The Decembrists

The exhibition with the artist association the Decembrists at Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art focuses on originality and mutual collegial inspiration. The exhibition does not have an overall theme or a recurring curatorial approach. Instead, the focus is on every individual artist’s different practices across generations, expressions, stylistics and materials, and all works are created specifically for the exhibition at Den Frie. With this exhibition, the Decembrists wish to discuss the collegial potential of traditional artist associations as opposed to the so-called thematically curated exhibition formats.

Artist and member of the Decembrists, Jesper Rasmussen, notes: “In the past, artist associations used to hold a powerful position, which served as a foundation for a good art career or as an alternative to the gallery market. Today, however, artist associations no longer represent a powerful establishment, and their main roles are now to represent what may be the last artist-controlled bastion in an otherwise curated art scene”.

This year, the Decembrists celebrate their 85th year as a significant part of the Danish art scene. The association’s artistic formal language thus holds both the traditional picturesque and sculptural expressions as well as the photographic, installatory and spatial medias. Despite their different expressions, they have a polemic vein in common. They describe themselves as ‘odd’ and have never been afraid of making a noise, both in terms of attitudes towards the artistic-political landscape as well as towards the contemporary age in general.

The members of the Decembrists are: Elmer, Dorris Bloom, Ole Broager, Henrik Flagsted, Sys Hindsbo, Ellen Hyldemose, Birgit Johnsen og Hanne Nielsen, Hein Klausen, Oda Knudsen, Jørgen Carlo Larsen, Henrik Menné, Bodil Nielsen, Jesper Rasmussen, Steen Møller Rasmussen, Tina Maria Nielsen, Marie Søndergaard Lolk, Bank og Rau, Ane Mette Ruge and Hans Christian Rylander. Additionally, Torben Ribe and Kasper Hesselbjerg will take part in the exhibition.