The Wonders of Everyday Life

Are you interested in contemporary art that plays games with your senses and your convictions? Then check out the current photo auction. Here the artists Peter Holst Henckel, Jakob Hunosøe, Jesper Rasmussen and Peter Funch plays tricks on everyday life – with both poetic, political and disquieting results.

Jakob Hunosøe: "Egg Roll", 2007. Ed. 1/5. Signed Jakob Hunosøe on verso. Digital c-print. 100 x 66 cm. Estimate: DKK 3,000-5,000.

Peter Holst Henckel: "Paradise Cut Up", 2003. Ed. 3/3. Signed Peter Holst Henckel verso. Lambda print. 100 x 80 cm. Estimate: DKK 3,000-5,000.

Jesper Rasmussen: "Politigården, København 2005". Edition 3/3 + 2 AP. Signed Jesper Rasmussen on verso. Lambda print. 80 x 120 cm.  Estimate: DKK 4,000-5,000.

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This time around, the photo auction has a record number of high quality contemporary photographs. The Danish contemporary artists Peter Holst Henckel, Jakob Hunosøe, Jesper Rasmussen and Peter Funch all ”document” everyday life and our modern existence in their photographic art – they have focused their lens on the humdrum of everyday life and the complexity of our modern existence – but the results are very different, from the poetic and humorous to the enlightening and ominous.

The Politically Humorous Philosopher

Peter Holst Henckel (born 1966) is well represented at the auction with no less than nine works from three different series, including the "Cut Up" series. Here, the artist has photographed a number of recognizable book spines so that new humorous, telling and subtle quotes appear: ”Jeg elsker de unge positive” (I Love the Young Positives) or ”Hvem ejer midten af paradis?” (Who Owns the Middle of Paradise?). The flora in Holst Henckel's series, "Flora Danica III", also contains several layers of meaning: Within the leaves and flowers, famous politicians and other figures from the artist's own time period can be found and thereby create new structures. In an often humorous and fascinating way, Holst Henckel pinpoints the complexity of our modern life.

The Poetic and the Unsettling

Jakob Hunosøe also works with humour and recognizable everyday objects in his art. He immortalizes everyday objects in situations that dissolve our conceptions of reality and the laws of nature. Suddenly, the water in the faucet rises up along the sides of the sink and fragile eggs roll down a banister in a straight line. Hunosøe is a champion of bringing forth small everyday miracles in front of the viewer’s eyes.

It is instead unsettling to view Jesper Rasmussen's photographs of well-known buildings in public spaces. In the series "OFF Location", all the windows and doors are gone. The recognizable is almost imperceptibly retouched. The effect is claustrophobic and disquieting. Ordinary life and the deeply recognizable is revealed to poses a twist of nightmarish quality upon closer inspection.

The Enlightening Humanist

Three works from the series "Babel Tales" by artist Peter Funch have also found their way to the auction. The works focus on the uniformity and everyday humdrum of the modern individual. They are created from a series of images shot over many weeks, from exactly the same place, at exactly the same time. Basically, it is a very documentary approach, but manipulated into one picture. In the midst of our busy, individualized routines in the big city, where many chase personal freedom and a dream of living out their potential, we, the human being, seem more like a herd of animals with uniform patterns and much more in common than we can imagine.

Preview and Auction

The auction also includes works by artists Sophie Calle, Olafur Eliasson and many others. We also present a unique album with vintage photographs from The Danish West Indies (US Virgin Islands). The preview of all the works at the sale takes place on 23 and 24 April from 10 am to 5 pm on Baltikavej 10. The auction can be viewed online now and will begin to end on Tuesday 24 April at 7 pm.

 

View all the works at the auction here