10 Years In Stalke Galleri, Part 1,
Lawrence Weiner, William Anastasi, Les Levine, Dove Bradshaw, Finn Reinbothe, Klaus Jorn, Torben Ebbesen, Per Bak Jensen, Thorbjørn Lausten, Gunnar Örn, Albert Mertz, Henrik Have, Stefan Caltia, Ole Broager, Jesper Christiansen, Thomas Bang, Marianne Hesselbjerg, Freddie Holm Nikolajsen, Finn Reinbothe, Giancarlo Savino, Ian Schjals, Margrethe Sørensen,
10 year In Stalke Galleri, part 2
Thorbjørn Bechmann, Flemming Brusgaard, Lars Buchardt, Olafur Eliasson, Michael Elmgreen, Nils Erik Gjerdevik, Peter Holst Henckel, Tine Haurum, Thilo Heizmann, Ulrik Heltoft, Henrik S. Holck, kristian Hornsleth, Frans Jacobi, Joachim Koester, Eva Larssom, Ann Kristin Lislegaard, Lars Mathisen, Peter Neuchs, Morten Nielsen, Kaj Nyborg, Jean Francois Octave, Henrik Olesen, Manfred Pernice, Lars Bent Petersen, Hans Peterson, Tal R, Nikolaj Recke, Gunter Reski, Peter Røssell, Anika Ström, Klaus Thejl, Sam Jedig, Per Traasdahl,
Ivar Tønsberg,
Stalke Galleri, Vesterbrogade 14A
1997-1998
Press Release
Stalke Gallery - 10th Anniversary Exhibition
Between 1987-1997, Stalke Gallery arranged over 100 exhibitions and projects.
This decade is celebrated with two comprehensive exhibitions, the first beginning on Friday, November 21.
Looking back at Stalke's first 10 years, the focus was very much on conceptual art, with exhibitions featuring international artists such as Lawrence Weiner, Joseph Kosuth, Les Levine, and William Anastasi.
From the Danish art scene, Stalke was fortunate to work with artists such as Thomas Bang, Torben Ebbesen, Margrete Sørensen, Thorbjørn Lausten, and many others, whose works will also be displayed at Stalke’s extensive exhibition opening on Friday, November 21,.
In the late 1980s, Stalke began collaborating with a younger generation of artists. Lars Bent Petersen, Olafur Eliasson, Peter Rössell, Ann Kristin Lislegaard, Joachim Koester, Peter Neusch, Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen, and Peter Holst Henkel were among the artists that Stalke chose to exhibit.
Today, Stalke Gallery works with multiple generations: Frans Jacobi, Torben Ebbesen, Per Bak Jensen, Olafur Eliasson, Thorbjørn Lausten, William Anastasi, Nils Erik Gjerdevik, Lars Bent Petersen, Lars Mathisen, and Margrete Sørensen form part of the core artists in the gallery.
Artists Represented at the Opening on November 21, 1997
William Anastasi, Thomas Bang, Dove Bradshaw, Ole Broager, Stefan Caltia, Jesper Christiansen, Chuck Collings, Torben Ebbesen, Osmund Hansen, Henrik Have, Marianne Hesselbjerg, Per Bak Jensen, Klaus Jom, Thorbjørn Lausten, Les Levin, Albert Mertz, Freddie Holm Nikolajsen, Finn Reinbothe, Giancarlo Savino, Ian Schjals, Margrete Sørensen, Lawrence Weiner, Gunnar Örn
Artists Represented at the Opening on January 9, 1998
Thorbjørn Beckmann, Flemming Brusgaard, Lars Buchardt, Olafur Eliasson, Michael Elmgreen, Nils Erik Gjerdevik, Tine Haurum, Thilo Heinzmann, Ulrik Heltoft, Peter Holst Henckel, Susan Hinnum, Henrik S. Holck, Kristian Homsleth, Sam Jedig, Frans Jacobi, Joachim Koester, Eva Larsson, Ann Kristin Lislegaard, Lars Mathisen, Peter Neuchs, Morten Nielsen, Kaj Nyborg, Jean-Francois Octave, Henrik Olesen, Manfred Pernice, Lars Bent Petersen, Hans Petersson, Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen, Tal R., Nikolaj Recke, Gunter Reski, Peter Rössell, Annika Ström, Klaus Thejll, Per Traasdahl, Ivar Tonsberg.
Part 1
History by Sam Jedig
10 Years at Stalke Gallery
Stalke Gallery is celebrating its first 10 years by showcasing a selection of artists who have collaborated with Stalke during this period.
