Art Copenhagen opens its doors this weekend at Forum in Frederiksberg to an eclectic cocktail of Danish galleries and selected international galleries, many of whom have never exhibited in Denmark before.

Since 1997, the Nordic Art Fair has been the event of the year for 70 galleries to showcase the masterpieces of their artists. Traditionally the fair has revolved around the talent of Scandinavian artists, but this year the event is taking on a more international flavour under the name Art Copenhagen. The regular Danish exhibitors have invited both established and up-and-coming partner galleries from Melbourne to Berlin. The ten new international galleries fortunate enough to participate in the fair include: Belgium’s Alice, Germany’s Jochen Hempel, Paul Andriesse from the Netherlands, Britain’s Work

Projects and Australia’s Neon Parc. This has attracted the keen interest of more than 100 international art collectors, and Art Copenhagen is expected to attract a record number of visitors to the compact confines of Forum.

This year, as well as the established galleries displaying the well-known works of Danish artists such as Asger Jorn, Michael Kvium, Martin Bigum, Per Kirkeby and Tal R, Art Copenhagen has decided to have a special focus on solo presentations to give a deeper perspective into a particular artist’s works.

Tony Matelli
This American artist Tony Matelli’s simultaneously disquieting and humorous sculptures can currently be experienced at ARoS art museum in Aarhus. Matelli is well-known for his lifelike hyper-realistic representations of apes in human situations. In the past ten years, he has moved away from depicting humans to simply portraying varying signs of human existence instead. The gallery Andréhn-Schiptjenko will be presenting the thought-provoking installation Weeds. These expertly crafted weeds will have a menacing presence in the context of Forum’s gallery space.

Jacob Holdt
Danish artists also feature prominently in the gallery showcases: Photographer and activist Jacob Holdt’s American Pictures from 1977 is a legendary work that captured the hardship existing among the American underclasses in the 1970s. Danish Gallery V1 will be devoting a large part of their stand to his fascinating and insightful imagery.

Gudrun Hasle
Gallery Tom Christoffersen is exhibiting Gudrun Hasle’s intensely personal artwork, ranging from embroidery to music, video and paintings. Her naive art style revolves around the feelings of being outside society norms and gives an extraordinary insight into the world of a dyslexic.

Ivan Andersen
Ivan Andersen is a central figure within the new generation of figurative artists. His inspiration comes from transforming recognisable everyday urban reality into bold and colourful landscapes. These can be witnessed close-up at Bo Bjerggård’s stand.

Eva Koch
Martin Asbæk gallery will be showing off the works of artist Eva Koch. Originally a sculptor, in recent years her video installations have received international acclaim with works such as ‘In the interim’, which was shot in St Peter’s cathedral in Rome and features close-ups of differing facial expressions and glances.

Gallery Night
On Saturday evening, after Art Copenhagen’s opening hours, the fair has come up with an exciting new initiative in collaboration with the art portal Kunsten.nu: Gallery Night. Copenhagen art galleries will be open on Saturday night from 7pm until 10pm to welcome visitors with a taste for an extra serving of contemporary art after the fair’s closing. Over the three days of the fair, there will also be talks and debates on art collection for those who master the Danish language. See the website for further details.

Although this year Art Copenhagen will have a more international feel, the event still gives a perfect and affordable glimpse into the world of Danish art, both traditional and contemporary.
The more adventurous among you may be tempted to make a bold move into the unpredictable world of art investment.
Who knows? The etchings of today’s unknown artist could be tomorrow’s highly collectable objet d’art.

Forum Copenhagen, Julius Thomsens Plads 1, Frederiksberg; starts Fri, ends Sun, open Fri 16:00-21:00, Sat 11:00-18:00, Sun 11:00-17:00; tickets: 100kr per day, 150kr for three-day pass, students: 50kr, under-12s free adm, tickets available at the door; www.artcopenhagen.dk