Biography
HORNSLETH AND THE ART WORLD TABOOS
by Lise Jeppesen, Director, Randers Art Museum Denmark
There is no Danish artist, I personally find more provocative than Kristian von Hornsleth. I was therefore initially skeptical when Hornsleth contacted me in January 2016 with an exhibition proposal. I associated his name with the controversial Uganda project from 2006 and with a lot of pop-inspired paintings with exposed silicone bumps and rabid statements of violence, sexual assault, power and politics. From my point of view as a professional art lover, woman, well-educated and well-meaning cultural radical, his project appeared as something resembling a personal confrontation. But Hornsleths inquiry was not forgotten.
Over the summer of 2018, Hornsleth launched his homeless project, and it became a hot topic in the British media. It was subjected to criticism from the aid organizations, but at the same time the project turned the spotlight on the increasing number of homeless people who have to sleep on the streets, while apartments sold for millions of pounds are empty. My attention was sharpened as to how Hornsleth, with his manipulations, actually manages to expose some tender points: to make basic absurdities visible in society today.
There is no doubt that Hornsleth violates almost any taboo in the art world, and a large number of his works are offensive – often even repulsive! But the case is that Hornsleth’s project is largely aimed at awakening this reluctance or resistance. As a conceptual- and performance artist, Hornsleth has turned provocation into an art form, and he navigates with great success and awareness in the media and the public. We look forward to sharing the exhibition SUPER CRASH with you all.
Museum magazine, Udtryk, about the Hornsleth exhibition, 2019, PDF
WHO IS KRISTIAN von HORNSLETH?
by Wolf-Günter Thiel, art historian and publisher, Berlin
Hornsleth’s works, whatever medium, are countercultural in every sense of the term, at once toying with, exploiting and criticizing popular culture through their defiant attitude to social conformity. Driven by the symbolic representation of his own name, Hornsleth’s work succeeds in engendering its own momentum whilst simultaneously questioning the nature of publicity and celebrity culture at large. Often described as a cross between Friedrich Nietzsche, Andy Warhol and Dr. House, one can always expect a certain playful or egotistical madness in Hornsleth’s work, refreshing and invigorating in its capacity to shock.
There seems to be at least two contradicting approaches in the work of Hornsleth. Firstly his confrontational navigation through contemporary culture built on his own philosophy which he calls Futilism, making one capable of using futility as such in a most constructive way. Secondly his manic insisting of developing a symbolic representation of his own name, ‘Hornsleth’, emblazoned across countless works he’s produced that now reach out all over Denmark and around the world. The word is ‘Hornsleth’, questioning the beauty of manipulation in an often countercultural manner and further questioning if the publicity in itself is more important than the products it endorses, now spreading from branding Lamborghini’s to sculptures, provocative photographs, and people themselves.
Where does all this leave the contemporary person? The Hornsleth Village Project Uganda saw every individual in an African village change their name to Hornsleth, in a simple exchange for a pig or a goat, and outrage ensued. Headlines spread across the world, and questions about ethics arose, but you didn’t hear the villagers complain? Or should we say the Hornsleths? The Hornsleth Arms Investment Corporation drives questions home about the accepted face of capitalism, and the nature of human relations to safety versus cruelty and how commerce can spread the dilemma. Once the message is seen, it’s not forgotten. The Deep Storage Project, is energizing a clarion call to mankind to try and save itself from itself, and utilizing art in a way that offers a potential chance to fight for the future of our species from today.
SUPER CRASH UDSTILLINGEN 2019
Ved Lise Jeppesen, museumsdirektør Randers Kunstmuseum
Det er med stor spænding Randers Kunstmuseum fra den 13. april til den 28. juli 2019 kan vise udstillingen KristianvonHornsleth-SUPERCRASH.Udstillingenharfokuspåkunstneren, provokatøren og mediefænomenet Hornsleths sociale aktivistiske projekter The Hornsleth Village Project Uganda, The Hornsleth Homeless Tracker Project og Hornsleth Arms Investment Corporation samt hans kommercielle brandingprodukter skabt i kunstens navn.
