Elmgreen and Dragset

Michael Elmgreen (born 1984; Copenhagen, Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (born 1968; Trondheim, Norway) are artist-collaborators since 1995 and their work explores the relationship between art, architecture and design.

Dragset lives and works in Berlin; Elmgreen lives in London and works in Berlin.^[1] They are known for art work that has wit and subversive humour, and also addresses serious cultural concerns.^[2]

Life and work

Elmgreen and Dragset met in 1995 and moved to Berlin in 1997, where they converted a large 100m² building into a home and studio.^[3]

Since 1997, the artists have presented a great number of architectural and sculptural installations in an ongoing series of works entitled 'Powerless Structures'^[4] in which they transformed the conventions of the 'white cube' gallery space, creating galleries suspended from the celing, sunk into the ground or turned upside down.^[5] For the Istanbul Biennial in 2001, they constructed a full-scale model of a typical Modernist Kunsthalle descending into the ground while located outdoor among ancient ruins. Further exhibitions include transforming the Bohen Foundation in New York into a 13th Street Subway Station in 2004, siting a Prada boutique in the middle the Texan desert in 2005, and their The Welfare Show in 2006 at Serpentine Gallery, London, and the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto, which was critically acclaimed.^[2][6][7][8] Their best-known project is Prada Marfa, inaugurated in 2005.

Elmgreen and Dragset won the German Government's competition in 2003 for a memorial in Tiergarten park in Berlin, in memory of the gay victims of the Nazi regime, which was unveiled in May 2008.^[9][10] For the 2008 Venice Biennale they curated the exhibitions in the neighboring Danish and Nordic Pavilions (which includes Norway, Sweden, and Denmark), an unprecedented merging of two international exhibition venues. For their show, they invited fellow artists Maurizio Cattelan, Tom of Finland, Han & Him, Laura Horelli, William E. Jones, Terence Koh, Klara Lidén, Jonathan Monk, Nico Muhly, Norway Says, Nina Saunders, and Wolfgang Tillmans.

In 2007, Elmgreen and Dragset developed Drama Queens, a theatre play about Twentieth Century art history with six remote-controlled fiberglass versions of iconic sculpture, for Skulptur Projekte Münster.^[11] During the 2008 Frieze Art Fair, they staged "Drama Queens," this time enlivened by the voices of leading stage stars such as Kevin Spacey, at The Old Vic.^[12] In 2011, their design Powerless Structures, Fig.101 won a famous annual competition to be displayed on the fourth plinth of London's Trafalgar Square.^[13] Their bronze sculpture of a boy astride a rocking horse questions the tradition for war monuments to celebrate either victory or defeat.^[14]

Recognition

Elmgreen & Dragset were nominated for the Hugo Boss Prize in 2000, and in 2002 they won the Preis der Nationalgalerie at the Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin.

Solo exhibitions

2011

• „Happy Days in the Art World“, Performa 11, New York / The Tramway, Glasgow
• „The One and the Many“, Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam
• „Amigos“, Galería Helga de Alvear, Madrid
• „The Afterlife of the Mysterious Mr. B“, Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris
• "Elmgreen & Dragset", The Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen
• „It's Never Too Late to Say Sorry“, daily performance, Sculpture International Rotterdam, Rotterdam
• „Silent wishes and broken dreams“, Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich

2010

• "Celebrity. The One & The Many", ZKM | Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe

2009

• "The Collectors" – The Danish and Nordic Pavilions, 53rd Venice Biennale, Venezia
• "Drama Queens", Centre Pompidou, Paris
• "Trying to Remember What We Once Wanted to Forget", MUSAC, León
• "Supermodels", Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo

2008

• "Too Late", Victoria Miro Gallery, London
• "Drama Queens", Old Vic Theatre, London
• "Home is the Place You Left", Trondheim Kunstmuseum, Trondheim
• "Gedenkort für die im Nazionalsozialismus verfolgten Homosexuellen", Berlin
• "Side Effects", Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France.^[15]

2007

• "This is the first day of my life" Malmö Kunstahall^[16]
• "Ti sto pensando", Villa Manin, Centre for Contemporary Art, Passariano
• "A Change Of Mind", Kunst am Bauzaun, Museion Bozen

2006

• "Would You Like Your Eggs A Little Different This Morning ?", Galleria Massimo De Carlo, Milan
• "The Incidental Self", Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo^[17]
• "The Welfare Show", Serpentine Gallery, London/The Power Plant, Toronto^[6]
• "Disgrace", Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Miami

Prada Marfa, 2005. A site specific, permanent land art project modelled after a Prada boutique.

Prada Marfa at night, 2005. The boutique includes luxury goods from the fall 2005 collection.

