Artists: Carl-Henning Pedersen, Marie Kølbæk Iversen, Emil Westman Hertz, Sif Itona Westerberg, Astrid Myntekær, Alfred Boman, Rune Bosse
Exhibition title: Åndemaner, A spiritual obsession
Venue: Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen, Denmark
Date: January 17 – February 29, 2019
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
“Åndemaner” is an investigation of the spirituality that permeates young contemporary art, and at the same time a look back at one of the greatest spiritualists of Danish and European art, Carl-Henning Pedersen.
Rune Bosse, Sif Itona Westerberg, Marie Kølbæk Iversen, Astrid Myntekær and Emil Westman Hertz’s works each explore spiritual perspectives on the force of life in the spiritual, natural and mythical seen from our time.
Despite the rationality and concrete thinking of the 20th and 21st century, spirituality is ever present as a con-stant voice. From Kandinsky’s Manifesto on spirituality in the arts of 1911 to Mondrian, Klee and Malevich, and further up to the CoBrA movement and its preoccupation of the spiritual with Carl-Henning Pedersen in particu-lar as the exponent of the vital force of life in his art.
Today we can measure and weigh everything, and we can calculate rational explanations for the mysteries of the universe. Yet, in these years, there is a movement towards the spiritual, towards what we cannot immedi-ately explain. Perhaps almost because of this rationality, one can say that man turns to the enigmatic and the mysterious. It is as if we as beings need a spiritual mysticism that can make sense on a higher philosophical and existential level rather than just the physically concrete. We are increasingly seeking to find ourselves through yoga and mindfullness, etc. in spite of our rational and highly systematized everyday life.
Although art has always sought beyond the concrete physical reality, we are currently experiencing a great spir-itual surge. A new generation of artists gives their perspective on the spirituality of man and nature. It is a great privilege that at the exhibition we have the opportunity to show Carl-Henning Pedersen’s works, and thus, across generations, can bridge this shared spiritual perspective.
Åndemaner, A spiritual obsession, 2020, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Rune Bosse, (back) Tbt, Glass, roses, chlorine and water, 2020, 55 x 35 cm, (front) Tbt, Glass, tulips, chlorine and water, 2020, 50 x 32 cm
Carl-Henning Pedersen, ‘Egyptiske strenge’, oil on canvas, 1979, 70 x 99 cm
Åndemaner, A spiritual obsession, 2020, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Rune Bosse, ‘Plant Memories; Olfective diary, Orienplatz, Berlin, Germany, (nn, plantae)’, 2018, photo on Hahnemühle 350g, 70 x 100 cm
Rune Bosse, ‘Plant Memories; In the garden, Stavreby, Præstø. Denmark, (Corylus avellana Betulaceae)’, 2018, photo on Hahnemühle 350g, 70 x 100 cm
Åndemaner, A spiritual obsession, 2020, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Carl-Henning Pedersen, ‘Den fortryllede skov – Rytteren’, oil on canvas, 2001, 130 x 110 cm
Carl-Henning Pedersen, ‘Hvad kan man vente?’, oil on canvas, 1991, 124 x 102 cm
Åndemaner, A spiritual obsession, 2020, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Emil Westman Hertz, Untitled, wax and wire, not dated, 32 x 17 x 14 cm
Emil Westman Hertz, Untitled, wax, not dated, 10 x 45 x 12 cm
Åndemaner, A spiritual obsession, 2020, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Marie Kølbæk Iversen, Series of six, ‘lo/I’, Risographic print on 165g acid-free watercolor paper, 2020, 55 x 31 cm
Sif Itona Westerberg, ‘Nymph’, Aerated concrete, 2020, 192 x 80 x 5,5 cm
Åndemaner, A spiritual obsession, 2020, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Astrid Myntekær, Untitled, concrete, glass and laser, 2018, 50 x 50 x 38 cm, (The piece consists of the head and mat)
Rune Bosse, ‘Plant memories; Between exhibition and work, York str, Berlin, Germany (Asteraceae Carduus)’, Photo on hahnemühle ultra smooth, 308g, 2016, 70 x 50 cm
Rune Bosse, ‘Plant memories; Waiting to cross the border, Gedser, Denmark, (Trigonella froenum-graecum)’, Photo on hahnemühle ultra smooth, 308g, 2016, 70 x 50 cm
Åndemaner, A spiritual obsession, 2020, exhibition view, Gether Contemporary, Copenhagen
Alfred Boman, ‘Untitled’, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 2018, 102 x 83 cm
Alfred Boman, ‘Untitled’, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 2018, 102 x 83 cm
Alfred Boman, ‘Untitled’, glue, tempera, acrylic and spray-paint on canvas, 2018, 177 x 150 cm