Kristian von Hornsleths værker kritiseres ofte for at være ren provokation, idet de eksplicit udfordrer dominerende normer for acceptabel adfærd. Hornsleth udfordrer kunstsystemet: værkbegrebet, ophavsretten, kunstinstitutionen og kunstpublikummet. Udstillingen SUPER CRASH er derfor i høj grad et eksperiment. Hvad sker der, når institutionen indoptager kritikken og udstiller den? Hornsleth har i vid udstrækning fået frie hænder med udstillingen.
Von Hornsleths kunstneriske projekt handler i høj grad om at udvikle modkulturer til det etablerede ved at fordreje, æstetisere eller blot visualisere politiske og socioøkonomiske problematikker. Midt i en krænkelseskultur manipulerer han, og gør det ofte mesterligt, med vores adfærdsmønstre og holdninger, og en lang række mennesker køber hans værker. Om udstillingen skriver Kristian von Hornsleth: “Min kunst har altid søgt konfrontationen med alle autoritative officielle systemer, lige fra kulturens institutioner til de dominerende politiske magtbastioner. For mig er en sund kultur, en kultur, der stiller kompromisløse spørgsmål til magthaverne, og samtidig anviser nye veje mod en bedre og mere demokratisk global fremtid.” Det er von Hornsleths første danske museumsudstilling.
Udstillingen Kristian von Hornsleth – SUPER CRASH har delvist retrospektiv karakter og viser fotografi, installation, film, maleri, keramik og objekter fra 1999 til 2019. Som en nomade bevæger Hornsleth sig i et terræn af kunstneriske udtryksformer og hans kendskab til dansk og international kunst er stort. Han annekterer de forskellige medier, udforsker deres muligheder og gør dem til del af sit projekt.
I malerierne karikeres stiltræk fra ekspressionismen og kontrasteres med pornografiske billeder, pressefoto af politiske topmøder eller samfundsmæssige kriser. Han anvender strategier fra popkunsten og masseproducerer værkerne som salgsobjekter. Kunstnersignaturen og hermed kunstnermyten dyrkes narcissistisk og megalomant. Hvert værk signeres med navnet Horn$leth, så stort at navnet fremtræder som værkets egentlige budskab. Signaturen brandes på alt – fra store farvestrålende malerier med kendisser som Donald Trump, Pamela Anderson og Leonardo DiCaprio til Rolex ure, Ilva møbler, våben, motorcykler og indbyggere i en ugandisk landsby.
Hornsleths strategi synes at være at sætte identiteten ”Horn$leth” i centrum som et brand for alle hans projekter. Derved stiller Hornsleth samtidig spørgsmål ved kunstbegrebet som en autentisk eller inderlig afspejling af tiden og individet. Er værkernes indhold ren reklame efter devisen: “There is no product only marketing”? Han ønsker mediedebatten og anvender med stor succes kunstens udtryksformer som middel til det mål.
I den forstand er Hornsleth en forretningsmand, og hans kunstprojekt samt de sociale aktiviteter kan fremtræde som ondsindet kynisme. Som en kommerciel udvanding af forestillingen om kunstværket som frit, originalt, autentisk eller inderligt, men også som en etisk problematisk og grov udnyttelse af mennesker til fordel for personlig promovering. ”Fuck the poor – Horn$leth 2015” står der med store bogstaver på et monumentalt maleri skabt af den velhavende, hvide mandlige kunstner. I baggrunden vises et sort-hvidt foto af motorløbet i Monte Carlo.
Diskussionen om mål og middel er særligt betændt i forbindelse med de sociale politiske projekter, The Hornsleth Village Project Uganda og The Hornsleth Homeless Tracker Project, hvor Hornsleth agerer som aktivist og tilbyder velfærdsgoder, men kun til dem der deltager i hans projekt og lader sig ’købe’. Men er den handel ligeværdig, når den ene part er økonomisk ringere stillet end den anden? Har kunsten en forpligtelse til at indgå i etisk velovervejede relationer? For Hornsleth handler strategien, hvor han æstetiserer og visualiserer social nød, om at blotlægge velfærdssystemernes dysfunktionelle, absurde og ineffektive karakter og de realpolitiske og magthierarkiske forhold, de er forbundet med. Læs mere om problematikken i udstillingens publikation SUPER CRASH, hvor den diskuteres af både Camilla Møhring Reestorff og Mikkel Boris
Den amerikanske forfatter Arthur C. Danto har i publikationen After the end of art (1995) lanceret teorien om, at kunsten med det 20. århundredes avantgardebevægelser har opløst sig selv, og at dét, vi har kunnet opleve på kunstscenen de sidste 20 år, er de sidste krampetrækninger i et allerede dødt legeme. Hvis man anlægger det perspektiv, fremstår Hornsleth som den store dukkefører, der med sine snore animerer og orkestrerer en forestilling, hvor både magthavernes, mediernes, kunstverdenens, socialrådgivernes og selvfølgelig publikums reaktioner bliver del af værket.
