At the museum with the artist: Ditte Gantriis visits the Thordvaldsen in Copenhagen
As you will learn from the artist’s web site, Ditte Gantriis lives in Copenhagen. We bumped into her wooden profiled silhouettes one month ago in the both of Frutta gallery at the MiArt fair. Since then we have been thinking which sort of information would fill the empty space of which these apparently simple two-dimensional sculptures are made of. The answer came up some days ago, when the artist told us about her love for the Throdvaldsen Museum, a landmark in Danish culture. We finally realized that the “empty space” mirrors the knowledge and personal experience that one has of the object represented. Hence, the ideal, or the abstraction, becomes the set wherein a certain information is organised. And we were delighted we she agreed to visit for us her favourite museum and take some pictures.
How have you started doing art?
I grew up with a mom who is an illustrator, so I started drawing and painting from an early age – and didn’t stop when I reached puberty – which most kids do. She worked from home, so a lot of the time it was just what we did at home – making images, painting, collages etc. I guess drawing was maybe a starting point for my interest in art, working with images and so on… I don’t know, It’s hard to tell…
Could you briefly describe your art practice?
I work primarily with painting, printmaking and sculpture, often combining these mediums in overall conceptual installations. Taking an interest in caricature, stereotypes, commercial gestures and notions of contemporary life, my work examines how objects, images of objects, words, and signs are situated in a web of meaning. This multiplicity of signification draws attention to the question of which aesthetics we surround ourselves with, and what emotions we unconsciously invest in them.
Which song or kind of music would you listen when visiting the Thorvaldsen Museum?
Any kind actually, both classical and modern music. I think all sorts of music would fit, though different types of music would create very different experiences of the museum.
Do you remember the first time you’ve been there?
The first time I was there, was when I was about 12. I took drawing classes there and spent hours drawing different sculptures. I loved it.
Sometimes art is considered a mirror of reality. Is it the case of Thorvaldsen’s sculptures? If so, which reality are they mirroring?
Thorvaldsen’s work is high neoclassicism, so it reflects notions of the idealized and perfect. Both the sculptures – but also the architecture and décor is very thoroughly perfectionized. I guess you could say his work mirrors an idea or an ideal more than an exact reality.
Do you see any conceptual side in the fact that almost every piece preserved in the museum has been a model for another piece?
Yes, I actually find that aspect quite conceptual. The sculptures – or models, are both a thing in themselves, but they’re also a representation of an ideal – and thus, in a sense, a sign. This is something I find really interesting and that I’m concerned with in my own practice.
Which kind of reading has the visit inspired to you?
In my own work I’m often interested in how individual elements can be part of a web of relations and larger, more complex contexts. It’s also how I experience the museum (and many other things) – as an overall ‘installation’, or ‘total work of art’ where all the individual art works come together with the architecture, design, decoration and so on to create a whole. In the museum I think it’s impossible to separate those things out.
Is it a place to be visited alone? If not, who would be your ideal mate?
Alone is nice. Or with someone who gets it.
Upcoming: groupshow at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York; solo show at Frutta Gallery in Rome (title to be confirmed); groupshow at Neter, Mexico (title to be confirmed).
November 21, 2022
