SEAN SCULLY MATERIAL WORLD
SEPTEMBER 2nd 2022 – MARCH 5th 2023
An exhibition of unparalleled dimensions takes place at Thorvaldsen’s Museum in Copenhagen, as world-renowned artist Sean Scully visits Denmark. Scully has created large-scale, site-specific sculptures specifically for the museum in his first ever Danish solo-show: SEAN SCULLY MATERIAL WORLD.
The entire museum is utilized in the exhibition, in which the artist showcases works that interact with the architecture, colors and surroundings of Thorvaldsen’s Museum. The artist has chosen the materials for his new works carefully and with reference to Bertel Thorvaldsen’s life and art as well as the history of Denmark. The exhibition is curated by Per Haubro Jensen in collaboration with Thorvaldsens Museum, including director Annette Johansen and exhibition manager Siri Buric.
Three of the artworks have been made specifically for the museum and the audience is in for a grand experience: The large-scale works count a 29ft sculpture in the museum front hall, a 13ft sculpture in Italian black marble from Carrara and a 25ft piece for the square in front of the museum, made from local Danish wood that dates back to the 17th century. Furthermore, the exhibition includes several other sculptures and drawings from Scully’s oeuvre as well as his iconic paintings.
Three of the artworks have been made specifically for the museum and the audience is in for a grand experience: The large-scale works count a 29ft sculpture in the museum front hall, a 13ft sculpture in Italian black marble from Carrara and a 25ft piece for the square in front of the museum, made from local Danish wood that dates back to the 17th century. Furthermore, the exhibition includes several other sculptures and drawings from Scully’s oeuvre as well as his iconic paintings.
New Public Sculpture for Copenhagen
The city space of Copenhagen has been granted a new public sculpture during the exhibition period. Scully’s sculpture group ’Oak Stacks’ has been created specifically for Bertel Thorvaldsen’s Square in front of the museum. The artwork consists of three tall sculptures made from historic local Danish timber. With its central placement ’Oak Stacks’ offers a special, sensuous experience in the city’s cultural quarter. The sculpture can be experienced during the first months of 2023 – the year in which Copenhagen has officially been designated as the World Capital of Architecture.
A Meeting of Stars
The exhibition SEAN SCULLY MATERIAL WORLD presents a meeting across time and space between two artistic superstars, Sean Scully and Bertel Thorvaldsen. Despite their different life-worlds and time periods Scully and Thorvaldsen both strive to express primary human emotions, combining physical and metaphysical dimensions into a form of imagery that is universal. Both artists find inspiration in the art of Antiquity but interpret it within each of their own contemporary times.
About Sean Scully
Since his youth, Sean Scully (born in 1945, Ireland) has worked with painting and print-making, later moving into the mediums of photography and sculpture, graphics and photography.
Scully’s paintings are known for their extraordinary coloristic intensity combined with simple, abstract shapes. His sculptures are built from horizontal and vertical structures in materials such as stone, wood, zinc and glass, and his work is characterized by an ever-present exchange between the intimate and the monumental.Scully made his international breakthrough in the 1980’s with solo exhibitions in both USA and Europe. He’s won numerous awards and his works are represented internationally in both private and public collections.
SEAN SCULLY MATERIAL WORLD is generously supported by Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen’s Fond.
Discover the exhibition at Thorvaldsen’s Museum September 2nd 2022 - March 5th 2023.
FIND PRESS KIT FOR THE EXHIBITION HERE
FIND PRESS KIT FOR THE EXHIBITION HERE