I sidste ende er Hornsleths egentlige metier performance- og konceptkunstner, men hvor 1960’ernes konceptkunst var produceret ud fra devisen ”stor idé i en minimal form”, dyrker Hornsleth nærmest det modsatte. Idéen er til tider lille, men den udtrykkes i en stadig større og mere iøjnefaldende teatralsk form. Andre gange tager værket afsæt i et tabu forbundet med skyld eller skam, der så kontroversielt italesættes i rabiate slogans og sættes i spil som et storstilet mediecirkus.
Bliver ironien i sidste ende til selvironi? Er det her Hornsleths egentlige kritik formuleres? Kan Hornsleths kunstneriske projekt ses som den sidste romantikers forsøg på at afdække den vestlige verdens materialisme, kolonialisme og magtstrukturer i et oprigtigt håb om at skabe en bedre verden? Eller forbliver det en iscenesættelse? En diskussion af kunstens evne eller mangel på samme til at påvirke reel politisk forandring?
Randers Kunstmuseum har som museum for dansk kunst et bredt fokus på kunstscenen i dag. En særlig interesse er dog rettet mod kunstnere, der på forskellig vis agerer i yderkanten af det etablerede. Med disse udstillinger ønsker museet specifikt at debattere kunstfeltets grænseområder, kunst kontra branding, finkultur kontra populærkultur, kunst kontra politisk propaganda, kunst kontra ikke-kunst, det tabuiserede kontra det etablerede. Hvad der så sker under SUPER CRASH, når værkerne udstilles inden for kunstinstitutionens rammer, bliver interessant. Holder værkerne som kunst? Bliver kritikken tam? Eller er det modsat institutionens rammer, der smuldrer under frontalangrebet?
Vi glæder os til at dele udstillingen med publikum.
I arbejdet med udstillingen har Kristian von Hornsleth og hans assistenter ydet en enestående stor indsats. Det havde ikke været muligt at gennemføre et så omfangsrigt udstillingsprojekt uden deres dedikerede og selvstændige indsats. Udstillingen er blevet langt større end de økonomiske rammer ellers ville have tilladt. Der skal også lyde en stor tak til publikationens forfattere, Camilla Møhring Reestorff, Mikkel Boris, Tiziana Casapietra, Danilo Trogu, Jonas Bergstrøm, Carmen Line Hust, Wolf-Günter Thiel og Rasmus Willig og til Dennis Reindau, Sebastian Gyrst-Lonsig Christensen og Kristian von Hornsleth, der har stået for arbejdet med grafik og opsætning.
Stor tak til de hjemløse fra projektet The Hornsleth Homeless Tracker Project, der passioneret har tilbudt at dele deres historie og interesse for projektet med publikum i forbindelse med udstillingens åbning.
Udover værker fra Hornsleths egen samling omfatter udstillingen malerier fra en række private samlere. Vi er glade for at kunne præsentere dette udvalg af værker for offentligheden og vil benytte lejligheden til hjerteligt at takke de mange udlånere. Udstillingen ville ikke kunne være blevet realiseret uden Jer.
