Spring 2022 program

O—Overgaden Institute for Contemporary Art is one of the leading non-profit contemporary art institutions in Denmark producing an irreverent program of emerging voices, large exhibitions, and a variety of events, all with free admission, from its location in the heart of Copenhagen. 

This spring, O—Overgaden mounts five solo shows, including the first grand-scale displays from a series of young practices as well as reintroducing the crafts-based practice of Annette Holdensen (b. 1934, DK), who took part in the institution’s first-ever exhibition in 1987.  Expanding the conversations around the in-house solo shows, O—Overgaden continues its new series of publications, now available both in print and online.

In-house, the establishment of O-Room continues, a living communal space and café in our columned hall. Supporting artistic exchange, book sales, live acts, and debates, the first special project in O–Room, “Fungal Network” by Felia Gram-Hanssen and Jaleh Negari, combines field recordings, graphic scores, and percussion (February 26–March 13).

Get a full overview of the 2022 program and download the publication series for free on our new online platform designed by Bram van den Berg with fanfare here.

Julie Stavad: I am here for pleasure but it is no fun
January 22–March 13, 2022

The everyday objects take center stage in Julie Stavad’s (b. 1987, Denmark) solo exhibition I am here for pleasure but it is no fun. With her colossal and ruined lipstick of wax, used pieces of furniture, sleek steel sculptures, and bags carved in natural stone, Stavad mirrors the body in surreal, sculptural acts and compositions in space.

Tommy Støckel: SUPERADAPTER 
January 22–March 13, 2022

Water and gas pipes, as well as cables for data, electricity, and sound have taken over O—Overgaden in this installation by Tommy Støckel (b. 1972, Denmark). Though they usually run in their own designated circuits, in SUPERADAPTER water, gas, data, electricity, and sound connect in a joint network through this eponymous ultimate transformer. As a completely unrealizable and DIY-generated fantasy, the superadapter illustrates the incessant, utopian human drive toward improving tomorrow with new technology.

Line Finderup Jensen: No Exit Prior to Orientation
April 2–May 22, 2022

Through 3D animation and game design techniques, Line Finderup Jensen (b. 1991, Denmark) creates an installation based on her personal experience of psychiatric support in Denmark. A video installation and virtual reality artwork Afsnit:801(Ward:801) questions the systemic structures that seem to have patented the truth.

Alexander Tillegreen: Shift
April 2–May 22, 2022

Alexander Tillegreen’s (b. 1991, Denmark) exhibition is centered around a sound piece based on so-called “phantom words” illusions: a psychoacoustic effect that creates streams of words in the listener which reflect their embedded linguistic, cultural, and subconscious programing. Throughout various media the artist explores visual, sculptural, and sonic connections and relationships. Each work unfolds themes of bodily movement, voice, transformation, participation, and spatiality.

Annette Holdensen: Wild, Warm, and Cautious
April 2–May 22, 2022

Artist and weaver Annette Holdensen’s (b. 1934, Denmark) woven willow installation was part of O—Overgaden’s very first exhibition in 1987. This show presents Holdensen’s singular position in Danish contemporary art, revealing how she created space for weaving combined with an experimental attitude towards sculpture. The exhibition extends out into O—Overgaden’s local surroundings through a series of workshops with an invitation to young people to create sculptures of woven willow for a local playground in a social housing area.

For press and images contact Line Brædder at lb@overgaden.org

Support: O—Overgaden’s main funder is the Danish Arts Foundation. Generous support from the A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation is helping to secure the new O-Room, alongside support from the New Carlsberg Foundation also supporting O—Overgaden’s new online platform. Further generous supporters include the Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Foundation, the Augustinus Foundation, and Beckett-Fonden.