The event will be marked by two major exhibitions:
- The first exhibition will primarily revisit the artists exhibited by Stalke during the period 1987-91.
- The second exhibition, opening on January 9, 1998, will showcase the younger generation of artists that Stalke began working with in 1989.
Stalke Gallery was founded in the fall of 1987 and has since held over 100 different exhibitions. Stalke has been characterized by four different activity areas: Stalke Gallery, Stalke Project, Stalke Art Trade, and Stalke Out Of Space.
A little retrospective on Stalke will also have its place.
In 1986, Joachim Rothenborg had an exhibition at Gallery Jedig, which during the period 1982-87 was located at Admiralgade.
At this time, Joachim Rothenborg was at the School of Visual Art in New York, which led to the exhibition "New York in Copenhagen." This exhibition showcased works by young New York artists.
Joachim Rothenborg and I subsequently agreed that the time was right to create an entirely new gallery project.
At that time, Copenhagen had only a handful of good galleries, and we soon agreed to create a gallery space where the focus would be on making Danish art more international while also inviting foreign artists to Denmark.
The gallery was to be named "Stalke" after Tarkovsky's film "Stalker" (1980). The film's title character, Stalker, the wanderer, symbolizes the free space between worlds.
The first exhibition program was announced, and some of the artists associated with Stalke were: Torben Ebbesen, Thorbjørn Lausten, Thomas Bang, Henrik Have, Mogens Møller, Dorte Dahlin, Margrete Sørensen, and Osmund Hansen.
From New York, Stalke also introduced artists such as William Anastasi, Lawrence Weiner, and Michael Goldberg, thereby establishing contact with the Danish art audience.
Jean-François Octave from Belgium, following his participation in the Venice Biennale the previous year, became one of the European artists we also began to work with.
Conceptual Art and Minimal Art flourished again in the late 1980s on the art scene, and this was where Stalke focused its efforts. The introduction of these directions in Denmark was linked to a close circle of Danish artists who could find an overarching commonality in Stalke Gallery, which together helped give the gallery its profile.
At Stalke, attention was drawn to the lack of visibility of Danish art abroad, and it was decided to begin participating in international art fairs in Europe. Examples include Art Cologne, Art Frankfurt, and Hamburg KunstForum, which at the time were some of the leading art fairs in Europe.
Among several significant exhibitions, one of the first was the pleasure of opening with a project by Lawrence Weiner in collaboration with Albert Mertz, followed by exhibitions by Torben Ebbesen, Thomas Bang, Thorbjørn Lausten, Margrete Sørensen, Alpo Kakola, and William Anastasi.
Due to the upswing and the great attention Stalke received, it was decided to move to larger and better premises at Vesterbrogade 15.
After four months of renovating 600 square meters of gallery space, it was set up to be one of the most interesting gallery projects in years.
During the same period, 1989-1990, Stalke also held larger exhibitions with artists partially connected to the 1980s generation.
This includes exhibitions featuring, among others: Henrik B. Andersen, Nina Sten-Knudsen, and Per Bak Jensen.
At the same time, we participated with great success in Hamburg Kunstforum, where we had the pleasure of presenting a solo project by Lawrence Weiner.
In 1990, the gallery expanded with Stalke Out Of Space. Outside the traditional confines of the gallery, we were able to address the current situation of art in a more consistent way.
With Stalke Out Of Space, we aimed to meet the art's need for unconventional exhibition spaces as well as for innovative promotion.
Several galleries worldwide realized during these years that the "exhibition space" and thus its form needed to adapt to keep up with the diversity of artistic expression. Among these galleries, an example is Galerie Daniel Buchholz in Cologne.
In the winter of 1990-91, Stalke held the exhibition Tilbageblik ("Retrospective"). An exhibition that would mark the beginning of the Stalke Out Of Space concept.
With real carpets, prism chandeliers, mahogany desks, and old lamps, the exhibition space was transformed into one large installation. The works were hung together, in the manner of old salon hangings, with the artists' works interwoven from floor to ceiling.
One of the significant projects during the period 1991-93 was Paradise Europe, which became a collaboration with Biz Art.
Paradise Europe was a project involving several international galleries from New York, Rome, and Cologne. Stalke participated with Olafur Eliasson, Lars Bent Petersen, Michael Elmgreen, and Henrik Olesen.
Another project with Stalke Out Of Space was at the Stockholm Art Fair in March 1991. Here, artists from Baggusetcreated a challenging installation where the exhibition space itself was integrated into the artistic practice.
The following artists from Bagguset participated: Jes Brinch, Peter Holst Henckel, Joachim Koester, Peter Neuchs, Lars Bent Petersen, Peter Rössell, and Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen.
