ART COLLECTIONOF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

DENMARK

Gunnar MØLLER - Alienated globe

This brochure was created for the exhibition of the Danish works of art in the European Parliament in Brussels on the occasion of the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and it is for internal use only.

The exhibition is organised by Works of Art Service, DG COMM; in cooperation with the office of Lidia Joanna Geringer de Oedenberg, Quaestor responsible for artistic and cultural affairs in the European Parliament.

Printed in the European Parliament in Luxembourg (December 2011)

PREFACE

Scientifi c, philosophical and artistic currents have infl uenced and enriched our European culture over the centuries, laying down a common heritage for the many cultures of today’s European Union. Culture is thus integral part of our common roots and at the same time of our present European identity.

In committing ourselves to the respect and recognition of national and regional diversity, our aim is to provide a platform for cultural expression to develop and to become more widely known.

The European Parliament promotes the idea of a pluralist Europe with various initiatives. One of them is the acquisition of works of art from artists of our Member States. These exhibitions are now a longstanding tradition and I think they make our buildings much livelier.

This semester’s exhibition presents works of art of Danish artists as Denmark is assuming the Presidency of the EU Council. It is therefore an honour and a pleasure to me to invite you to get involved more closely with this country through these unique and wonderful artistic works presented today.

Jerzy BuzekPresident of the European Parliament

PREFACE

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Almost two years ago the European Parliament’s Artistic Committee, which I have the honor of chairing, decided to display temporary exhibitions with works of art purchased from the Member States holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

In January 2011 we inaugurated the first rotating exhibition with works of art works from Hungary. Later the exhibition displayed works of art from Poland, and until 1 July, 2012 it will exhibit art from Denmark.

The current catalogue was created on this particular occasion to offer a glimpse into Denmark’s vivid culture as demonstrated by these unique 14 works of art, purchased by the European Parliament in 1983 and 1990.

These works are fragment of a larger collection consisting of over 500 works of art acquired by the European Parliament or received as donations from its Member States.

Not only do these exhibits add a colourful dimension to our daily work, but also they offer young artists from all Member States the opportunity to present their talent and promote their works.

I kindly welcome you to visit and enjoy the exhibition.

Lidia Geringer de OedenbergMember of the European Parliament’s (EP) BureauQuaestor with responsibility for artistic events in the European ParliamentChairwoman of the Artistic Committee in the European Parliament

Margrethe AGGERPeter BRANDESJette BRØNNUM

Dorte DAHLINBerit HEGGENHOUGEN-JENSEN

Nanna HERTOFTBentemarie KJELDBAEK

Gunnar MØLLERLene Adler PETERSEN

Ole SPORRINGHerman STILLING

Margrethe AGGER

Born on 13 of August 1943 in Copenhagen.

Education

She studied at the Danish School of Art and Design, Copenhagen between 1962 and 1966 and later worked with Astrid and Norbert Kahn in Gentofte. In 1972 she joined the artists’ group M-59 and since 1976 has been a member of the Artists’ Association. She later joined the Artists’ Society (1978) and in the 1990s the art groups Stokrosenbanden (1990), Billedsprog I Billedvaev (1993) and Huset I Asnaes (1999).

Career

She has received a number of honours and grants among which are the Handcraft Annual Prize (1972), the Danish Arts Foundation Working Grant (1972, 1977, 1986 and 2001), The Danish National Bank’s Jubilee Fund (1968 and 1977), the Henry Heerup’s Grant (19881 and 1988), the Danish-Faroese Cultural Foundation (1989), the Danish Contemporary Art Foundation (1998), the Supreme Court Lawyer David Fund for Relatives and Friends (1990) and the Craft Artist of the Year in West Zealand County (2003). In addition to a large number of exhibitions all over Denmark, Margarethe Agger has exhibited in France, Austria, Iceland, Norway and the United States. Her works can be found in The Danish Arts Foundation, The New Carlsberg Foundation, The Danish Museum of Decorative Art, The City of Copenhagen Cultural Fund.

