Statens Museum for Kunst
presents:
Abandon the Parents
Paintings, drawings, photographs, videos, books, words, and sounds.

HENRIK OLESEN, Abschied von den Eltern, 2003

Admission to the special exhibitions
Adults: DKK 110., Youths u. 27 years: 90 DKK, Children and youth u. 18 years: Free

An abundance of paintings, drawings, photographs, videos, books, words, and sounds fill the x-rummet venue, establishing surprising connections and creating new narratives. The rich and complex accumulation of objects explores and interprets the process of emancipation and independence that may – or may not – happen in the life of an andolescent leaving his or her parents to seek out new values.

The Danish artist Henrik Olesen has invited two long-term collaborators, friends, and gallerists – Daniel Buchholz and Christopher Müller – to join him in curating the exhibition Abandon the Parents in x-rummet. Here, they present an overwhelming collection of paintings, books, photographs, videos, sounds, and drawings created by Ariane Müller, Judith Scott, Lutz Bacher, Jean Genet, Richard Hawkins, Dieter Roth, Zoe Leonard, Lili Elbe, Arthur Köpcke, Kristian Zarthman, Wolfgang Tillmans, Hannah Hoech, Henriette Heise, Gerry Bibby, Albert Mertz and Galerie Krise from Berlin.

The combination of works presented here springs from the three curators’ personal process of exploration – they have selected works, stories, and artists in which they frame a space that contextualizes artistic production and self-organization. Adressing the decisive moments in the construction of an identity. The exhibition presents three interwoven homosexual autobiographies, but it also points to the mechanisms, desires, and intuitions that serve as the building blocks for our identities as human beings.

Many of the artists featured in the exhibition have served as important guiding lights for Olesen’s own artistic endeavours. They are role models and sources of inspiration that have shaped his artistic work and his search for his own identity.

Statens Museum for Kunst
National Gallery of Denmark
Monday: Closed, Tuesday - Sunday: 10.00 -17.00, Wednesday: 10.00 - 20.00
Sølvgade 48, Copenhagen, Denmark · Map · +45 3374 8494

Statens Museum for Kunst Website