[24. marts 2010]

Interview

David Risley at his gallery

Interview: David Risley

Spring 2009 David Risley moved his gallery from London to Copenhagen. Since then he has enriched the Copenhagen scene showing works from interesting and cool artists not yet seen here. Now David has put on the show Dear..., presenting danish painters. The show was put together by a game of tag. David Risley invited one painter to show a work on the show, and this painter could choose another painter. David would then send this other painter an invitation. The chain would stop if the same painter was invited twice or one said no to the invitation.
The invitation read as follows:
'Dear .......,

I am putting together a show of 'Danish' painters. It will work as a game of tag. As a newcomer here I am outside the history and politics, gossip and rumour of the Danish art world. Which in many ways is a great benefit and in others a disadvantage. This exhibition will acknowledge my naivety and release me from my usual dictatorial position of choice within my gallery. I am handing over responsibility of choice to the artists. It will give me a crash course in contemporary Danish painting (hopefully).

It will work like this - I will choose a painter who lives and works in Denmark, then, they will anonymously choose a painter who lives and works in Denmark, then, they will anonymously choose a painter who lives and works in Denmark. etc. This will carry on until the same painter is chosen twice or somebody says no. So, the show will be a random, meandering journey through what is being made here. I will then curate the show by visiting each artists studio and selecting the work(s) to be shown. These might be brand new or earlier works. The show will open here early March (March 5th).

You have been anonymously selected by another painter to be in the show. All you have to do is say yes to being in the show and choose someone else to be in the show. I will then approach them and send them this text. You can select anyone painting here in Denmark now. Someone you think represents what is happening now, or is forgotten, or overlooked, or needs reappraising, or deserves their first break, or is busy showing but their work is so great we should show it some more...just remember that they will then anonymously select someone else.

I hope you would like to take part. If you have any questions email me or call on the number below.

Best wishes,
David.'

Kopenhagen met David Risley in his gallery.

Interview:Torben Zenth

Foto:Anders Sune Berg & Torben Zenth

Jessica Breitholtz Björk, Claus Carstensen, Peter Land, Marie Søndergaard Lolk, Søren Martinsen, Anna Odell, Astrid Svangren (SE), Camilla Thorup, Mette Winckelmann

Dear .......,

06. marts - 10. april 2010

David Risley Gallery

Bredgade 65a st. th., 1260 København K

web site:www.davidrisleygallery.com

onsdag-fredag 12-17, lørdag 11-15

Dear... at David Risley Gallery

The background for this exhibition is your meeting with the local Copenhagen art scene. How has it been to settle here with your gallery?

Strange. Very quiet. As a place, as a city, as a way of living it is much quieter than London. And that is why we moved here. So that's great. It is a very different speed and a different way of thinking — it is really good. People have been really open in general... and puzzled, intrigued and confused, but then really helpful.

Then you had this idea to make this exhibition as a game of tag...?

Yes. I studied painting. That's my root in everything. I know there is a lot of good Danish painters and I wanted to do a show with Danish painting. But I did not feel qualified to do it, and I wanted to step outside the politics. It is such a small scene here, there is certain artists that wont show in certain galleries, and certain galleries that wont show certain groups of artists, certain artists that wont show with other artists — all this kind of micro and macro politics... the best way to step outside, so I chose one painter, send him a letter asking him to be in the exhibition and then choose another painter, and then I invite him — and it goes on. The only way it would stop is if somebody said no or if somebody was asked twice. And that is what happened — the same artist was asked twice.

Dear... at David Risley Gallery

So you didn't know what would happen. You could have had only two works...

Yeah - what was most interesting... it's a bit like the Danish painting scene holding a mirror up to itself — a self reflection. And then to see what's there is quite strange. Three men, six women, and three of the women are Swedish. If you ask people what they think the art world is now, they probably wouldn't think that. It's a random cross section. I was scared that it would be all men or that it would be one particular group of artists that where all friends, but a lot of the artists invited people they had never met, they just based it on the work. Sometimes they did not even have the artists contact details.

My trust in getting a good exhibition was that the artists would want to show good artists. And they where all very generous and gave prober works, big solid works. I got a bit scared, because everyone gave big paintings.

Søren Martinsen: Atelier om vinteren, 2010. 55 x 75 cm. Oil on canvas

So you are happy with the result?

Yeah, its very good. I'm very surprised. I think the artists where very surprised as well. We went for dinner after the opening and it was very nice to see all these random people just connected by their painting at the exhibition.

The whole thing was alsoa kind of a social event?..

Yeah. There was mutual respect and admiration and it gave a very nice atmosphere that everyone knew somebody there, and liked them enough to choose them for the show and nobody knew everybody.

There is a very generous feeling about the show...

Yeah, I really believe in it. And some weird things came out. Like Søren Martinsen. He made a kind of... almost like an empty painting painting. He lives out in the country side now, and he has made a painting of his closed down winter studio — all his stuff stored in there. So he has painted the act of not painting — really beautiful. He made that especially for the show.

You don't represent any Danish artists in your gallery...

No, not yet. Part of the reason I moved here was to get away from representing and more towards showing.

How is that different?

When I was in London I had a 5 full time staff, and it was more about the office, the business and the archive, big shows — which is great, but it's not where my interest really is. I'm trained as an artist and I want to show art. That's why I opened a gallery. I still represent artists, but I want to add more... just make exhibitions — get back to why I started it.

Thank you

Peter Land: S.L.E.E.P No. 1, 2009. 210 x 170 cm. Oil on canvas

Marie Søndergaard Lolk: WONSEHTFOSSENETIHWTCEFREPEHTFOSAWERUGIFEHTFONIKSEHTFOEUHEHTDNANEMGNOMARELLEWDYNANAHTSNOITROPORPSTINIREGRALRAFYREVERUGIFNAMUHDEDUORHSAYAWHTAPRUONIESORAEREHTTUBSUEVIECEROTNEPOFLESTIWERHTMSAHCAEREHWTCARATACEHTFOSECARBMEEHTOTNIDEHSUREWWO, 2010. 140 x 140 cm. Acrylic on canvas

Jessica Breitholtz Björk: Entrance, 2010. 200 x 200 cm. Acrylic on canvas

Mette Winckelmann: Bush, 2010. 94 x 74 cm. Fabric collage

Anna Odell: "Le Feu Blanc", 2009. 200 x 200 cm. Oil on canvas


Astrid Svangren: En violett doft av ny kammat hår eller som att normalisera, 2009. 180 x 80 cm. Plexiglass and paint		Astrid Svangren: En violett doft av ny kammat hår eller som att normalisera, 2009. Paper and paint

Camilla Thorup: Hjemmemenneske, 2010. 40 x 22 cm. Acrylic on canvas

Annoncer:

Interview: David Risley

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