The works of our glassblowers
How does it look, when history is transformed into art? This you can learn more about in the special exhibition 'The Chosen Ones', which is presented in collaboration with artist and ceramist Louise Hindsgavl, 04. February - 22 October 2023.
Get ready to be drawn into a imaginative, marvellous and enchanting cosmos filled with impressive sculptures, colourful tales and quirky details, which together give a new look at the cultural history of the South Zealand estates seen through the eyes of an international top-class artist.
About the exhibition
Denmark's estates hide a wealth of treasures, fates and passions. Some have been owned in a straight line for centuries. Others have changed hands over time. The estates are part of our shared cultural heritage, and they have had a great impact on how the countryside and the city around them have shaped themselves. And then they abound with stories. Artist Louise Hindsgavl has visited six South Zealand estates to meet the owners and get inspiration from their stories.
On each estate, Louise Hindsgavl has selected an item: a candelabra, a desk, a ceiling, a painting, a hunting knife and a Thorvaldsen plaster model. The objects have inspired Hindsgavl to create six new, unique, and monumental works of art to give a new look at the history of the estates.
"The purpose of my work is to start conversations, and I would like to point out some things that I think we owe each other to talk about. That’s why it’s also often the slightly awkward things that I would like to point to," explains Louise Hindsgavl.
Among the subjects covered in the exhibition are, for example, women's conditions, hunting culture and sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen's complicated relationship with his child and grandchild.
The connection to Kähler
The fact that Holmegaard Værk invites Louise Hindsgavl inside the museum is not a coincidence. It stems from her special connection to Holmegaard Værk's collection of Kähler ceramics.
Among the 6,000 ceramic objects exhibited at the museum on a daily basis, you will find the work ‘Stories of Eve’, which Hindsgavl developed for Kähler back in 2012.
"By inviting Louise into our universe, we draw a clear line between the museum's permanent exhibition and the special exhibition," explains Museum Manager Thorbjørn Kolbo.
Louise Hindsgavl
Louise Hindsgavl (b. 1973) graduated from the Design School Kolding with the main subject ceramics and glass (1994-1999).
Over the years, she has received numerous awards and grants, including the Danish Arts Foundation's three-year work grant, The Prince Eugen Medal and an honorary grant from Anne Marie Telmányi, born Carl-Nielsen's Fund.
Hindsgavl has exhibited at a string of large museums at home and abroad. She is also represented at prominent museums and institutions, such as the New Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish Arts Foundation.
Since the early 2000s, Louise Hindsgavl has worked with the porcelain medium for her curious, anthropomorphic creatures, who challenge and move the usual understanding of the porcelain figure, and most recently she has included stoneware and a more expressive glaze work in her works.
The exhibition is supported by The Augustinus Foundation, Knud Hoejgaards Foundation, The Danish Arts Foundation, The Danish Art Workshops.
Plan your lunch
Make your own glass