Additionally, Olafur Eliasson, Elmgreen/Olesen, Christine Melchiors, and Eva Larsson participated.
The project likewise became an important signal for many of Stalke's future activities.
Stalke Art Trade and Showroom subsequently found their place in smaller spaces, while Stalke Out Of Space expanded outward.
It was a very inspiring period where a blossoming could be seen in the young art generation.
Stalke thus had the pleasure of once again placing itself centrally in the art debate.
Other Stalke Out Of Space projects during this period included 17:00 CET with Lars Bent Petersen, Ann Kristin Lislegaard, Olafur Eliasson, Christine Melchiors, Elmgreen/Olesen, and Joachim Koester.
At Art Cologne, we presented Torben Ebbesen and William Anastasi.
Another project, which was initiated, took place at Gammeldok. It was a project by Chuck Collings from the USA
At Stalke Art Trade, exhibitions included works by Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen and William Anastasi, the latter with his highly insistent and original project: I OWN WAR.
In the period 1994-1995, there arose a need to expand Stalke's permanent gallery space, which resulted in new premises totaling 500 square meters on the other side of Vesterbrogade.
After three months of intensive restoration work, the new space was ready, and in February 1994, all of Stalke's activities were gathered under one roof. During this period, Camilla Rohde began working at the gallery.
Olafur Eliasson and Lars Bent Petersen soon held their first solo exhibitions in the new exhibition space.
After following Stalke's development for a long time, both in visual art and painting, Kim Bendixen decided to invest his energy in the gallery, and exhibitions were subsequently planned with, among others, Nils Erik Gjerdevik, Frans Jacobi, Lars Mathisen, Torben Ebbesen, and Margrete Sørensen.
In January 1996, the Stalke exhibition Coming Up was launched. Once again, an exhibition that provided an interesting "break" in a longer series of exhibitions.
A selection of the already established 1990s generation, whom Stalke had exhibited before, were invited to each select a younger or contemporaneous artist. Not as an attempt to define the impossible, but rather to show the audience what visual art might point toward in the near future.
William Anastasi, who had collaborated with Stalke for the entire 10 years, held his largest European exhibition in 1996. This occurred through a collaboration between Galleri Anders Tornsberg in Sweden and Stalke Gallery. The exhibition featured works from the period 1964-1996.
In 1996, Stalke, in collaboration with Galleri Specta, participated in Art Cologne, providing Peter Røssell with his largest solo presentation outside of Denmark. The same year saw another "younger" project, this time featuring selected artists from Galleri NEU in Berlin.
In 1997, Stalke went to Stockholm and participated in that year's Art Fair with Nils Erik Gjerdevik.
The next international art event in 1997 brought Stalke Gallery to Art Forum Berlin, in collaboration with Frans Jacobiand Nils Erik Gjerdevik, for a joint project.
Now we are approaching 1998, and before we dive into the future, it is a pleasure to thank the many who have brought inspiration and creativity to the gallery.
Many exhibitions and projects have made it interesting to look back, and our collaboration with artists from different generations has provided unique opportunities for insight into artistic development.
Unfortunately, it has not been possible to mention all exhibitions, projects, and names in the above text.
Therefore, the names of all the artists who, to date, have exhibited or participated in Stalke's projects can be found on the last pages of the catalog.
Part 2
"Surf, Art, and Cash"
The highly regarded Copenhagen-based Stalke Gallery, which has alternated between being closed and open, marks its 10th anniversary with an exhibition today. Gallery owner Sam Jedig explains why, at times, it is most interesting to run a closed gallery.
By Torben Weirup
The Copenhagen gallery Stalke began the first half of its 10-year anniversary celebration.
This is happening with artists like Thomas Bang, Margrete Sørensen, Henrik Have, Marianne Hesselbjerg, Thorbjørn Lausten, Torben Ebbesen, Finn Reinbothe, Per Bak Jensen, and the late Osmund Hansen. They and a number of other emerging talents represent the early years of the gallery.
Following this — as of January 9th — comes a showcase of young talents that Stalke Gallery works with today. Among the names are Olafur Eliasson, Peter Holst Henckel, Susan Hinnum, Peter Neuchs, Peter Røssell, Lars Bent Petersen, Ivar Tønsberg, Annika Ström, and Joachim Koester.
For ten years, Sam Jedig, who calls himself the artist, surfer, and gallery owner, has led a gallery with a shifting existence. The gallery’s history is essentially the story being marked today. After a start in the great wide world, the then 22-year-old Sam Jedig opened a small gallery in Admiralgade in the center of Copenhagen in 1982. It was not the best artists who filled the gallery with their works and the opening wine with their presence in those cool basement rooms. After five years, Sam Jedig grew tired of the critics’ boycott, closed the gallery, fired the 65 artists he represented, and sold off.
