Rising star Alicja Kwade ready with her first Danish solo exhibition

Kunsthal Charlottenborg is proud to present the first major solo exhibition in Denmark with the emerging contemporary artist Alicja Kwade. ’Out of Ousia’ is the title of the international acclaimed artist’s poetic sculptural universe, which is presented at Kunsthal Charlottenborg from 20 September.

The exhibition title Out of Ousia sets the tone for Alicja Kwade’s first solo exhibition in Denmark: With her poetic minimalism and powerful sculptures, the Polish-born artist has created an exhibition that questions science and social conventions. A vase created by the dust from a blended PowerMac, surreal mirror reflections, and a brand-new work created specially to the exhibition consisting of massive stone spheres which lightly float in the air, are some of the sculptural elements that make up the exhibition and surprises and awakens reflection.

Familiar objects imbued with new qualities
Alicja Kwade’s sculptural landscapes often consist of familiar objects and natural materials stripped of their usual function and imbued with new qualities and value. Mass, surfaces and materials act in new ways: pebbles have been cut and polished as if they were diamonds, coal is disguised as gold bars, and branches, glass and copper rise up from the ground, defying gravity. The laws of nature are suspended as Alicja Kwade draws us into her warped version of reality, which is both recognisable and alien, near and far away, real and unreal.

Play with abstract concepts
Alicja Kwade challenges our understanding of abstract concepts such as the nature of time, space and light, the laws of physics, the mysteries of science and the deeply embedded social conventions that form the bedrock of our perception of reality. She raises these large questions in a light-hearted, poetic and humorous way that provokes curiosity, wonder and amusement.

During the last decade, Alicja Kwade has rapidly become a rising star, winning global attention and a prominent place on the international contemporary art scene. Her remarkable career includes exhibitions at leading museums and galleries such as London’s Whitechapel Gallery, Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof, and the Venice Biennial.