RefeR, by Guirlanden (DK)
An exhibition of contemporary art
2 June - 31 August 2022 now extended until 27 October 2022
GUIRLANDEN are a traditional Danish kunstnersammenslutninger, a collective of contemporary artists. They are rooted in the Aarhus art scene, and held their first exhibition at Aarhus City Hall in 1968. In 2018, GUIRLANDEN celebrated their 50th anniversary with an exhibition at the Museum of Ancient Art at Aarhus University, staging a series of contemporary installations in direct response to works in the Museum's Cast Collection. In the words of Vinnie Nørskov, Director of the Museum of Ancient Art, this is a direction that the group 'definitely would not have chosen in 1968.' To a contemporary gaze, the embodiment of the classical past in plaster casts might seem old, dusty, or out-dated.
ORNAMENT, 2018. Træ, 90 x 240 x 14 cm. Anders Gammelgaard Nielsen, part of the 'L' exhibition at The Museum of Ancient Art in Aarhus. Copyright: Guirlanden/the Artist
In this exhibition at the Museum of Classical Archaeology, the artists of GUIRLANDEN continue to turn a curious gaze upon the classical reproductions in our Cast Gallery. Each member of the collective seeks to engage with the influence of Greaco-Roman sculpture on the here and now by creating individual works and installations which are conceptualised as actualisations of the very heritage of ancient art in the present. In this way, they focus less on the naked bodies on display and more on the complex of narratives, shapes and ideas which they represent.
Iben West, Container. Copyright: Guirlanden/the Artist
The artists
Acknowledgements