Lise Jeppesen, Museumsdirektør Randers Kunstmuseum
Shows
- 2022 “Great Love Will Come Again”, Miami private show r0om, Wynwood. Link
- 2022 “Rebels of Wealth”, NFT Project, 0ver 1000 sold, Copenhagen Denamark. Link
- 2022 “Political Art”, Warsaw National Art Museum, U-jazdowsky. Link
- 2021 “More than champagne”, Galerie Renate Kammer, Hamburg, group show. Info Catalogue
- 2019 “Supercrash”, Randers Art Museum, Denmark. Info
- 2012 “Painted Models”, Fashion Week Sao Paulo”, Kee Mod agency, November. Info
- 2012 “Freak Night and Deep Storage Project”, with Flaming Lips, Oklahoma, October. Info
- 2012 “Deep Storage New York”, White Box Manhattan, October. Info
- 2012 “Super Panic Light Box Show”, Platinum Lace, London, March, info
- 2012 “New Works”, GG Gallery, London, May
- 2011 3rd Annual Christmas Show, 20th Century Theatre, Notting HIll, London
- 2011 “Great Love Will Come Again”, Ralph Schriever Galerie, Cologne, Germany
- 2011 “Dead Porn Stars Litany”, FB69 Gallery, Münster, Germany
- 2011 Amsterdam Art Fair / FB69 Gallery Münster Germany
- 2011 “Projects of Exploitation, Death and Eternity”, GG Gallery, London
- 2011 “The Hornsleth Morgan”, Milano Design Week
- 2010 “Lord Mayors Parade” London with Morgan car producers
- 2011 Playtime Gallery and Bar, London, 2 February
- 2009 Opening Party, Hornsleth Showroom Aarhus, 21. Aug
- 2009 “Deep Storage Project”, Galerie de Grancy, Lausanne, Switzerland
- 2009 Langelands Efterskole Massacre Performance, 16. May
- 2009 Deep Storage Project, 798 Space, Beijing, China
- 2009 Deep storage Project, Stageback Gallery, Shanghai, China
- 2009 Deep storage Project, University of Guam, Guam, USA
- 2009 Deep Storage Project, BN24 Galerie, Hamburg, Germany
- 2009 Deep Storage Project, Bangkok, Soul Flower Gallery, Bangkok
- 2009 Fuck the Financial Crises, Galerie FB69, Münster, Germany
- 2008 New Works and Old Fears, A Fine Arts Gallery, Odense
- 2008 Hornsleth Arms Investment Corporation, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen
- 2006 The Hornsleth Village Project Uganda, photos and video, Pressen, Politiken, Copenhagen
- 2006 We have money than God, paintings, Solon Kaffi Galerie, Reykjavik
- 2006 My Collectors Are Richer Than Yours, paintings, Another Year in L.A. Gallery, Los Angeles
- 2006 Just Get Rich, paintings and sculptures, DDM Gallery, Shanghai
- 2005 The New Hornsleth Restaurant, Apropos Galerie, Cologne, book
- 2005 Horn$leth Hurt$ Cu€to, Valerie Cueto Galerie, Paris, catalogue
- 2004 Bored to Death in Switzerland, JF Galerie, Zürich
- 2004 The Viking Art Party, The Hands in Clay Gallery, Shanghai
- 2004 The 10 Hornsleth Lounge Parties, 10 different locations 2002 – 2004, Copenhagen
- 2003 Fuck My Brains Out, Knud Grothe Galerie, Copenhagen
- 2002 F.Y.A.L., Baumgartner Gallery, New York
- 2001 Versus, Center of Attention Gallery, with Tai Shani, London
- 2001 Promi Paranoia, Felix Leiter Gallery, Berlin
- 2001 My Collectors Are Richer Than Yours, Galerie Heitsch, Munich
- 2001 Fucking Liars and Timeless Constructions, JF Galerie, Zürich
- 2001 Rape Kill Steal Burn, Galerie Mirko Mayer, Cologne
- 2001 Rape Kill Steal Burn, Stalke Gallery, Copenhagen
- 2000 The Hornsleth Bucherer Jewelry Project, Moscow Art Fair, with Galerie Volker Diehl, Moscow
- 2000 The Hornsleth Bucherer Jewelry Project, Cobblestone Film Production GmbH, Hamburg
