Lars Bent Petersen
Stalke Galleri
Vesterbrogade 14A
6.2. to 3.3.1998
Regarding his exhibition, Lars Bent Petersen stated:
“Some of the central concepts I had been working with for many years were the notions of ‘Artist’ and ‘Artworks.’ I had approached them in an initiatory way, as something open-ended, where no consensus existed about what should be considered significant.
It may have seemed somewhat tiresome to be repeatedly drawn into this discussion, but it remained an unavoidable premise for all art production that one must stay critical of these concepts. This included the surrounding ‘frame,’ both physically and in terms of ideology, socio-political, and economic aspects.
In his new works, Petersen attempted to produce and visualize, among other things, ‘handcrafted objects,’ based on the assumption that a paradox existed between a critical stance toward concepts such as ‘the artist,’ ‘the artist’s role,’ ‘the object,’ ‘the artwork,’ and ‘the frame’ surrounding art production—and the necessity of contemplating this condition while simultaneously producing the object.”
In a review published in Jyllands-Posten, Lars Bent Petersen’s exhibition at Galleri Stalke was described as a conceptual gesture that directly involved the audience in reflections on the value of art and systems of payment. The reviewer highlighted the work Pay What You Want as an examination of conscience, responsibility, and the institutional frameworks of art, in which the viewer was required to decide for themselves what the experience was worth.
The exhibition was positioned within Petersen’s ongoing engagement with conceptual art and his interest in the economic and ideological conditions of artistic production, rather than in traditional aesthetic criteria. The approach was characterized as simple yet thought-provoking, shifting attention from the art object itself to the social and mental processes surrounding the encounter with art.
— Louise Reseke, Jyllands-Posten, February 23, 1998