JURY STATEMENT 2020
Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition 2020 is a generous and broad-spectrum exhibition that reflects the diversity that is the very hallmark and strength of the exhibition. The jury has selected 70 artists with a total of 134 works in all categories of works.
Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition is a format that is loved by many and attracts a diverse audience. The exhibition is historically an important independent institution which now, in a revitalized format, entices both debuting and professional artists to apply.
Our starting point as a jury has been to accept all applications with great openness and love – without firm criteria or a strict curatorial framework. We have wanted to capture the great energy and artistic nerve with an embracing, encouraging and positive look and with great respect for the work that all applicants have put into the works of art. It was therefore with great pleasure and excitement that we began the extensive work of reviewing the year's 736 applicants from all over the world. The material submitted was mainly from Denmark and the Nordic countries, but many artists from other countries have also applied to meet a Nordic audience at a prestigious exhibition institution with many years in the luggage and with high reputation in Europe.
On the jury, we've had conversations about what a Spring Exhibition is and can do. Both seen in a historical light as unique format and as a contemporary setting for an exhibition that should be able to surprise and set new directions. Are it debuting artists to be elevated, new expressions and trends, or should former participants with extensive experience be supported? Should established artists with significant international careers be given a place in the exhibition, or the emphasis should be placed on giving debuting and unfinished expression, new artist creator, a shrug. Questions that we would not or could not answer unequivocally, but which we found important in our attempts to create a committee that felt new and not overly repeated.
With curiosity and a kaleidoscopic gaze, we looked at contributions with talent, energy, quality and edge. We have followed our curiosity and entered the individual projects with openness. Our guiding principle in assessing the individual contributions has been that the work should hit us directly and immediately catch us all, or that one or more of us has argued for the specific potential of the work/works. The jury has used its broad field of skills in visual arts, photography, design, handicrafts and architecture to perspective each other's perceptions and engage in valuable conversations about experiment, tendency, method, narrative, innovation and form.
The contributions we have chosen are embracing many trends. The recurring feature of this year's works is a great effort in the individual expressions, and that the focus is on the bodily, organic and personal, towards the presence and the intimate, and that they explore inner worlds, sensual qualities and form. The more introspective, poetic and material-oriented, highly tactility- has been prominent among this year's submitters. Very few works have a hard-hitting political agenda or are direct commentary on the state of the world. Also quite a few works have a provocative edge or an extensive narrative.
This year's nominated artists for the Solo Prize range widely in practice and media. They are Andreas Brunner, Rebecka Larsdotter, Niels Østergaard Munk, Anton Lind and Signe Emdal. The Solo Prize is awarded to Niels Østergaard Munk for an innovative conceptual expression. The newly established Talent Prize is awarded to AnneMette Elmelund for a brave and exploratory photograph.
On behalf of this year's jury
Kirse Junge-Stevnsborg
Director, Malmö Konstmuseum