- 2000 Fuck You Art Lovers, Galerie Jörg Heitsch, Munich
- 1999 New Brandings, Stalke Gallery, Copenhagen
- 1998 Nice Paintings for Nice Homes, Paustian, Copenhagen, Catalogue
- 1998 Group 7, Stalke Gallery, Copenhagen
- 1997 Civilization Critiques, Stalke Gallery, Copenhagen, Catalogue
- 1997 Elaborated Copies From The Big Noise, 10 shows with Danish Art Associations, Catalogue
- 1996 Futilistic Intervention, architectural installation, European Cultural Capital Copenhagen ’96
- 1995 The Hornsleth Death List, Sophienholm, Cobra Space, Copenhagen
Group shows
- 2012 Price of Freedom, Imitate Modern, London, February
- 2009 Love, Rohde Contemporary, Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2009 Détournement, 53. Biennale, Venezia, Italia, Project program, Weblink
- 2009 Industrial Culture, the Globes, National Museum, Brede Værk, Denmark
- 2009 Stalke Up North, Copenhagen, ONE Copenhagen, Six Americans / Six Danes,curator: Dove Bradshaw; artists: Anastasi, Andre, Barry, Bradshaw, Kretschmer, Passehl, Dahlgaard, Ebbesen, Hornsleth, Jedig, Mertz, Recke ONE Copenhagen on-line catalogue
- 2009 Play Along, Galleri Rumkammeraterne, Copenhagen
- 2008 Rebranding X-mas, Galleri Fedt, Copenhagen
- 2008 Mit der Nase in die Zukunft, FB69 Galerie, Münster
- 2008 Overkill, Wonderland Art Space, Copenhagen
- 2007 Unfair Trade, Landesmuseum Joanneum, Neue Galerie, with Gursky, Sierra a.o., Graz, Austria
- 2007 Curating Contest, La Hotel Louisine, with Galerie Olivier Robert, Paris
- 2007 Shanghai Art Fair, with 1918 Art Space, Shanghai
- 2007 Asia Europe Meditations, Posnan, Poland, Catalogue
- 2007 The Hornsleth Village Project, lecture July 1 at WSNHiD University, Posnan, Poland
- 2005 ARCO ’05 Art Fair, Galerie Valerie Cueto, Madrid
- 2004 Bruxelles Art Fair, Galerie Valerie Cueto
- 2004 Lies, Lust, Art & Fashion, Podewil, Berlin
- 2003 Albisola, Italy, Attese, Ceramic Biennale #2
- 2002 Berlin, Potsdamer Platz, Deutsche Recycling, DKR, U-Bahn tunnel project, catalouge
- 2002 Genève, Musèe Ariana, Ceramics from The Ceramic Biennale, Albisola, Italy
- 2001 Cologne, Art Cologne with Galerie Mirko Mayer
- 2001 Cologne, BBK, Bundesverband Bildende Kunst Köln, Oktober
- 2001 The Happy Face of Globalisation, Attese Organizatione, Ceramic Biennale , Albisola, Italy
- 2001 Tirana Bienale, invited by Giancarlo Politi, the Flash Art editor, catalogue, Albania
- 2000 Art Forum Berlin with Galerie Mirko Mayer, Berlin
- 2000 Fouri Uso 2000, invited by the curator Helene Kontova of Flash Art, catalogue, Pescara, Italy
- 2000 Liste 2000, with Stalke Gallery, Basel
- 2000 Fun Fame and Fortune, Galerie Mirko Mayer, Cologne
- 1999 Art Forum, with Galerie Volker Diehl, Berlin
- 1999 Liste 99, The Young Art Fair, Stalke Gallery, Basel
- 1999 Art Frankfurt, with Stalke Gallery
- 1998 Stalke Gallery, The 10 year aniversary show, Copenhagen
- 1997 Stockholm Art fair, Stalke Gallery
- 1996 Copenhagen, Stalke Gallery, Status 3
- 1995 Vienna Architechture Festival, invited by Scott Ritter
Special projects
- 2009 ILVA, Making love to 2 mill people, art prints on canvas
- 2008 Hornsleth on the Mobile, with iLoop Mobile Europe ApS, sms: ‘hornsleth’ to 1940
- 2008 TV DR2 Smagsdommerne, The Judges of Taste, 14. feb, a culture debate show
- 2007 Smagsdommerne, The Judges of Taste, culture debate show, TV DR2 Danmarks Radio
