Art in Denmark

A personal survey of contemporary art in Denmark by Derek Dey © November 2000

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INTRODUCTION; If one is raised in Scotland as I was, the word castle conjures up a vision of an ancient pile of battle weary, and foreboding rocks. So it comes as a surprise to find Castle Rosenborg (right) settled in the center of a city park and looking, for all the world, like some grand country house. Of course most of the Danish castles date from a later period and reflect Denmark's golden age, when tariffs from the sea passages to the Baltic, made her a wealthy state. Today she is a small collection of islands and peninsula lying to the north of Germany, However if any place in Europe were to be called a garden paradise this would be it. Moderate temperatures and substantial rainfall insure the land's fertility. When she is not green she is covered in fauna and flora over the length of her softly rolling landscape. Nowhere is the sea very distant either, often visible from both sides of a car window.

Copenhagen lies on the eastern shore of Sjaelland and looks over to Sweden, only a few miles away. For a major European city, Copenhagen retains a lot of parochial charm, one of the reasons living space is hard to come by these days. Within the city there are a lot of historical sites, museums, including the Statens Museum, and a gallery district, well sort off, around the palace and harbor area. Compared to say, Scottsdale, Laguna or Santa Monica, however, it is a bit sparse; but the architecture and the historic atmosphere more than compensates. A short drive to the north, along the coast and past Karen Blixen's place (Out of Africa fame), brings one to Louisiana; one of the best galleries I have seen. To the south the new and astonishing architectural accomplishment of Arken awaits.

If you're looking for an authentic Danish experience, you will want to eat as the Danes eat. That means bread, a lot of bread. Of course there's everything to go with it, herring, cheese, beetroot, liver paste, sausage, thin sliced meats, cole slaw and a host of different salad options but it's all on bread, the heavy dark type, prevalent to North Europe. If you are figure conscious, watch out.

After just such a lunch we headed south on the E47. In approximately one hour we left the freeway for the coast, wound our way around Fakse Bay, heavy with reed and grass on one side and on the other dotted by charming cottages, many constructed in post and beam. Completing the charm of the area were many thatched roof's, some looking as recent as last week, confirming the fact that the ancient craft of the thatcher is still alive and well.

Just before Praesto where Hans Christian Andersen spent some summers, we took a right and headed inland for about three-quarters of a mile. The home of Anna-Marie Brauge and Gunnar Saietz lies on a tree shaded corner. A small gallery sits at the bottom of the garden. The house with a studio, sits closer to the road.

Gunnar Saietz was born in Copenhagen the son of an industrialist, who trained as a graphic artist between 1958 and 1961 in the School for Arts and Crafts. By 1961 he was exhibiting as a full-blown artist. By 1973 he had met and married his wife Anna- Marie and together they helped CO-found the artist's group "Passepartout". Born in France, Anna- Marie Brauge had her first exhibition in Copenhagen and since then has been exhibited widely in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Paris, Milan and Washington DC She also has work in the Danish National Arts Foundation, the Carlsberg Foundation and Stockholm's Museum of Modern Art amongst others. She is the author of three books and has been awarded numerous grants. Gunnar has also been collected by the National Museum for Arts, the Carlsberg Foundation and has had many of his lithographs published in major Danish magazines. He has also been awarded a number of grants. These and other Danish artists can be viewed at this Danish register.

Gunnar told me one day, that as an artist he was the more derivative of the two. Anna Marie has certainly influenced some of his work, and for my money Max Ernst's "frottage" period also makes its appearance in Gunnars work. Whether the term derivative is true or not remains to be seen. Whatever may be lacking in one area is made up for by the fact that he covers an incredibly broad ground, encompassing painting, printing, writing, publishing and photography. Today with strong careers behind them Gunnar and Anna Marie are still very much part of a grassroots movement in Denmark. There seems to be no great marketing machines as we see in America so Gunnar admits that he creates small paintings that will sell for about 1000 US$. These can appear in local galleries or at a new venture at Masnedofort at the southern tip of the island.

If you take the 40 south to Vordingborg, Masnedo is an abandoned coastal defense, dating back to 1912. As you drive up to it, there's not much to see initially, just a few concrete outcroppings where old gun turrets lay. Built in the architecture of the time, it is well dug into the ground. In fact this posed the first problem for the county which took it over in 1974. Lying almost below sea level, the fort was flooded, with mud lying knee deep in every room and the concrete had plaster walls dripping with mold... (Continued)

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