Two Geese198386 x 69 cm

Jette BRØNNUM

Born in 1943, lives and works in Copenhagen.

Education and career

She studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and opened her own weaving workshop in 1973. Together with Margrethe Agger, Nanna Hertof, Annette Jersild, Helle Kaastrup-Olsen and Kim Naver, she is considered one of the most influential contemporary Danish textile artists. The subject-matter of her tapestries is often representative of a combination of reality and dream, with colors that are always finely tuned. During her career she has received numerous prizes and awards and has exhibited widely in Denmark. Her works can be seen in private and public collections in Denmark and abroad such as the Care Centre Hørgården, Copenhagen, the Korsvejssk, Sabro, the Röhsska Museum, Gothenburg, the Östergötland County Council, the Aarhus Art Galleries and the Nordic Bank, London.

The cloud in the sky1983200 x 190 cm

Peter BRANDES

Born in 1944 in Assens.

Education

Peter Brandes, painter, sculptor, ceramist and photographer, is a self-taught artist and draws inspiration for his works from ancient Greek art, mythology and the Bible. In Scandinavia he is considered one of Denmark’s leading artists.

Career

Among his most important commissions are the works for the Rosklide Domkirke, the glass mosaic widows for the Vejlå Church in Ishøj, the Village of Hope church in Los Angeles, a sculpture for the Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem and the windows for the Northern Light cathedral in Alta/North Cape. For Village of Hope Brandes has also created a silver alter in collaboration with artist Per Sax Møller. Brandes has also illustrated a number of books, amongst which Homer’s Iliad and has participated in many solo and group exhibitions both in Denmark and Israel.

His works can be found in numerous private and public collections in Denmark such as the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Danish Museum of Art & Design, Vejle Kunstmuseum, Kunstmuseet Trapholt, Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum, Horsens Kunstmuseum, Randers Kunstmuseum, Sønderjyllands Kunstmuseum, ,kovgaard museum,, Funen’s Art Museum and Danmarks Keramikmuseum - Grimmerhus. He currently lives between Paris (where he uses Asger Jorn’s old studio), Ireland and Denmark.

Before Naxos After1983157 x 116,5 cm

Dorte DAHLIN

Born in 1955, lives and works in Copenhagen.

Education

Dorte Dahlin, visual artist, founder and general co-ordinator of Nomad Academy Copenhagen. She was educated at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts between 1978 and 1982 and became one of the central figures in the break-through of New Image/Wild Painting in Denmark. The past 10 years she has been working in the field of site-specific art, sculpting in public spaces in all aspects of the word.

CareerIn 1992 Dorte Dahlin worked as an Assistant Professor for architect Daniel Libeskind during the workshop “An Observatory of Premonition” at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, touching the future of Copenhagen. Dahlin was a member of the Committee for Art in Public Space (dealing with art, democracy and the public space) within the Royal Academy Council between 1996 and 2000.As a transnational cultural player and developer, Dorte Dahlin participated and initiated several projects. Dahlin curated and participated in the major cultural event Overlaps North-Southeast, at the Sharjah Art Museum, United Arab Emirates, in 2000. This led to Dahlin becoming an official Danish curator and provided the opportunity to introduce ‘Superflex’ by Moonchannel; an internet based tv-studio at the Sharjah V. International Biennial, 2001. These projects compelled the Danish Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture, to draw up a cultural exchange project between Denmark and Sharjah, later named the NOMAD ACADEMY. The project headed by Dorte Dahlin and former Rector, Dr. Phil, Else Marie Bukdahl, and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. NOMAD ACADEMY is at the moment being widened to include also branches in Island, China and Spain. She is represented in many Danish art museums and in private collections and has received several grants.

Without title1990120 x 200 cm

Berit HEGGENHOUGEN-JENSEN

Born in 1956, lives between Paris and Copenhagen.

Education

Berit Heggenhougen Jensen studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen (1982-1990) and at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris (1999-2004).

