A colourful, daring darling
by Josephine Boesen,
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HuskMitNavn/RememberMyName (b.1975) is a darling of the Danish and the international art scene. The artist is extremely popular amongst the nations art lovers and is not only reachable within the traditional art institutions, represented by galleries and museums, but can also be experienced on the streets of Copenhagen, Aarhus and multiple locations around the world. HuskMitNavn has not only caught the eye of the generic art world but also of the general public from teenagers to middle-aged mortgage investors.
HuskMitNavn began his art practice on the streets of Copenhagen, making his works in direct relation to the surrounding environment, on the surrounding environment. The artist has not left the street but has adapted his practice to fit the formal art institutions as well, through painting (on canvas not walls), drawing, graphics and lately via social media and book releases. In 2016, 150 of the artist’s Instagram-paperworks were published by Gyldendal alongside a colouring book with 64 drawings to be explored by colouring enthusiasts.
Through his art, HuskMitNavn consistently comments on the political environment as well as personal everyday experiences, continually communicated to his fans via photos and videos on Instagram and Facebook – while still remaining completely anonymous. HuskMitNavn has maintained anonymity even though his main canvas is no longer the streets.
What the artist has also maintained, is his unmistakable brushstroke and stylized caricatures, which form the basis for his narratives. His work is never accompanied by elaborate statements; the depicted characters can speak for themselves. HuskMitNavn is incessantly evolving his artistic practice through trompe l’oeil experiments, new materials, and references to the history of art.
With his usual sense of humor, irony, and empathy, HuskMitNavn captures the exceptionally ordinary implications of modern everyday life. That is, huge amounts of laundry, sleep deprivation, train rides to school, dentist appointments, all these familiar obstacles of life figure alongside everyday miracles such as random acts of love and accidental kindness.
HuskMitNavn takes as his starting point the joy of recognition – the fact that the viewer generally likes to be able to recognize him or herself in the depicted situation. The artist is of the opinion that it is “deadly boring” to hear artists’ account of their artistic practice and would much rather see the work from the viewers’ perspective, therefore he leaves the interpretation of his work to his audience.
CV
b. 1975, Denmark
Lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark
www.huskmitnavn.com
Represented by
Charlotte Fogh Contemporary, Aarhus, Denmark
V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Alice Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
SELECTED SOLO AND TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2016 DAD, Charlotte Fogh Gallery, Aarhus, Denmark
2015 Morning, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
New Drawings, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2014 Cruel Summer, Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, US
Please Come Back, Linköping kunsthal, Linköping, Sweden
Here is Somewhere Else, Charlotte Fogh Gallery, Aarhus, Denmark
2013 The Hanging (with Mike Swaney), Ruttkowski68, Cologne, Germany
One of These Days, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2012 Fra Værksted til Værk, A Retrospecktive, KØS Museum of Art in the Public Spaces, Køge, Denmark
2011 HuskMitNavn, Allegra LaVioale Gallery, New York, US
Alone Together, Charlotte Fogh Contemporary, Aarhus, Denmark
Fake IDs (with Horfee) Gallery Steinsland Berliner, Stockholm, Sweden
2010 The Last Night (with Barry McGee) A.L.I.C.E. Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Mens Vi Venter på Opsvinget, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
New Prints, Schäfer Grafisk Værksted, Copenhagen, Denmark
2009 Fra vugge til grav, Charlotte Fogh Contemporary, Aarhus, Denmark
It Takes Two, LaViolaBank Gallery, New York, US
2008 WokStore, RememberMyName, Milan, Italy
København Søges, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2016 Character, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen Denmark
2015 13, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Nude Show, Charlotte Fogh Gallery, Aarhus, Denmark
Mapping the City, Sommerset House, London, UK
2014 Inaugural Exhibition, Allouche Gallery, New York, US
Knock Knock, Galeria Javier Lopez, Madrid, Spain
Cruel summer, Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York, US
Grand opening, Allouche Gallery, New York, US
Duck Show, Greenpoint terminal Gallery, New York, US
Gisp, Norden Hus, Thorshavn, Færøerne
Group show, A.L.I.C.E. Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Vejen, Nivågaards Malerisamling, Nivå, Denmark
2013 Birthday show, Steinsland Berliner Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
Nudes, Guerrero Gallery, San Fransisco, US
Future memory, Hellerau, Dresden, Germany
SMÆK!, Storm P. Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark
Beef or Chicken (curated by Jesper Elg), The Hole Gallery, New York
2012 New Nordic – Architecture and Identity, Louisiana, Museum of Modern Art, Denmark
Secret Garden. Ny dansk kunst i Thurahs barokhave (Group exhibition), Gl. Holtegaard, Holte, Denmark
Visit Tingbjerg, Contemporary Arts Festival, Denmark
An Øje at The Hole, curated by Jens Peter Brask, The Hole Gallery, Bowery; New York
Urban Art at the End of the World, Vardø, Norway
Domesticated Souls, Alice Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Grand Opening, Charlotte Fogh Contemporary, Aarhus, Denmark
September Group Show, Guerrero Gallery, San Fransisco, US
MURALS
Vestas, Novozymes, Roskilde festivalen, Vega, Distortion festivalen, Tusindfryd Ålborg, Nykøbing F. Festuge, Kaffadeli, Teaterstykket Mæh, Tjilli Pop, Det Kongelige Teater, Arvika festivalen Sverige, Månefiskeren Christiania, Mungo Park Teater, 2’Hand Records, fritidshjemmet Rumraketten, Visit Danmark, Café Fliesen, Stars Vordingborg, Plot, Backjumps Berlin, Kosmopolite Festival Paris, Asphalte Festival Charleroi, Whiteaway.com, Righshospitalet, Dyvekeskolen, Sorø Privatskole, Kofoed Skole, Næstved Kommune, Linköping Kunsthal, Sønderborg Statsskole, Det danske hus i Palæstina, Vardø Norge, Prismen Café, KØS Museum, Biblioteket Rentemestervej, ill Café Stockholm
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Statens Museum for Kunst, The National Museum of Fine Arts, Denmark
Dansk Plakatmuseum, Danish Postermuseum, Aarhus, Denmak
Kunstindustrimuseet, Danish Museum of Art and Design, Denmak
ARoS Museum of Modern Art, Aarhus, Denmark