Current Exhibitions

The exhibition Extralys (transl. Extra Light), presented by the artist association Decembristerne, explores the physical, sensory, and metaphorical qualities of light and its fundamental connection to visual art. The exhibition is grounded in the concept that all standard electric lighting at Den Frie will be turned off for the duration of the show, redirecting attention to the natural light — the way it streams through the large overhead windows and shifts in tone and intensity over the course of each day.

The participating artists engage with this distinctive lighting arrangement in separate ways. Some have introduced external light sources to illuminate their work, while others use light from within their pieces. This year’s exhibition features not only Decembristerne’s core members but also nine guest artists from different generations and various artistic backgrounds, bringing a rich mix of perspectives and styles. Extralys is coordinated by artists Bodil Nielsen, Ane Mette Ruge, and Torgny Wilcke.

On the final day of the exhibition, Sunday, January 5, there will be a public performance event organized by artist Heine Klausen with performances by Ditte Krøyer, Favn Vium, Heine Klausen, Emil Keller Skouvsen and others. Participation is included with the entrance fee, and additional details on the program will be available soon.

 

About Decembristerne

Founded in 1928 by artists Svend Albrectsen, Søren Hjorth Nielsen, Holger J. Jensen, Erik Sievert, and Jørgen Thomsen, the artist association Decembristerne emerged as a response to existing art groups, aiming to establish an independent exhibition platform. Unlike other collectives, Decembristerne has never adhered to a unified artistic program. Instead, it celebrates the individuality of its members, fostering a diverse and personal approach to art. Over the years, the group has included renowned figures such as Oda Knudsen, Henry Heerup, Hans Christian Rylander, Kurt Trampedach, Inge Ellegaard, Jens Birkemose, Richard Winther, and Anna Klindt Sørensen. For nearly a century, with few exceptions, Decembristerne has maintained a strong tradition of showcasing their works at Den Frie, underscoring their enduring presence in the Danish art scene.

This year marks the 124th anniversary of the establishment of Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling (Artists’ Autumn Exhibition), which began as an open, juried exhibition organized by and for visual artists. Throughout its history, the exhibition’s management, board, and rotating juries have always been composed of artists, and this tradition continues today. The core mission of the Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling (KE) is to create an inclusive platform where anyone, regardless of network or background, can apply to exhibit their works. This inclusivity has allowed over 6,000 artists to take their first steps onto the Danish and international art scene through KE.

For this year’s open call, 958 artists and artist groups submitted a total of 4,125 works, all carefully reviewed and evaluated by the KE24 jury. Over five intense days, they selected 71 artists and 117 works to form the Artists’ Autumn Exhibition 2024. This year’s jury consists of visual artists Jessie Kleemann (b. 1959, GL), Kinga Bartis (b. 1984, RO), and Rune Bosse (b. 1989, DK), along with art photographer and head of the photography school Fatamorgana, Fryd Frydendahl (b. 1984, DK).

The exhibition Artificial Optimism revisits Italian Futurism and examines Futurist ideas, exploring their relevance today. In 1912, the Futurist group exhibited at Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, thereby introducing this new, anarchist movement to Danish audiences. In the decade that followed, Futurism rapidly expanded its reach from the realms of literature, painting and sculpture to also include theatre, photography, music, architecture, scenography, design and politics. The intention was to reinvent not only the various media of art but all aspects of life, echoing and actively interacting with the dizzying transformations and new technologies of the modern age.

The exhibition explores the intense experience of standing on the edge of a potential change that may transform everything. The exhibition title quotes F.T. Marinetti, aptly reflecting the Futurists’ ambivalent vision of the future. Artificial Optimism is part of an ongoing exhibition series, in which we revisit past moments in the exhibition history of Den Frie and reflect on art avant-gardes of the past and their relevance today. The endeavour takes a non-linear approach to the past examining how artistic practices undertaken at different times can be motivated by the same impulses, albeit from very different starting points and with different consequences. In this exhibition, we use Futurism as a prism for looking at contemporary art with fresh eyes – and concurrently with this, use contemporary works to think about what ‘futurism’ means today.

