Artist talk with Birgitte Anderberg, Hannah Toticki, Jytte Rex and Signe Høi

When Kvindeudstillingen XX opened in 1975, Kunsthal Charlottenborg became a gathering place for some of the most pioneering women artists of the time, including international names such as Marina Abramović, Carolee Schneemann, and Inge Mahn, as well as Danish artists like Kirsten Justesen, Susanne Ussing, Jytte Rex, Ursula Reuter Christiansen, and Lene Adler Petersen. For many of them, the exhibition marked the beginning of their artistic careers and international recognition.

Both thematically and artistically, the exhibition drew attention to the working conditions of women artists, which were heavily shaped by contemporary attitudes toward women. Themes of motherhood, craft traditions associated with women, and femininity in a broader sense were explored in various ways across the exhibition’s works. Despite the extensive media coverage of the event itself, the lack of critical reviews of the artworks reflected the marginalized position of women artists in the art world — a position that often forced many to practice art alongside other jobs, or to abandon their artistic practice entirely.

In the talk The Women’s Exhibition XX – 50 Years After, artists from different generations meet to discuss how conditions for women artists have evolved since then — and what challenges, opportunities, and perspectives define the field today.

The conversation is moderated by Birgitte Anderberg, senior researcher and curator at the National Gallery of Denmark (SMK), and brings together visual artists Hannah Toticki, Jytte Rex, and Signe Høi, student at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, for a reflection on 50 years of art history, artistic practice, and transformation.

About the panelists:
Hannah Toticki (b. 1984) works with sculpture, installation, and performance. Since graduating from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 2016, she has exhibited internationally with solo shows at institutions such as EMST – National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens; MOCAD – Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit; and Galerie Wedding in Berlin, as well as in Denmark at Copenhagen Contemporary, O–Overgaden, and Holstebro Art Museum.

Jytte Rex (b. 1942) has held numerous exhibitions since 1973, including solo shows at Silkeborg Bad, Sophienholm, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum, Brundlund Castle, the Skovgaard Museum, and the Danish Cultural Institutes in Edinburgh, Berlin, and Stuttgart. Most recently, she has exhibited at the Tegner Museum and Esrum Monastery, as well as at Den Frie / The Legacy of Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen and at the National Gallery of Denmark (What’s Happening). This year, a room has opened at SMK where Jytte Rex’s photo prints on aluminum are presented alongside selected works from Kvindeudstillingen XX. She has been honored with, among other distinctions, the Danish Arts Foundation’s lifelong artist grant, the Anne Marie Telmanyi Award, the Eckersberg Medal, the Skovgaard Medal, and the Thorvaldsen Medal.

Signe Høi (b. 1996) lives in Copenhagen and studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. She works with oil painting, sculpture, and printmaking, referencing and queering existing folklore and myths. Her practice moves in the intersection between Expressionism and Symbolism. In 2024, she initiated and organized the exhibition “100 Years of Equal Access to Education for Women at the Academy.” She has previously exhibited at Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling in 2021, 2023, and 2024, as well as at Onions Outpost in 2023.

Birgitte Anderberg (b. 1967). Senior Researcher and Curator at the National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst). She has curated a number of exhibitions, including What’s Happening? Dansk avantgarde og feminisme 1965-75 (SMK 2015), Ursula Reuter Christiansen – Skarpretteren (SMK 2018), Ragna Braase. Tekstil, grafik, sandal (SMK 2019), Efter stilheden. Kunstens kvinder tager ordet (SMK 2021), Jessie Kleemann: Tiden løber løber tiden (SMK 2023), and Käthe Kollwitz. MENSCH (SMK 2024).