Career

During her career as an artist-researcher she has received numerous prizes and awards and her works can be seen, among others, in the following public collections: West Zealand Museum of Art, Aarhus Kunstmuseum, North Jutland Art Museum, Herning Art Museum, National Gallery of Art, The National History Museum, Frederiksborg Castle, Hillerød, Randers Kunstmuseum, Birthe and Walter Ibsen Collection, Engravings Collection. In 1982 she participated in her first exhibition in Hellerup. In addition to numerous solo and group shows in Copenhagen and in Denmark, she has also exhibited in France, Norway, Sweden and the United States.

Without title19902 paintings, 140 x 95 cm each

Bentemarie KJELDBAEK

Born in 1952 in Harlev.

Education

She studied at the Arts and Crafts School in Copenhagen (1969-74) and subsequently at the Royal Danish Art Academy of Fine Arts between 1976 and 1982.

Career

During her career Bentemarie Kjeldbaek received numerous prizes and awards and started exhibiting in 1978 at the Charlottenborg Forårsudstilling. Her paintings consist of large surfaces of colour, which act as backgrounds for simple drawings and sketched contours of men, women and ordinary life. Often her inspiration comes from the market places and arenas of Spain. In addition to numerous shows in Copenhagen and in Denmark, the artist has exhibited in Paris, Helsinki and Edinburg. Her works can be seen in the collections of the Statens Museum for Kunst, the Kunstmuseet Trapholt, the Sønderjyllands Kunstmuseum and the Fuglsang Kunstmuseum.

Animals in the market199095 x 180 cm

Barcelona199095 x 180 cm

Nanna HERTOFT

Born in 1936.

Education

Nanna Hertof is considered one of the most important contemporary Nordic textile artists. Self-taught, her artistic debut was in 1960 in Copenhagen when she was selected for the Artist Autumn Exhibition. Since 1972 Hertof has been a member of the artists’ group KOLORISTERNE and has exhibited with them every year. She has been chairman of KOLORISTERNE since 1989.

Career

Nanna Hertof has received numerous prizes including the Eckersberg Medal in 1987, the Tagea Brandts Travelling Scholarship for Japan in 1991, the Ole Haslunds Artists Prize in 1993. She also received awards from the Anne Marie Telanyi born Carl Nielesen Fund in 1995, the Danmarks Nationalbank Jubilee Fund in 1968 and 1993, the State Art Foundation in 1979, 1986 and 1988 and the New Carlsberg Fund in 1999.

She has exhibited widely in Denmark and abroad and her works can be found in many public and private collections including the Museum of Decorative Arts in Copenhagen, the Danmarks Nationalbank, the Koge Arts Museum of Sketches and Drawings, the Trapholt Museum of Modern Art, Kolding, the Ry Folk High School, Ry, Jutland, the Municipality Oster Gotlands Lan (Sweden), the Rohsska Museum, Gothenburg (Sweden), the Eigtveds Pakhus, the Ministry of Foreing Affairs, Copenhagen, the High Court, Viborg, the Carlsberg Fund and the State Art Foundation, the Ronald McDonalds Childrens House, the University Hospital, Copenhagen, the Viborg cathedral School, the Tonder Grammar School and the Collezione Civica di Fiber Art, Chieri, Turin.

Red Fern1983205 x 140 cm

Gunnar MØLLER

Born in 1946, died in 1991.

Education

His interest in art started at a very early age. Between 1967 and 1972 he studied under Egill Jacobsen at the Art Academy in Copenhagen and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

Career

From 1969 he started travelling, and found a great source of inspiration for his works, first in Morocco, Algeria, France and Italy (1969-1971), then in the Alps (1877), in Tanzania (1979) and finally in Greece (1982). Gunnar Møller was considered one of the most promising figures within the 1970’s-based artist group Violet Sol, and participated to many of their exhibitions before the group’s demise in 1988. He died in tragic circumstances in 1991.

Alienated globe1983110 x 110 cm

Lene Adler PETERSEN

Born in 1944 in Aarhus, lives in Frederiksberg.

