ABOUT THE PROJECT                                             

2023 marked 140 years since Kunsthal Charlottenborg opened to the public. A venue built for the purpose of exhibiting contemporary art, Kunsthal Charlottenborg is an institution without a collection or historical archive. An open call was launched to create a jubilee exhibition and a professional jury selected the proposal by Francesca Astesani and Julia Rodrigues, from curatorial collective South into North, which was developed into the exhibition Full of Days. Paying tribute to the very purpose for which the building was originally created – to show the art of the time – fourteen contemporary artists were invited to create new works, each inspired by Charlottenborg’s past. The new commissions are presented in dialogue with a selection of carefully curated historical works as well as historical images.

‘The exhibition Full of Days investigates the history of what is known today as Kunsthal Charlottenborg, an institution that has, at various times, accommodated under the same roof a complex blend of organisations, each with distinct agendas and evolving administrative structures. Like human history, this show is the result of deliberate choices and chance, individual sensibilities and collective spirit. It combines the efforts and thoughts of a generous group of artists, colleagues, art historians, friends and lovers – much like an ever-changing mix of similar forces has shaped Charlottenborg’s history. Resisting the idea of “history” as a singular, linear expression in favour of an approach that relies on multiple voices, time glitches and affinities, the exhibition conjures a tapestry of stories as a flickering, layered image of the Kunsthal’s past. Historical threads have been straightened, only to be allowed to curl again, in order to question the nature of different chronologies and the poetic qualities of temporal experiences.’

Julia Rodrigues & Francesca Astesani, curators of Full of Days

Participating artist: Louise Alenius, Benedikte Bjerre, Valentina Desideri & Denise Ferreira da Silva, Jason Dodge, Emil Elg, Maryam Jafri, Henrik Plenge Jakobsen, Sahar Jamili, Eva la Cour, Isabel Lewis in romance with Dirk Bell, Asta Lynge, Simon Dybbroe Møller, Finn Reinbothe, Åbäke, i selskab med Gunnar Aagaard Andersen, Pia Arke, Nina Beier, Yvette Brackman, Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen, Claus Carstensen, Ursula Reuter Christiansen, Inge Ellegaard, Olivia Holm-Møller, Asger Jorn, On Kawara, Per Kirkeby, Arthur Köpcke, Marie Luplau, Susanne Mertz, Lee Miller, Ursula Munch-Petersen, Emilie Mundt, Palle Nielsen, Astrid Noack, Lene Adler Petersen, Franka Rasmussen, Nina Sten-Knudsen, Susanne Ussing and more.

The show was supported by 15. Juni Fonden, Augustinus Fonden, Axel Muusfeldts Fond, Beckett-Fonden, Det Obelske Familiefond, Knud Højgaards Fond, Statens Kunstfond, William Demant Fonden, Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond