Unconventional Contemporary Art at Galleri Stalke

"UPDATE 2007"

Shows both the peculiar, the absurd, the beautiful, and the overlooked.

Kirke Sonnerup: Galleri Stalke presents the exhibition "UPDATE 2007" on March 10.

Nine different artists are brought together. They come from diverse positions and approaches, rooted in a multifaceted and varied expression.

Several of the invited artists live far from Denmark, in places such as Vietnam, Berlin, London, and Iceland.

Nevertheless, there is a connection—a vocabulary to explore, an alchemy to ignite, or something that can tie the invited artists together.

The exhibition project can be seen as a snapshot with a range of parameters that span from the poetic, atmospheric, and personal to a premise that cannot be described in simple terms but rather with words such as unconventional, peculiar, strange, ugly, absurd, ridiculous, and absurd. It might also include the profane, irritating, quiet, fine, peripheral, or overlooked aspects.

The exhibition provides artists with an opportunity to present their latest projects or works in Galleri Stalke.

The title of the exhibition can be interpreted entirely freely. The idea is that diversity should create a dynamic and captivating exhibition away from the so-called mainstream and predictable.

UPDATE will become an annual recurring event under Stalke's direction in Kirke Sonnerup with changing themes and curators.

The participants in "UPDATE 2007" are Hans Peterson, Anne Bennike, Morten Tillitz, Frank Busk, Steinunn H. Sigurdardóttir, Hulda Vilhelmsdóttir, Thorgeir Steen Hansen, Kristifur Björnsson, and Jes Brinch.

They Showcase Diverse Underground Art

Stalke Gallery presents nine artists at Update 2007, who may become tomorrow's stars.

Kirke Sonnerup: A yellow dog made of 16,000 Lego bricks, long-nosed employees on an egg farm, and self-portraits in a pig pen.

This is just a small selection of the artworks that Stalke Gallery in Kirke Sonnerup is showcasing at the exhibition "Update," which opens this Saturday and is planned as an annual recurring event.

“Update is an attempt to provide insight into tomorrow’s potential stars. The exhibition tries to stay relevant and political without being politically correct,” says gallery owner Sam Jedig.

Dangerous Sofa Pieces

If you're looking for pleasant sofa pieces, you'll search in vain at this exhibition.

However, if you're curious and ready to explore the main veins of Danish art, you'll make new discoveries.

"Jes Brinch's works, for instance, would be considered dangerous sofa pieces. He has settled in Vietnam—almost in protest—because he views Denmark as a duck pond," informs Sam Jedig.

Brinch has chosen to paint people with very long noses. Some of them carry a gloomy expression on an egg farm, where the staff is nearly drowning in egg cartons, while the guilty cry brave tears in court. And then there's the contemplative ceramic figure, sitting and reading in a book with narrow-eyed, personal questions and challenges to his life.

The exhibition is far from a safe bet, featuring relatively unknown artists from Iceland, Vietnam, Berlin, London, and the local Morten Tillitz, who, together with Sam Jedig, is the curator of the exhibition.

Finger on the Pulse
Although he is a well-known and established figure in the Danish art world, Sam Jedig continues to keep his finger on the pulse of growth layers rather than relying on fixed contracts with the artists.

"I don't lock art into contracts, and that means I also miss out on some opportunities. But I think it works well this way. It's fantastic for me to break in again at a point when I was early on and organizing exhibitions with young talents," says the gallery owner.

He has, among other things, held an exhibition with Olafur Eliasson during the artist's rise to fame and stardom as he is known today.

"I think, as a gallery owner, one has an obligation to take initiatives," says Sam Jedig.

Inviting Everyone
Even though the internet has made geography less decisive for the art world, Stalke Gallery has struggled to draw a larger audience through its doors in Kirke Sonnerup.

People from Copenhagen find it too far to travel, and the locals have a certain reluctance to engage, according to Sam Jedig.

Therefore, he sent his children around to all households in Kirke Sonnerup with a personal invitation to the opening.

"It would be great if the locals realized that the gallery is a gift. They don’t have to go to Copenhagen to see new art. It’s right here," says Morten Tillitz enthusiastically.

The gallery owner finds it an interesting combination to be both an artist and a curator. "It allows me to play at many levels," he says.

"A few years ago, it was almost forbidden to draw large stomachs and thick thighs in art, questioning why we never grow up. For me, it's a coded creativity. It’s important that, as a gallery owner, you push artists to find their own position. But it’s about daring to push boundaries," notes Sam Jedig.

By the way, Jes Brinch has never painted people with such long noses before.

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