 

Performance program

During the course of the exhibition we present a program of performances and concerts by some of the participating artists. Performance was central to the futurist movement and the program is inspired by the evenings and afternoons that the futurists held between 1909 and 1914, staging readings, sound art, happenings, etc. The exhibition’s performance program has been developed under the auspices of Toaster, a collaboration between Husets Teater and Den Frie. Toaster is a performance platform for the intersections between theater and visual art.

 

05.09.24

Alexander Tillegreen – Grenzfrequenz, 2024 – Fluktuierendes

Geflüster, 2023-24 – Phantom Streams, 2020-ongoing

Leonie Strecker – Point of Passage (Terminal), 2024

 

19.09.24

Camilla Lind – MELODRAMA, 2024

Eve Stainton – The Joystick and The Reins, 2024

 

10.10.24

Jessica Ekomane – Untitled

Ville Laurinkoski – FIN DE SECTION, Changes, 2024

 

24.10.24

Thjerza Balaj – ANTAGONIST, 2024

Miriam Kongstad – HARD PLAY, 2024

With Special Effect, Atiéna R. Kilfa presents a new body of works consisting of a short film and two large scale pencil drawings. In continuation of Kilfa’s investigation and restructuring of cinematic archetypes, Special Effect homes in on the nondescript figure of a man sitting at a desk. Shot in black and white, the film eerily evokes a timelessness of the figure by bringing it in resonance with pictorial genres reminiscent of various eras from German Expressionist cinema to the golden age of Hollywood film noir, fast forward to its 4K quality of today. By evoking these archetypes, figuration becomes a tool to examine the ciphers which make up our systems and their potential collapse.

Special Effect is the first institutional solo exhibition in Denmark by Berlin-based artist Atiéna R. Kilfa (FR). Kilfa works across media such as photography, sculpture, video and installation. In 2022, she graduated from Städelschule in Frankfurt am Main and has recently exhibited at KW, Berlin; Camden Art Centre and CABINET, London. In 2023 she was included in Bad Timing – Or How to Write History Without Objects at Den Frie, Copenhagen. Kilfa received the ars viva prize in 2024.

 

About the exhibition program OSLO

Special Effect is the first exhibition in Den Frie’s exhibition program OSLO, which presents commissioned and newly produced solo projects by contemporary artists. The OSLO program continues Den Frie’s historic function as The Artists’ House where exhibitions have been curated and works have been realised in close collaboration with artists. Den Frie will present three yearly OSLO exhibitions in the sub-level gallery. The name OSLO is a reference to Den Frie’s address at Oslo Plads as well as an anagram for solo.

An inflatable iceberg that breathes slowly, a landscape of waving take-away cups, a circle of bronze sculptures, a printing press cut in half, and a giant aluminum relief shown for the first time since 1974 are just some of the highlights of the exhibition featuring artists Gerda Thune Andersen, Nina Beier, Jessie Kleemann, Simon Starling, and Gudrun Steen-Andersen, who in 2024 will receive the honorary award from the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Grant.

On Saturday, June 8, from 4-7 PM, we will open the doors for the grand celebration of this year’s recipients of the honorary award. The award ceremony will take place in connection with the public opening of the exhibition at Den Frie, where the five artists will present new productions and selected major works. During the vernissage, the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Grant’s 20 talent awards will also be presented to younger sculptors, musicians, and composers, recognized for their artistic talent.

As a special feature, there will be free admission to Den Frie and the exhibition Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Grant 2024 throughout the exhibition period from June 9 to August 4. The board of the grant wishes to give as many people as possible the chance to visit the exhibition and experience the five notable artistic practices they have chosen to honor this year.

The history behind the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Grant Composer Carl Nielsen and sculptor Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen (née Brodersen) met in Paris in 1891. They fell madly in love and married shortly after. Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen belonged to the circle around the founders of Den Frie Udstilling, participated in the association’s exhibition in 1892, and remained a member until her death in 1945. The grant, bearing the couple’s names, was founded by their daughters Irmelin Eggert Møller and Anne Marie Telmányi in 1957. Each year, the grant is awarded alternately to musicians/composers or sculptors.