- 2007 Bestseller Denmark, Kill Me Fast, ten shows and performances in ‘Selected’ fashion shops
- 2007 The Ducati 1098 Project Kill Me Fast #1-10, painted and exhibited around Denmark
- 2007 Fair Trade for Max Havelaar, poster project, Denmark
- 2006 Smagsdommerne, The Judges of Taste, culture debate show, TV DR2 Danmarks Radio
- 2006 Hornsleth Village Project Uganda, 100 people added ‘Hornsleth’ to name for farm animals, link
- 2001 Saxobank Denmark, Chance Operation, an ongoing installation project
Education
- 1988-94 MA, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art, Architecture
- 1983-86 Geology studies, University of Copenhagen
- 1987-88 Copenhagen Business School
Art group
- 2008 Co founder of PP08 – Psycho Pop 2008, with Smike Käzner, Søren Dahlgaard, and others
- 1999 Co founder of PERMANENT VACATION, with Flash Art critic Wolf-Günter Thiel
- 1994 Founder of art group FSP, Futilistic Society Projects, Publishing, Sound
- 1990 Co founder of Juan Uno Etc. with artist Marco Evaristti and novellist Benn Q.Holm
Concerts and theatre
- 1999 Four Futlistic Sound Images, by F.S.P. Group, Stengade 30 Concert House, Copenhagen, DVD
- 1998 Nice Music For Nice Homes, Sound works performed by FSP at Paustian House, Copenhagen
- 1998 The Sound of Futilism, Solo piano by Hornsleth, Broendby Music School, Copenhagen
- 1995 Mariage of Heaven and Hell, opera performance, Juan Uno Etc., Second Opera, Copenhagen
- 1995 Mariage of Heaven and Hell, opera performance, Juan Uno Etc., New Theatre, Horsens, DK
Music editions
- 1999 Four Futlistic Sound Images, Live from Stengade Concert House, Copenhagen DVD 60 min
- 1998 Nice Music For Nice Homes, improvised sound work, by FSP, CD 63 min
- 1997 Fucking A Minor, Solo piano works by Kristian von Hornsleth, CD 70 min
Film
- 2006 The Hornsleth Village Project Uganda, with H. Lundo, TV DR2
- 2003 Fuck You Art Lovers Live No.2 , a sex triangle mouning ‘Hornsleth’, 5 min
- 1999 Talks on Futilism, 45 min, The Danish Film Institute Workshop
- 1999 Fuck You Art Lovers Live No.1, a silevr dildo demonstration, 5 min
- 1996 Babylon96Copenhagen, S16 mm, 5 min, with Evaristti/Holm, The Danish Film Inst. Workshop
- 1996 The Finger Phenomena, S16 mm, 33 min, with Evaristti, The Danish Film Institue Workshop
Bibliography
- 2003 Fuck My Brains Out, 24 pages, Grothe Gallery Copenhagen
- 1998 Nice paintings for nice homes, Paustian 16 pages, Futilistic Society Publishing, Copenhagen
- 1997 The Futilistic Manifest, 120 pages, Futilistic Society Publishing, Copenhagen
- 1997 Civilization Critiques, 24 pages, Stalke Gallery, Futilistic Society Publishing, Copenhagen
- 1997 Elaborated copies from the big noise -paintings of futilism, 24 pages, Danish Art Unions
- 1993 Dø Vågnende Søvn, Die Awakenen sleep, 240 pages, with Evaritti/Holm, Juan Uno Etc. Publ.
- 1992 The Litany of Hate, Overgaden, Copenhagen, 24 pages, Juan Uno Etc Publ., Copenhagen
- 1991 The Urban Delirium, 98 pages, Juan Uno Etc Publishing
Grants
- 1998 The Danish State Art Foundation
- 1998 The Danish State Music Council
- 1998 Danida Traveling Grant
- 1997 L.F. Foughts Foundation
- 1997 The Danish State Art Foundation
- 1997 The Danish Film Institute, The Workshop
- 1996 Copenhagen Cultural Capital Foundation
- 1995 The Danish Film Institute, The Workshop
- 1995 The State Music Council