For several years, he had been in dialogue with the painter Joachim Rothenborg, who had been abroad. Together, they began showcasing American conceptual art — names like William Anastasi, Lawrence Weiner, and Michael Goldberg — along with a range of leading Danish artists such as Torben Ebbesen, Henrik Have, Thorbjørn Lausten, Thomas Bang, Mogens Møller, Dorte Dahlin, Margrete Sørensen, and Osmund Hansen.
He named the gallery Stalke, as both Jedig and Rothenborg were fascinated by the Russian director Tarkovsky’s film of the same name. The title “Stalker”, which can be translated as wanderer, was adapted but retained a Danish spelling.
It went quite well for the highly regarded gallery, in the sense that of the approximately 1,000 visitors who came to each exhibition, about seven were artists and two were museum professionals. As Sam Jedig put it in an interview with Berlingske Tidende, which some of the critics loved to call candid:
“I smoked 40 cigarettes and had a hangover every day.”
Whether there’s more to say about that remains unclear. What is certain is that Sam Jedig five years ago began heading in a different direction. He cut back his activities, refined his technique, and worked more effectively.
As a surfer, he played some badminton, and when he couldn’t do that, it was because the art world had piqued his interest in a way that Sam Jedig describes as making it most interesting not to have a gallery. He closed his premises and ran his business from a back room. “I tell you this:
‘The traditional galleries have had the greatest difficulty with presenting 90s art. That sounded relatively simple, but some of the best conceptual projects, such as billboards or international exhibitions abroad, require a gallery that can handle long-term development projects and act as a solid backup for the artists.’
So, is that what traditional galleries do?
‘Yes, but they focus on the safe. They have created a strong market of established artists — and sell them. Conceptual and experimental art seems uncertain. It doesn’t touch their market.’
What about you — are you an idealist?
‘I’m a businessman, but I’m fortunate that I can work with what interests me. The business is about precision. One gets better at something the more talented people one surrounds oneself with, and you simply have to make sure that it happens. You have to nurture the soil. You can’t just sit there thinking you’ve planted a tree.’
At one point, it became just as interesting to have a gallery with regular opening hours and changing exhibitions. This happened around 1994 when Sam Jedig saw the market shifting its focus significantly.
‘I also decided that there is still room for a couple of good galleries in Copenhagen that can present 90s art.’
Do you now exclusively include yourself in the ranks of good Copenhagen galleries? Which others could you name, who, unlike yourself, haven’t left their mark yet?
‘Besides me? There’s Nicolai Wallner, Michael Andersen, and of course Else Johannessen Specta, along with Susanne Ottesen and Patricia Asbæk. They could definitely achieve more, and I believe that upcoming galleries will need to be run by innovative and professional people who care about the artists. Artist-driven galleries won’t do it.’
You’ve placed your gallery on Vesterbrogade and not in Bredgade, where several other galleries are located. Why is that?
‘It’s because I wanted to be near the Strøg customers who live nearby. But that no longer applies now. So it happens that we’re on Vesterbro. It’s a dynamic district, chaotic, exotic — an area that’s moving upwards.’
And the future, Sam Jedig?
‘The future is bright. I’ve gotten a good partner in Kim Bendixen. The market is good. The 30-40-year-olds are getting more and more wealthy. I believe that in the 90s, art will enjoy the benefit that more artists are working in several mediums at the same time. And I’m still only 34. If I stay healthy, run a gallery in Copenhagen, and cultivate my interests, I’ll probably keep doing it until I’m 60.’
Berlingske 21.11.1997
REVIEW:
A Colorful Kaleidoscope
Gallery Stalke on Vesterbrogade in Copenhagen can celebrate its 10th anniversary, as Torben Weirup has previously written in the newspaper. After the first anniversary exhibition, where established artists associated with the gallery exhibited, it is now time for a tour of the young generation.
The old exhibition group, Bagguset, consists of seven members, six of whom are part of this Stalke show: Peter Holst Henckel, Peter Neuchs, Peter Røssell, Lars Bent Petersen, Christian Schmidt Rasmussen, and Joachim Koester.
Furthermore, names like Yrr Jónsdóttir, Annika Ström, Olafur Eliasson, Eva Larsson, Lars Buchardt, Tróndur Patursson, Frans Jacobi, Nils Erik Gjerdevik, Ann Kristin Lislegaard, and many others are featured. Over the past ten years, Stalke Gallery has built a network with many successful European artists, including Manfred Pernice, Thilo Heinzmann, Katharina Wulff, and Gunther Reski.
