Know Your Artist: Peter Funch
Read our new series of articles entitled “Know your artist”, where we focus on a number of Danish and international artists on the auction market. The first name in the series is the renowned artist Peter Funch, who with compelling photographs creates stories about people and cities. Delve into his inspiring universe and bid on several of his works at Online Auction right now.
Who is the artist Peter Funch? What is the thinking behind his photographs? Our “Know your artist” series gives you the opportunity to learn more about a photographic artist and bid on no fewer than six of his powerful photographs at our current Online Auction which ends on Tuesday 18 October.
An Award-winning Multi-artist
Peter Funch (b. 1974) is an award-winning Danish photographer with an enviable international career. He lived in New York for 13 years and today lives and works in Paris. His background is atypical compared to other artists, and that is precisely what makes him one of the important voices of our day.
Peter Funch is in many ways a multi-artist. Having graduated as a photojournalist from the Danish School of Media and Journalism – DMJX – in 1999, he balances his traditional art career with campaigns of a more commercial nature for major companies such as Sony. He is currently represented by V1 Gallery in Copenhagen, and his portfolio includes exhibitions ranging from Colette in Paris to The Whole in New York and Louisiana in Humlebæk.
Between Reality and Fiction
What makes Peter Funch’s art so unique is the fact that he brings together two worlds – the documentary world and the artistic world – and uses art as his conductor’s baton to blur the boundary between reality and fiction.
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He employs a highly systematic approach, taking his camera out to a certain place in the city at a certain time every day over the course of several years. Here, he documents the passers-by, going about their daily business. The method allows him – in the middle of the anonymous and chaotic metropolis – to really see the movements and faces of the city. He then processes the countless photographs by superimposing them on top of one another to select the motifs he wants. This results in a constructed photograph in which he has manipulated both the composition and the narrative. |
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In doing so, he combines the portrayal of everyday life of documentary photography with the ability of history painting to create narratives in an almost cinematic language. His works often revolve around the relationship between the individual and the public space, and they can be seen as social commentary on the society in which we live. |
Stories from the Streets
One of Peter Funch’s central series is entitled “Babel tales” and is a reference to the biblical story about the Tower of Babel, which tells of how all the different languages of the world came to be. The series, which is from 2006–2011, has motifs from New York’s busy streets, through which people from all over the world pass, side by side, on a daily basis. The photographs are almost anthropological portraits of both the city and the people, creating stories about their relationship to one another.
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Our Online Auction features six compelling photographs from this series that you can bid on, including the work “Two to tango”, which depicts a large, diverse group of people walking through the city in couples and groups on their way to and from all manner of activities. Another of the works up for auction is “Care taker”, which depicts a mass of brightly-coloured balloons, forming a festive, almost absurd everyday scene in an otherwise seemingly ordinary street in New York. Both photographs make us want to learn more about the story unfolding in the street. |
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Focus on Contemporary Art
At Bruun Rasmussen, we have a significant focus on contemporary art, and this year we have made it onto Artprice's list of leading auction houses selling contemporary art. We want to be part of the agenda when it comes to selling and promoting the art that is being made at this very moment in time.
With three types of auctions, we have the platform to sell many different kinds of contemporary works of art made by both recognized and upcoming artists, and we present popular theme auctions with contemporary art several times a year. We are therefore also looking for ongoing consignments of contemporary art. If you wish to sell at auction, you are very welcome to contact us, visit one of our departments or get a valuation online.
For further information, please contact:
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Kristina UlfvikKristina UlfvikSpecialist / Modern & Contemporary Art / København |
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Niklas Langeland PedersenNiklas Langeland PedersenSpecialist / Modern & Contemporary Art / København |