Edvard Munch Tribute and Inspiration Faurschou CPH 20.11.08-28.02.09
Opening Reception 20.11.08| 17.00-19.00
Edvard Munch Georg Baselitz Louise Bourgeois Peter Doig Asger Jorn Per Kirkeby Bjarne Melgaard Alice Neel Erik Parker
Faurschou CPH celebrates the publication of the Edvard Munch Catalogue Raisonne with a tribute exhibition to Edvard Munch.
"Edvard Munch - Tribute and Inspiration" is an exhibition that highlights the great inspiration that Edvard Munch was and continues to be with contemporary artists. The exhibition "Edvard Munch - Tribute and Inspiration" positions Munch alongside internationally recognised contemporary artists all of whose works congenial with Munch centres on existential experiences: Georg Baselitz, Louise Bourgeois, Peter Doig, Asger Jorn, Per Kirkeby, Bjarne Melgaard, Alice Neel and Erik Parker.
That Munch applied experiences from his own private life as the starting point for his works is of significance to his continuous actuality and the great interest for his works. His paintings express not simply the experiences of modernity but universal and human experiences that continue to make up the foundation of our lives today. There are actually only a few motives in Munch's oeuvre. He painted landscapes and city scenarios with our without figuration as well as figures in interiors. None the less Munch painted life as a frieze of birth, sickness, and death; seduction, love and pain; youth, maturity and old age; the impossibility of being two, jealousy and the existential loneliness. Characteristic of Munch is that his paintings do not simply depict a scenario, or an epic tale. No brush strokes are as loaded with meaning as Munch's. The paintings are painted quick, light, precise and concise. All becomes symbolic and expressive. Even when a landscape is deserted it appears populated and the inner and the outer are often symbolically linked. Thus Munch's paintings appeal to our emotions. Everyone who has ever entered a room with Munch's paintings have felt the physical and emotional influence that radiates from his works, the pain, the melancholy, the beauty, the loneliness and the powerful presence of the painter.
The exhibition at Faurschou CPH juxtaposes paintings by Edvard Munch with generations of contemporary artists who share a kinship with Munch. He is quoted, re-mixed, themes are repeated and experiences from own lives are displayed as mental landscapes.
Today it is difficult to understand the critique that hailed down on Munch during the beginning of his career, particularly from the Norwegian press. At every exhibition Munch was mocked for not being able to paint as his artworks appeared sloppy and unfinished. Furthermore he was criticised for not applying enough paint onto the canvas. However, today many of his colleagues admires Munch for exactly his technique, that he applied exactly enough paint necessary onto the canvas. Munch knew what he was doing from the onset and he continued to do this throughout, uncompromisingly.
In the recent past Edvard Munch have been shown at large solo exhibitions at some of the worlds most significant museums worldwide: MoMA (New York), Fondation Beyeler (Basel), National Museum of Western Art (Tokyo), Albertina (Wienna), and not least the Munch Museum (Oslo), currently showing an exhibition entitled "Munch becoming 'Munch'" highlighting the early 1880s until he was seen as an established and mature artist in the 1890s.
Edvard Munch Catalogue Raisonné
Faurschou has now published the long awaited Edvard Munch Catalogue Raisonné, in collaboration with the Munch Museum and Kaare Berntsen, The catalogue, that has taken five years to complete, offers for the first time ever, a complete survey of Edvard Munch's paintings.
Edvard Munch is acknowledged globally as one of the greatest artists in the Twentieth Century. During his long artistic career, Edvard Munch created approximately 2000 paintings, more than 1100 of which belong to the Munch Museum. The remaining works are included in museums and private collections all over the world. The catalogue is divided into four volumes and contains a chronologic representation of Edvard Munch's paintings in colour and with matching details.
The catalogue is based on the knowledge and research that has been gathered at the Munch Museum over the past 40 years and each volume contains essays by Munch experts. The author and editor is Gerd Woll who has previously written numerous articles and exhibition catalogue texts on Edvard Munch. Gerd Woll was the author of the comprehensive catalogue on Munch's graphic works that was published in 2001.
The Catalogue Raisonné serves as an indispensable tool for international research on Edvard Munch's works at museums and universities globally for both art historians and students alike. The catalogue will simultaneously serve as a platform to expand the knowledge of Munch's work with art interested people in general.
The Edvard Munch Catalogue Raisonné is published in Norwegian by Cappelen Damm and in English by Thames and Hudson.
