Danskjävlar - a Swedish Declaration of Love is the title of Kunsthal Charlottenborg's opening exhibition. The title originates from Lars von Trier's tv drama The Kingdom in which the Swedish doctor Stig Helmer, played by Ernst-Hugo Järegård, ascends the roof of the Copenhagen University Hospital to shout "Danskjävlar!" - Danish Bastards. Danskjävlar is about looking at the Danish contemporary art from the outside and presents Bo Nilsson's subjective selection of twenty artists. They may all be Danes but they share an international format and scope. The international perspective is at the heart of Kunsthal Charlottenborg's new exhibition profile, and thus the exhibition offers different insights into otherwise familiar issues of identity, politics, social conditions and national self-knowledge. From Karachi over New York to Johannesburg and Tokyo, operating all over the world, most of the artists have made their names globally long ago. It is evident that they are players in a bigger league. Danskjävlar concerns this new home ground.

Participating artists:

martin erik andersen , olafur eliasson , jens haaning , lise harlev , jesper just , sophia kalkau, eva koch , joachim koester , john kørner , ann lislegaard , lilibeth cuenca rasmussen , kirstine roepstorff , pia rönicke , katya sander , nina saunders , morten schelde , trine søndergaard & nicolai howalt , tal r og kathrine ærtebjerg .

Curator: Bo Nilsson
Co-curator: Maria Gadegaard

Catalogue and Communication

In connection with the exhibition a catalogue has been produced, with texts analysing the practice of the individual artists. We have emphasised that the catalogue reflects the crux of the exhibition, and thus the texts, new and old alike, are printed in the language in which they were originally written: Danish, Swedish, Dutch, German, French and English. Danish translations will be available as inserts in the catalogue and as downloads from our new website. In an upgrade of our communication, a handout with picture and text for each artist's contribution to the exhibition will also be made available. In addition the daily dialogue about the art will be handled by our new art hosts. They all have a professional background in art, can always be found near the works and will gladly talk about the art with anyone. The Danish Arts Council's Committee for Visual Arts has supported the publication of catalogue and handouts. The publications are designed by Rasmus Koch Studio.