Anne-Birthe Hove (1951-2012)

January 24 - April 12 

Graphic art is like reading a book, you have to get close and look carefully.
Anne-Birthe Hove

Anne-Birthe Hove (1951-2012) was born and raised in Greenland and was one of the country’s greatest and most acclaimed artists. Although she utilised a broad range of materials and genres, her oeuvre is graphic art. She learned to master this medium at the Graphic Department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and the School of Art Pedagogy, among other places.

Throughout her career, she continuously developed and experimented with techniques and modes of expression, and with her narrative drive and refined feel for the possibilities of her materials, she was not one to shy away from an artistic challenge.

Seen in a retrospective light, Anne-Birthe Hoves work, which often includes a social perspective or commentary, also gives an impression of Greenland’s development over the past 50 years. Although nature is central to several of her pieces, it is primarily portrayed as a backdrop or a premise for human acts and existence.

In collaboration with curator Rikke Diemer, we have chosen 10 pieces to exhibit, which show Anne-Birthe Hove at her strongest. Here, her lines and strokes – on paper, copper and paintings with machine-cut, polished and scratched basic structures – vibrate and have an incredible nerve. When humour, gravity and existence, with all of its challenges, make their way to the surface and look us deeply in the eyes. It is then that intense moments arise, and we – guided by an incredible artist and intermediary – are confronted by existence in a form that manages to make us both laugh and cry. This is a fantastic oeuvre, and we can continue to enjoy and learn from it.

This exhibition was arranged in collaboration with Anne-Birth Hove’s husband, Thomas Stensgaard, and the Bornholm Art Museum. A brochure is available with selected images from the exhibition and text by Jørgen Chemnitz.
have an incredible nerve. When humour, gravity and existence, with all of its challenges, make their way to the surface and look us deeply in the eyes. It is then that intense moments arise, and we – guided by an incredible artist and intermediary – are confronted by existence in a form that manages to make us both laugh and cry. This is a fantastic oeuvre, and we can continue to enjoy and learn from it.

This exhibition was arranged in collaboration with Anne-Birth Hove’s husband, Thomas Stensgaard, and the Bornholm Art Museum. A brochure is available with selected images from the exhibition and text by Jørgen Chemnitz.