Legacy can be a source of inspiration and it can also be a burden. Regardless, legacy is a transgenerational principle by which the past materialises in the present and influences the realm of possibility here and now. Legacy can also be a choice. An artist can choose to engage in dialogue with works created in a different time and context. In such cases, the past not only influences the present – the opposite is also true. The works created today inform our approach to and understanding of historical works and artists.
THE LEGACY – of Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen presents new works by Nanna Abell, Nina Beier, Hannah Heilmann, Sophia Kalkau, Marie Lund, Rasmus Myrup, Tal R, Jytte Rex, Torben Ribe and Sif Itona Westerberg, who poetically and intriguingly frame the work of Danish sculptor Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen (1863-1945) in the context of our time.
In their respective practices, the artists consider Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen’s oeuvre on various planes, including her use of form, themes and motifs, as well as her life and materiality. Taking their starting point in different works, including her famous equestrian statues and never-realised works, the artists explore a broad range of techniques and approaches, from dissolution of hierarchies to conflicting forms and radical changes in scale.
Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen belonged to the circle of founders of Den Frie Exhibition and she was a member of the artists’ association until her death in 1945, which was commemorated with a large memorial exhibition at Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art the following year. THE LEGACY – of Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen is an exhibition that links her historically important and distinctive artistic statements with a contemporary context.
The exhibition was made possible generous support from the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Foundation, as well as the Danish Arts Foundation, Danish Tennis Foundation, and the Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Foundation.
Photos by David Stjernholm
