Senga Nengudi's First Nordic Solo Exhibition Opens at Den Frie, Copenhagen
'Sand and Water' marks Senga Nengudi's (b. 1943, Chicago) inaugural solo exhibition in Denmark and the Nordic region, showcased at Den Frie in Copenhagen. This exhibition, crafted in close partnership with the artist, features a new site-specific installation in the lower-level OSLO gallery. Utilizing sand, metal, glass, rubber, textiles, pigment, sound, and found materials, the installation conjures an abstract, fragmented environment that ties together themes of memory, loss, industry, craft, labor, and nature, symbolizing both destruction and rebirth. Additionally, Nengudi's 'Water Compositions'—sculptures of colored water encased in transparent plastic—are displayed, originally conceived in the 1970s and recreated for each show. A prominent figure in American art, Nengudi has exhibited recently at various esteemed institutions, including Dia:Beacon (2023-26) and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2021).
Key facts
- Senga Nengudi's first solo exhibition in Denmark and the Nordic region is titled 'Sand and Water'.
- The exhibition is held at Den Frie, Copenhagen, and developed in close collaboration with the artist.
- A new site-specific installation in the OSLO gallery uses sand, metal, glass, rubber, textiles, pigment, sound, and found objects.
- The installation evokes an abstract, fragmented landscape and a pulsating visual field.
- Themes include memory, loss, industry, craft, labor, and nature.
- The 'Water Compositions' series, originating in the 1970s, are recreated for each exhibition using pigmented water in transparent plastic.
- Nengudi's recent solo exhibitions include Dia:Beacon (2023-26), Philadelphia Museum of Art (2021), Denver Art Museum (2020), and others.
- Nengudi participated in Louisiana Museum of Modern Art's 'Now-Here' performance program in 1996.
Entities
Artists
Institutions
- Den Frie
- Dia:Beacon
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Denver Art Museum
- Museu de Arte de São Paulo
- Lenbachhaus
- Henry Moore Institute
- Baltimore Museum of Art
- Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami
- Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Locations
- Copenhagen
- Denmark
- Nordic region
- OSLO
- Chicago
- Colorado Springs
- Colorado
- Beacon
- New York
- Philadelphia
- Denver
- São Paulo
- Brazil
- Munich
- Germany
- Leeds
- United Kingdom
- Baltimore
- Miami
- Humlebæk