2012 IS DRAWING UP PROMISINGLY

In New York things are moving fast and to follow them you will have to get up very early. So that’s exactly what I did on my last trip over there, where I visited 35 artist’s studios in five days. My most important tool is my eye – I look for that special thing, the first powerful image that catches my eye and leaves a powerful and lasting impression.

Usually, I look for paintings, but on this trip I was amazed by all the art on paper that lay around the artists’ studios. At Erik Parker’s studio there was an amazing drawing up on the wall, a drawing that Erik himself found a bit to political – my answer was that art at Gallery Poulsen could never be too political.

That’s why Erik Parker’s drawing is among the works on paper in this new exhibition, where I have selected several notable names and brought them across the Atlantic to the Copenhagen Meatpacking District. It is my great pleasure to offer visitors to Gallery Poulsen a reunion with some of my New York favorites and at the same time to present a group of new interesting artists such as Jade Townsend, Eric White and Daniel Davidson.

Many new things are happening right now regarding art on paper, and around the studios in New York I saw how creative and immediate the artists produce when working with. The painter Arshile Gorky said, ”Drawing is the basis of art. A bad painter cannot draw. But one who is good at drawing, can always paint.” I agree with that to some extend. The paper is an honest medium where I can see the artist’s quick lines and thereby really get to know him or her. I am drawn to the idea that I can spot the artists struggle with the paper and I am convinced that talent is evident when one sees how an artist works on paper. If they are good on paper there is really something to gain.

Several of the artists in the exhibition will have solo exhibitions at Gallery Poulsen later this year. The 2012 program shows how Gallery Poulsen has surely and steadily expanded its connection to the United States, in particular to New York. The ferocity, energy and vitality that characterize the American artists are in perfect harmony with the Gallery Poulsen image.

Welcome!