Royal Danish Magazine Copenhagen, February 4, 2022 (Reporters: Peng Zhongmin, Zhu Xiaojun, ARKEN)
On February 4, the exhibition "Women in Despair" at the ARKEN Art Museum in Denmark was held in Copenhagen, and Queen Margaret II of Denmark attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition. After the opening ceremony, Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark visited the exhibition and interacted with some of the Danish women artists who participated in the exhibition.
The woman in despair exhibition covers the depiction of women and gender in art over 150 years, showcasing danish and international artists' depictions of art history and women today through 117 exhibitions of works of art by Danish and international artists.
The opening ceremony of the exhibition "Women in Despair" began with a speech by Christian Gether, director of ARKEN. ARKEN Christian Gether said: "The exhibition contains works from the end of the 19th century to the latest contemporary art, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, films and installations.
The ARKEN ("Ark") Art Gallery was inaugurated on 15 March 1996 by Her Majesty the Queen, and in 2012 the Queen's own work was exhibited in the museum with the "Soul of Color" exhibition. The exhibition "Women in Despair" will be open to the public from February 5 to August 14, 2022.
What does it mean to be a woman today? What is a woman? Who defines women? Who can be a woman? Is femininity gender-specific? Women in Despair showcasing the portrayal of women in Western art history, and in the vast collection of works of art by Danish and international artists, you can explore how artists have reflected and responded once again to changing perceptions of women and gender over the past 150 years: from impressionist portraits to performative body art, from rich nudity to critical research in historical writing.
Bolette Berg and Marie H eg worked as portrait photographers in the late 1800s, when photographers began to be considered decent professions for women. Berg and H eg make a living by taking better portraits of the bourgeoisie, so they know very well how the stage helps to read portraits.
In the 1980s, a box labeled "Private" was found in Berg and H Eg's archives with 440 negatives showing how the two women used their studios to try to challenge the stereotypes of gender roles at the time. Marie H eg was actively involved in the political movement for women's rights and freedoms at the time, and Bolette Berg was less prominent in public debate, but she created a "private" image behind the scenes. If artists lived today, the photos might have been exhibited and shared on social media.
(Photo: Royal Danish photographer Peng Zhongmin; Editor: Wu Jingfang)