Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Queen Margrethe Exhibits at Arken Museum-Ishøj



Daisy is once again underscoring that she is an intellectually engaged, culture vulture as opposed to the classless, philistine bogan Crown Princess Mary Donaldson. Yes, she got an exhibit at a museum because she is the damn queen. No, she's not the world's most technically astute painter. But while beauty is in the eye of the beholder and many might be tempted to damn her with faint praise on her artistic efforts, the bottom line is that she scratches an internal itch (no wonder Oprah was fascinated), just gets out there, does her thing, and gets on with it with no navel-gazing (like the next queen) or psychological, tormenting knot-tying (like her eldest son). I have to admit: the Bones series of paintings look fantastic! There is a visceral, alien quality to such mundane, disjointed objects and the colours are wonderful.

If you're in Denmark, head over to the wonderful Arken museum which is set on the water just to the west of central Copenhagen and discover this grand exhibition from 28 January through 1 July 2012.

ARKEN Museum's website in English about the exhibition.

Here is the BT article about the Queen's art.





Here is the Berlingske article about the exhibit, nearly identical since both papers have the same publisher.

Saturday, when the art museum Arken opens the largest exhibition of works by the queen, the monarch herself wonders how it will be received.

"I'm more excited than I've ever been before."

So says Queen Margrethe of her large art exhibition that opens at the art museum Arken in Ishøj on Saturday.

Here are 135 of the Queen's acrylic paintings, watercolors and découpage showcased in the largest ever exhibition of Queen Margrethe's art, and it consists of works she has done for 35 years. The exhibition is titled 'The Essence of Colour - Queen Margrethe II's Art'.

"It's a great experience to be allowed to exhibit here at Arken. I was slightly flabbergasted when I was asked, says Queen Margarethe, as she was present on Wednesday afternoon at the exhibition at the art museum in Ishøj.

Queen's painting sold for 130,000 kroner

Museum Director Christian Gether is also enthusiastic.

"It's fantastic that we get a completely unique opportunity to gain an insight into the Queen's art, which is really a glimpse of the Queen's way of interpreting life," he says.

"It is absolutely incredible and unique that Denmark's head of state is also a visual artist. I have no doubt that if the Queen was not born to be queen, so she would have been an artist," says Christian Gether.

Queen's painting is worth max. 6000 kroner

In particular, many of the Queen's landscape paintings - both from her young and beyond - with the exhibition.

"Nature and landscapes have always been important to me, it has been so since I was a child. I've been fortunate to travel throughout my life, especially in Denmark, and see landscapes," says Queen Margrethe, who also liked to paint landscapes back in her schooldays.

Also the fabulous paintings in which Queen Margrethe found inspiration from Tolkien's stories will be hanging on the walls of the art museum, since Arken's exhibition also displays several of the Queen's later works.

Since 2005, the starting point for her work as been different rock formations and skeletons. Also included are the Queen's latest works, the series "Bones", which depict various bones in shades of red on a yellow background in the exhibition. They are painted in 2011.

"It's not because I've had my knees worked on, that I've gone around and painted bones," says Queen Margrethe, referring to her two knee operations.

She has found inspiration for bone images, among other things in archeology, where she worked as a student, among other things learned about animal bones.

And although she in her own words has become a more experienced painter with years, yet one can always wish it to be better, she says.

"I often wish I could paint like Eckersberg or L.A. Ring or other good artists," said the Queen.

Queen on the road to artistic disappointment

The monarch also has the intention to follow up with what critics write about the exhibition.

"So vain that I do not want to read criticism, even if I think I have been [criticised]," she says.

Queen Margrethe also hopes that the guests at the show will try to see the art first, then see the artist behind it.

"I would never be able to dictate how people should look at art, whether it's my work or others. But I'd like that they take in what they see with their eyes first and then see the rest afterward," said the Queen.

It is possible to see the Queens artwork at Arken until 1 July this year.




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Jylland Posten's article "The Queen Inspired By Dead Animals", including a video of the Queen discussing her inspiration, which she says includes the Greenlandic landscape and bones she's come across on archaeological digs. An excerpt is below.

Jylland Posten's large image slideshow of some of the Queen's art.

The queen is inspired in her art by ancient animal bones, which she's dug up during her archaeological work.

When Arken opens its doors on 28 January to the exhibition "The Essence of Colour - Queen Margrethe II's Art", museum visitors, among other things, will become acquainted with a variety of bone-like motifs.

Audiences can follow her artistic development within the last 35 years with over 130 acrylic paintings, watercolors and decoupage - including a number of brand new works that have never been shown publicly before.

Among other things, there is the 'Bones' series which the Queen describes as "big, bizarre images of fantastical bones on a yellow background", not previously exhibited.

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