Stalke Out of Space Project #16

Et blink på 90érne

Olafur Eliasson, Kristian Hornsleth, Lars Bent Petersen, Hans Peterson, Ian Schjals, Peter Røssell, Nils Erik Gjerdevik, Tina Haurum, Fran Jacobi

Brantebjerg Kunsthall

August 1996

Avant-garde moves into Brantebjerg

This Saturday, August 10th, Galleri Brantebjerg in Nakke near Rørvig opens an extraordinary exhibition featuring ten young artists under the collective title "Directions and Trends in Young Art in the 90s". The opening reception will take place in the afternoon.

This exhibition gives the public an opportunity to experience the art being created right now by the younger, leading generation of artists. The common thread is versatility, ranging from great humor to profound seriousness, exploring new concepts of beauty. The works include painting, sculpture, installation, and photography.

The invited artists are characterized by their great courage, energy, and strength when it comes to advancing the field of art. Several of them are already well-established and frequently featured in museum contexts and galleries in major cities. Most are educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and are each striving to build an international career. They live and work in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, California, and Iceland.

The exhibiting artists are Olafur Eliasson, Nils Erik Gjerdevik, Tina Haurum, Kristian Hornsleth, Frans Jacobi, Kaj Nyborg, Lars Bent Petersen, Hans Petersson, Peter Røssel, and Ian Schjals. The exhibition is organized in collaboration with Stalke Kunsthandel in Copenhagen, known for its international network with young artists.

People often reject new art because they are skeptical or indifferent or simply because it does not fit the taste of the time. It evolves, as is well-known. Think of Van Gogh. No one cared for his paintings back then. Most found them ugly, and Van Gogh managed to sell only one painting during his lifetime, and that reluctantly as a gift. Today, 100 years later, it is hard to understand why. He lived during a transitional period with many new currents, much like the threshold to the next millennium we are facing now.

The collective term for new art may very well be chaos. No one knows in which direction it is heading compared to the first half of the 20th century, which was labeled with movements such as cubism, expressionism, surrealism, and constructivism. After that, art flourished. The most defining movement after this was pop art, led by Andy Warhol. Examples and developments of pop art are well-represented at Brantebjerg.

It will be exciting to see whether thick art books will one day be written about the ten professional artists exhibiting at Brantebjerg. Seize the opportunity, judge for yourself, and either confirm or deny the claims of chaos. One thing is certain: it will not be boring.

Galleri Brantebjerg is open daily.

Olafur Eliasson