Mama Mia
June 18th – October 23rd
Curated by Stense Andrea Lind-Valdan
The artists in the exhibition are: Orsolya Bagala (DK), Elke Krystufek (AU), Jules Fischer (DK), Dorothy Iannone (USA/DE), SALV (DK), Al Masson (DK/FR), Laurel Nakadate (USA), Maria Pasenau (NO), Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca (BR), J.F. Willumsen (DK) and Bobbi-Johanne Østervang (DK).
Stense Andrea Lind-Valdan. Tungetegning # 1, 2012. Tusch på A4 millimeterpapir. Privateje.
Willumsen’s Museum has a long-standing tradition of inviting artists to explore the museum’s hidden treasures, granting them free rein to choose exactly what sparks their curiosity, surprise or appreciation from the museum’s collection. These artist-curated exhibitions are based on the life and works of J. F. Willumsen, but they go far beyond his world, bringing us right up to the present. Their personal view of Willumsen’s art – an ‘artist’s view’ – is frequently associative, playful and experimental. This often results in exhibitions that are more daring than traditional art-historical narratives based on chronology and stylistic themes. They make new connections traversing time and place from new perspectives. A small sketch, for example, can suddenly come into focus and be appreciated anew, whilst major works might be relegated to museum storage, at least for a while.
Keeping the tradition alive, Willumsen’s Museum has invited Stense Andrea Lind-Valdan (b. 1985) to curate an exhibition at the museum. Lind-Valdan, who also uses the initials SALV, is a graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and has made her mark as an artist with a body of works that includes drawing, photography, performance and text. The invitation has resulted in the exhibition MAMA MIA, a sensual, joyful and intense exhibition with a feminist slant. Paintings, drawings, photography and video works by a selection of contemporary artists intermingle with carefully chosen sketches by Willumsen from the museum’s collection.
Stense Andrea Lind-Valdan, who also uses the initials SALV, is a graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Her body of works, which includes drawing, photography, performance and text, constitutes a feminist practice investigating bodily experience using a range of media.
MAMA MIA jettisons the self-important, masculine figure of J. F. Willumsen by juxtaposing his works with contemporary explorations of gender, sexuality and identity. Like Willumsen, the invited artists exhibit and stage the private and intimate, often with a focus on dance and the body. The works challenge stereotypes and mainstream ideals, including non-binary performers dancing Brazilian frevo in a video work by Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca. American artist Laurel Nakadate dances in front of men who have approached her, exposing desire and power relationships, but also deepfelt loneliness. Bobbi-Johanne Østervang dances to the pop song Rude Boy, celebrating the sensuality of her heavily pregnant body. Stense Andrea Lind- Valdan’s own works are also part of the exhibition, including body prints and videos of the artist’s performances.
Bobbi-Johanne Østervang. Hvor lakken var slidt ned til gulvet, 2022. Oliepastel på birketræ, 100 x 50 cm. Courtesy kunstneren.
Laurel Nakadate. Oops!, 2000. Trekanals video, 3:40 min. Courtesy Gallery Tanja Wagner.
J.F. Willumsen. Skitse til ”Maleren modtager Musikeren”, udateret. Akvarel på papir, 35,8 x 15,2 cm. Willumsens Museum.
The artists in the exhibition are: Orsolya Bagala (DK), Elke Krystufek (AU), Jules Fischer (DK), Dorothy Iannone (USA/DE), SALV (DK), Al Masson (DK/FR), Laurel Nakadate (USA), Maria Pasenau (NO), Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca (BR), J.F. Willumsen (DK) and Bobbi-Johanne Østervang (DK). The exhibition includes a performance programme with the artists Al Masson, Jules Fischer, SALV and Cath Mathilde Borch Jensen – with music by Annemette Pødenphandt.
A digital catalogue can be downloaded from the museum website, and is also available in a limited- edition of 75 copies, each of which has an original work by SALV with an imprint of the artist’s body.
Stense Andrea Lind-Valdan
Forglemmigej
Performance at Willumsen’s Museum
18 June 2022
Click the picture to watch on Vimeo.
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Udstillingen er støttet af:
Augustinus Fonden, Dronning Margrethes og Prins Henriks Fond, Overretssagfører L. Zeuthens Mindelegat. William Demant Fonden og Statens Kunstfond.