EducationShe studied at the Schools of Fine Arts in Aarhus and Copenhagen between 1964 and 1969 and has been a member of Artist Association Comrades since 1995.

CareerAction artist, painter, illustrator and graphic artist, Lene Adler Pedersen is known in particular for the female Christ, 1969, when she walked naked through the Copenhagen stock exchange carrying a cross and “Horse Sacrifice» (1970), a joint work with Bjorn Norgaard, where he slaughtered a horse on a field in the north of Sealand and carved it up into small pieces which he then put into hundreds of jam jars. In the late 1960s she started using super 8 films and in 1968 funded, together with Norgaard and Per Kirkeby, ABCinema, a centre for experimenting with alternative imaging. At the same time she joined the experimental art school, Ex-school. Influenced by the German performance artist Joseph Beuys, together with Ursula Reuter Christiansen, Henning Christiansen and Nørgaard, she was involved in collaborative works and happenings where she found new ways to give artistic expression to the left-wing causes of the time. Several of these events are documented and processed on super 8 mm film.

In addition to numerous solo and group shows in Copenhagen and Denmark, her works have been exhibited in Switzerland, Germany, France and Brazil. Most of her performances have been staged in Denmark and her works can be found in major private and public Danish collections.

Without title The pictures gravitation 1982

122 x 122 cm

Without title The pictures letterdevil 1982

122 x 122 cm

Herman STILLING

Born in 1925 and died in 1996.

Education

Stilling trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts between 1945 and 1951 and made his debut as an artist in 1949. His first book, Troll book, was published in 1952.

Career

Hermann Stilling was a painter, printmaker and writer. He spent most of his life painting and writing about trolls. Stilling trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts between 1945 and 1951 and made his debut as an artist in 1949. His first book, Troll book, was published in 1952. Stilling’s imagery is characterized by the fabulous and fantastic, which is particularly reflected in his depictions of trolls, both in graphics, collage, painting and text. His trolls may seem ‘arty’ at first sight, but are closely related to both Asger Jorn’s and Lundbye’s Danish trolls. Another recurring motif in his works is a furniture leg, which he took up in early 1960, and also used in mosaic sculpture. His collages are often composed of torn scraps from old wallpaper books and forms in several cases based on abstract paintings.

He received numerous awards and prizes including the Victor B. Andersen Honorary Grant in 1984 and the Danish Teachers’ Prize in 1994. In 2003, an old horse stable in a corner of the Copenhagen Assistens cemetery was converted into a small museum devoted to his art.

Sun and two dwarves 197849,5 x 34,5 cm

Ole SPORRING

Born in 1941.

Education

He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen between 1961 and 1965 where he also taught between 1969 and 1971.

Career

Sporring’s public debut as an artist was in 1963 when he participated in the Youth Biennale in Paris and had his first solo show at the Clausens gallery in Copnehagen. He has been a member of several artists groups such as Koloristerne (1965-69), Pressing Gang (1970-1985) and Grønningen from 1972.

Ole Sporring received a number of grants and awards and exhibited widely both in Denmark and abroad. His works can be seen, among others, in the National Gallery of Art/ Engravings Collection, the Kastrupgårdsamlingen, the Moderna Museet Stockholm, The North Jutland Art Museum, the British Museum London, the Victoria and Albert Museum London, the Library of Congress Washington D.C., the Brüder Grimm Museum Kassel and the Museo de Arta Singeorz-Bai, Romania.

Among his publications are “Køresveden “ (1965), Grimms Eventyr” illustrated by Gyldendal (1995), “Vincent møder de tre små mænd” (1999), CR1+CR2 Brøndum (2000), “Krokodillen der var så grådig at den åd sig selv” with a text by Eske K. Mathiesen, Clausens Kunsthandel (2010) and “Niels Klims underjordiske rejse” with a text by L. Holberg, Forlaget Vandkunsten (to be published).

Five persons198350 x 70 cm

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