The exhibition is a colorful kaleidoscope that seeks to reflect the diversity of Stalke Gallery. New and older works complement each other, primarily in the form of drawings and paintings.
Higher Market Values
Among the works, Lars Bent Petersen's lyrical pastiche stands out. Susan Hinnum continues to defy market forces and explores identity and sexuality in a short but intense video, where she modernizes the eternal connection between the artist and the prostitute.
On the cover, one sees Hinnum in the backseat of a taxi alongside porn star Sarah Young. A restless, slightly dazed Young sits nervously on one side, her chest bizarrely thrust up and exposed. She says nothing and stares out the window. After a brief drive, Young gets out and asks Hinnum to borrow her jacket. Hinnum hands it over and drives on. A sense of solidarity arises between these two women, the artist and the porn star.
Inside the artist’s jacket, the porn star now hides. Anyone who visits can, after pumping their breasts under the fabric, see Young as a person.
In Closing
By the way, one might wonder why the exhibition does not feature more female artists. It is worth noting that there is no explicit curatorial statement here; instead, visitors discover an artist’s union that includes individualistic contributions worthy of attention.
Anniversary Exhibition
Part 2, Stalke Gallery, Vesterbrogade 14 A, Copenhagen. Wednesday–Friday, 1–6 PM. Ends January 31. The gallery has issued an anniversary catalog, priced at 100 DKK.
By Mai Misfeldt
An Art Surfer Turns Ten
Stalke Gallery in Copenhagen celebrates its anniversary with two major exhibitions from the avant-garde's forefront.
Since the 1980s, Sam Jedig's gallery Stalke in Copenhagen has been one of the hottest spots in the city’s art scene. It was where Wallner appeared on Kongensgade and Alexander opened up on Pistolstræde.
Jedig himself surfed energetically through the international art scene and gathered everything from major international names to unknown Danish artists. Alongside these, he included emerging Danish talents, whom he gave a push forward through exhibitions. Loyalty was a cornerstone of his work.
The gallery owner wasn’t just a gallerist; he could almost call himself a gallery builder. He broke away from the more traditional gallery operation and focused on art fairs and as a director of special projects. In the meantime, he gained a partner, Kim Bendixen, and transitioned from being a collector to becoming a full-time gallerist.
Stalke Gallery was born in the fall of 1987 and has since hosted over 100 exhibitions. Jedig paved the way as early as 1982 with Gallery Jedig on Admiral Street.
The American Connection
In 1986, Joachim Rothenberg exhibited his works in the basement on Admiral Street. He had attended the School of Visual Art in New York and had connections in the New York art scene. This led to a series of exhibitions with a range of New York artists in the late '80s, marking Jedig's serious entry into the international art scene
The next step was the new gallery, Stalke (named after Tarkovsky’s film Stalker - Roadside Picnic). With this gallery, he exhibited artists such as Thorbjørn Lausten, Thomas Bang, Henrik Have, Mogens Møller, Dorte Dahlin, Margrethe Sørensen, and others. He also collaborated with several internationally renowned artists, including William Anastasi, Lawrence Weiner, and Michael Goldberg.
Conceptual art and minimalism flourished at Stalke, which became one of the leading venues in the country. At the same time, the gallery expanded its reach through major exhibitions abroad and participation in international art fairs. At one of Stalke's largest projects in the new space, "Concept Art," artists such as Marcel Broodthaers, Joseph Kosuth, Les Levine, Lawrence Weiner, William Anastasi, and Yutaka Matsuzawa participated. In the late '80s, Jedig made contact with figures from the Baggage people—Lars Bent Petersen, Peter Rössell, Peter Houl Henningsen, and Joachim Koester. He brought several of the strongest innovators of the '80s together.
10 Years of Uncompromising Work
Abroad, artists such as Torben Ebbesen, Lars Bent Petersen, Frans Jacobi, Henrik Olesen, and Olafur Eliasson were presented. But the conceptual front was never compromised: the expressive Nils Erik Gjerdevik, the abstract Osmund Hansen, and the quiet observer Per Bak Jensen are part of the gallery’s family album.
The 10th-anniversary celebration, as uncompromising as ever, started on January 9 with a grand exhibition of Danish and international artists. In February, it was Lars Bent Petersen’s turn. And from now until April 4, Torben Ebbesen, Margrete Sørensen, William Anastasi, and Dove Bradshaw can be seen at the venue on Vesterbrogade.
Not for the faint-hearted.
By Ole Lindboe
