Vienna-Copenhagen. Den Frie Udstilling 2026

For the exhibition Vienna–Copenhagen. Den Frie Udstilling 2026, 45 members of the artists’ association Den Frie Udstilling invite their colleagues from the sister institution, Wiener Secession, to participate as guest exhibitors. Like Den Frie, the Vienna Secession was founded in the 1890s, and the two institutions remain among the few exhibition venues in Europe still owned and run by artists. As is the case of Den Frie Udstilling, Wiener Secession also counts some of the country’s most prominent artists among its members. The exhibition presents more than 45 artists from Den Frie Udstilling in dialogue with 125 Austrian artist colleagues from Wiener Secession. The exhibition is organised by Kristoffer Akselbo and Henrik Plenge Jakobsen from Den Frie Udstilling, and Sofie Thorsen, Michael Part and Jun Yang from Wiener Secession, assisted by Clemens Battisti.

Den Frie Udstilling is Denmark’s oldest artists’ association, founded in 1891 by, among others, J.F. Willumsen, Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen, Vilhelm Hammershøi, and Harald and Agnes Slott-Møller. The aim was to create an alternative to the censored exhibitions at Charlottenborg, which, in light of the new era, were perceived as academic and conservative. The artists of Den Frie instead turned towards the international art scene and drew inspiration from new movements experimenting with motifs, aesthetics and form. In 1893, the association built Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, designed by J.F. Willumsen, which in 1898 was moved to its current location at Oslo Plads. The building is one of the very first in Denmark designed and dedicated specifically to art exhibitions. Its unique, temple-like architecture reflected radical artistic orientations of the time. Above the entrance floats a gilded winged Pegasus with a youth on its back; the motif symbolises inspiration and artistic freedom.