With Poul Anker Bech, we find ourselves somewhere between dream and reality. Bech created illusions which are rooted in reality and recognisability, leading to acknowledgement. The most important thing in Bech’s works is the sense of time. What has happened? What is about to happen? We let ourselves be carried away by the artist’s enigmatic universe. Poul Anker Bech originally graduated with an MA in history and art history from Aarhus University in 1973 and worked for many years as an upper secondary school teacher. It was not until 1988 that he quit his teaching job to work as a visual artist full time.
Poul Anker Bech’s Art and Motifs
Bech depicted life and focused on what makes it worth living. Like a kind of memento mori with the trope reversed, we must remember to live life. Is man at the centre and the surrounding nature a mere frame? Or is nature’s frame the real and lived life in which man goes about his daily business without actually seeing what is happening around him? Bech asks us the question: What actually is the meaning of life? Nature is often present in the form of romantic skies, deserted beaches and lush, green grass. But something always stands in the way! With its changing lighting, nature provides a beautifully and carefully painted backdrop, but in a world where human waste is visible. Poul Anker Bech completed a large number of commissions for municipalities, the state, hospitals, schools, universities and churches. He is represented at the Poul Anker Bech Collection in Vrå, Vejle Kunstmuseum, Hjørring Kunstmuseum, Skive Kunstmuseum and the National Gallery of Denmark, among other places. He was also involved in numerous artists’ associations, including “Høst” and “Corner”.
Poul Anker Bech – His Main Works and Innovations
Among Bech’s innovative pieces are the aerial paintings that he began to create from 1982. His main work is “Omkring en gård ved fjorden” (Around a Farm by the Fjord), which most clearly reveals a brand-new perception of both perspective and painting. Poul Anker Bech did his first major commission “Mediet” for the newspaper Aalborg Stiftstidende (1986). Many hours of preparation went into this painting, including in the air above Aalborg with press photographer and pilot Thorkild Balslev (Poul Anker Bech himself held a pilot’s licence). The painting is a masterpiece, not only in Poul Anker Bech’s oeuvre, but even in more recent Danish interior design. NATO’s headquarters in Karup also commissioned an “air piece” (1987). The group of golfer motifs he worked with from the late 1970s, with “Golfspiller ved Serritslev Kirke” (Golf Player at Serritslev Church) (1986) as his main work, also stands out. One late evening in July 1993, Poul Anker Bech’s studio and archive burned down. Unfortunately, an unusually large number of paintings were stored in the studio, and most of them were lost. These were older, hugely significant paintings such as “International Business Class” (1983) and the monumental and often reproduced “Under broen” (Under the Bridge) (1982).
Surrealism and Humour – Poul Anker Bech and Life
The North Jutland painter Poul Anker Bech is not easy to shake off once you’ve set foot in his curious visual universe. He has had a new neighbourhood named after him in Hasseris Enge in Aalborg. His works have been the subject of a theatrical performance, and his life has become a museum soundtrack. The Danish painter Poul Anker Bech’s works contain equal parts enigmatic realism and North Jutland humour. Surrealism is alive and kicking in Bech’s fine and expressive painting. His works are a thought-provoking, refreshing and original contribution to Danish art history.
At Exhibition with Poul Anker Bech
Charlottenborg. Spring 1973; Pro 1973–90; Å-udst. 1976, 1981; Vrå-udst. 1977, 1979, 1981–85, 1987–88, 1990, 1992; Jutland 1978-93; Sødertälje Konsthall 1975; Gothenburg 1975; Dortmund 1976; Kunstforeningen (The Art Society), Copenhagen. 1980; FIAC, Grand Palais, Paris 1984, 1986–88; Jeune Peinture, smst. 1987; São Paolo 1987; Grand Palais, Paris 1988; Riga 1988; Kunsten 89, Charl.borg 1989; Nikolaj, Cph. 1989; Forum, Hamburg 1989.
Solo exhibitions: Gal. A-gruppen, Cph. 1975; Gal. Birkdam, Cph. 1977; Holst Halvorsens Kunsthdl., Oslo 1979; Gal. Passepartout, Cph. 1981–82; Hjørring Kunstmus. 1981–82; Gal. Nord, Randers 1982; Det da. Hus, Paris 1984; Storstrøms Kunstmus. 1984; Bjørn Lindgren Gal., N.Y. 1984–85; Maison de la culture de Rennes 1984–85; Gal. Massol, Paris 1985; Gal. Brigitte Rocourt, Paris 1985; Gl. Holtegaard 1986; Gal. Asbæk, Cph. 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992; Sao Paulo, Brazil. 1987; Jens Nielsen og Olivia Holm-Møller Mus. 1988; Fr.havn Kunstmus. 1989; Gal. Werner Melletin, Cologne 1990; Arte Internat., Hamburg 1990; Gal. Liane Franois, Paris 1990, 1992; Gal. Nøglebæk, Odense 1991; Billedværkstedet, Brovst 1991 (with Hans Berg og Birte Ohsten); Vrå Kunstbygn. 1993; Art Cologne in Cologne, 1997; Vendsyssel Kunstmuseum 2003; Randers Kunstmuseum 2004; Nivaagaard 2005; Randers Kunstmuseum, 2010; Kunstbygningen i Vrå 2011; Vendsyssel Kunstmuseum, Arbejdermuseet, Bornholms Kunstmuseum 2012.
A Selection of Poul Anker Bech’s Nominations, Grants and Awards
1981 – The Danish Arts Foundation 1981.
1983 – Zacharias Jacobsen’s Grant.
1988 – The Danish Arts Foundation’s 3-year grant. Quitting his job as a teacher gave Poul Anker Bech so much peace to work.
1988 – Sødring’s Grant
2001 – Awarded the State’s artists’ grant by the Danish Parliament's Finance Committee.
2004 – Cross of the Order of Chivalry.
Works by Poul Anker Bech for Sale at Bruun Rasmussen
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