Value Art

The exhibition presents a series of works that reflect the value of art - for the individual, for society and for the market.

A Kassen, Asger Jorn, Bertel Thorvaldsen, Christian Falsnaes, Danh Vo, Elmgreen & Dragset, Goodiepal, Henning Christiansen, Ingen Frygt, Kirsten Astrup, Solvognen, TOVES

about the Exhibition
The exhibition Value Art encom­passes two main themes. One consists of works that address the value of art in terms of its meaning and significance, while the other presents works that address artists and art as generators of value in a financial and economic sense.

Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen’s self-por­trait and the old “Thorvaldsenesque” merchandise speak eloquently of an artist figure who was not only Denmark’s first international superstar, but also a key figure for our understanding of art as a force for education and enlighten­ment in society. Back in Thorvaldsen’s day art was increasingly presented to the general public, who visited galleries and museums in order to be educated, refined and cultured – and of course in order to see and be seen by the other educated, cultured museum visitors.
 
Christian Falsnaes
The general view of art as a source of edification and enlightenment in society is also undergoing change in our present day where art vies for attention among a wealth of other offerings. An era where digital platforms allow you to create your own TV channel and publish your own books and music, meaning that you don’t need a publisher or a production company in order to call yourself a writer or a film director. Christian Falsnaes’s work – or, to be more accurate, work generator – The Title Is Your Name portrays the visitor, who thereby becomes the artist too.
 
Elmgreen & Dragset
Elmgreen & Dragsets skulptur Han i Helsingør er et af de værker, der har skabt debat om kunstens værdi i det offentlige rum. På udstillingen optræder gipsmodellen af Han, som i dag er et af hovedværkerne i samlingen på KØS – Museet for kunst i det offentlige rum.

TOVES, Astrup, A Kassen and Ingen Frygt
Within the other main theme of the exhibition, the artist collective TOVES present an annual report; Kirsten Astrup shows a video about the artist’s labour; and the artist groups A Kassen and Ingen Frygt take a critical and satirical view of the economics of desire and the mecha­nisms of the art market.

Goodiepal
Goodiepal brings all this to a head with a work of art that was sold for DKK 250, but came with a DKK 500 bank note. In other words, being an artist does not pay, but there is much to be gained by everyone else – and by society as a whole.