of visual or conceptual rebuses.

Erik Dietman worked with words and concepts that critically addressed both society and conventional perceptions of art. His practice incorporated a wide range of materials—newspaper images, waste, fabric, photographs, and found objects—forming what he described as “guarded passages”: images and spaces that expanded the viewer’s awareness.

Henrik Pryds Beck, a former student of Arthur Köpcke and active around Gallery 38, similarly pursued collage through an experimental approach. His contribution to the exhibition functioned as a form of “pro retro,” spanning several decades and emphasizing the potential that emerged once an idea had fully matured. His works consistently revealed a conceptual foundation, manifested through a constructive reflection expressed in painterly form.

Albert Mertz continued to explore and challenge art until the very end of his life. His artistic activity unfolded across genres and media, resulting in an extensive body of montages, gouaches, paintings, and collages, alongside a significant collection of texts and notes. An exhibition curated by Peter Holst Henckel, Mertz+, had recently been presented at Stalke Galleri, highlighting new facets of his production. The exhibition’s focus was closely aligned with Mertz’s view that art was not bound to a specific form or object, but was defined by the effect it had on the viewer.

The opening

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