2005

• "Prada Marfa", Art Production Fund/Ballroom Marfa, Marfa, Texas^[18][19]
• "The Brightness of Shady Lives", Galeria Helga de Alvear, Madrid
• "The Welfare Show", Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen, Norway
• BAWAG Foundation, Vienna, Austria
• The Power Plant, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Wrong Gallery, New York, USA
• "End Station", Bohen Foundation, New York, USA
• "Linienstrasse 160, Neue Mitte", Klosterfelde, Berlin, Germany^[20]

2004

• "Intervention 37", Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany
• "Blocking The View", Tate Modern Gallery, London, Great Britain^[21][22]
• "Moving Energies" - Aspekte der Sammlung Olbricht : Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset, Museum Folkwang Essen, Essen, Germany
  

  Short Cut,^[23] 2003. The illusion is given that a car and camper trailer have driven straight through the center of the earth and emerged at its destination, evoking family road trips and implying uncharted regions yet to be explored.

2003

• "Paris diaries", Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France^[24]
• "Phone Home", Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, USA
• "Short Cut", Nicola Trussardi Foundation, Milan, Italy
• "Spaced out", Portikus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
• "Please, Keep Quiet", Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen, Denmark
• CCA, Kitakyushu, Japan
• "Don't leave me this way", Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, France

2002

• "How are You Today", Galleria Massimo de Carlo, Milan, Italy
• "Powerless STructures, Fig, 229", Galeria Helga de Alvear, Madrid Spain
• "Museum", Sala Montcada/Fundacio La Caixa, Barcelona, Spain
• "Suspended Space", Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
• CGAC, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

2001

• "Taking Place", Kunsthalle Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
• "Opening Soon", Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York, USA
• "A Room defined by its Accessibility", Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen, Denmark
• "Linienstrasse 160", Klosterfelde, Berlin, Germany
• "Powerless STructures, fig. 111", Portikus, Frankfurt, Germany

2000

• "Zwischen anderen Ereignissen", Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig, Germany^[25]
• Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, Australia

1999

• Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen, Denmark
• "Powerless Structures, Fig, 57-60°, The Project, New York, USA

1998

• "Dug Down Gallery / Powerless Structures, Fig, 45°, Galleri i8 & Reykjavik Art Museum, Reykjavik, Icelande

1997

• "Powerless Structures", Gallery Campbelles Occasionally, Copenhagen, Denmark
• "12 Hours of White Paint", Galleri Tommy Lund, Odense, Denmark

Collections

Elmgreen and Dragset's work is in the permanent collection of several museums in Europe, such as the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Konsthall in Malmö, the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, and the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea in Santiago de Compostela.^[26]

Gallery

• 

  Memorial to Homosexuals persecuted under Nazism by Elmgreen and Dragset

• 

  The unveiling of the memorial, 2008, 27 May

• 

  The signboard

• 

  The video in the memorial

References

1. ^ (May 27, 2011) 24 Questions for Elmgreen & Dragset ARTINFO.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Last Chance: Elmgreen and Dragset at Victoria Miro, London". The Saatchi Gallery. 7 November 2008. http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/2008/11/elmgreen_dragset_at_victoria_m_1.php. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
3. ^ Wenin, Samila (15 September 2008). "Art through irony". The Bangkok Post (The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd). http://www.bangkokpost.com/150908_Outlook/15Sep2008_out52.php. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
4. ^ Elmgreen/Dragset, 20 October 2001 - 24 November 2001 Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York.
5. ^ Untitled: Elmgreen and Dragset, 12 May - 4 July 2004 Tate, London.
6. ^ ^{a b} Sayej, Nadja (1 July 2006). "Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset: The Welfare Show.". Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-16315716_ITM. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
7. ^ Field, Frank (1 February 2006). "Another view: Frank Field MP on The Welfare Show". The Guardian (London: Guardian News and Media Limited). http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2006/feb/01/art. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
8. ^ Campbell-Johnston, Rachel (24 January 2006). "We were only being boring". The Times (London: News International Limited). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article718165.ece. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
9. ^ Connolly, Kate (28 May 2008). "Germany remembers gay victims of the Nazis". The Guardian (London: Guardian News and Media Limited). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/28/germany.secondworldwar?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
10. ^ "Berlin inaugurates memorial to the Nazis' homosexual victims". The International Herald Tribune. 27 May 2008. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/27/europe/EU-GEN-Germany-Nazis-Gays.php. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
11. ^ Elmgreen & Dragset: Silent wishes and broken dreams..., June 01 - July 31, 2011 Goetz Collection, Munich.
12. ^ Drama Queens, 12 October 2008 The Old Vic, London.
13. ^ "Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth art choices revealed". BBC News. 14 January 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12190456. 
14. ^ Fourth Plinth: the work of Elmgreen and Dragset The Daily Telegraph.
15. ^ "Alberta Ferretti A Side Effects Un Abito Per Una Statua Di Elmgreen & Dragset..." (in Italian). Sfilate. 22 January 2008. http://www.sfilate.it/moda/articolo.cfm?id_articolo=10512. Retrieved 26 December 2009. 
16. ^ "Malmö Konsthall Elmgreen & Dragset This is the First Day of My Life". The Contemporary Arts Review. 3 March 2007. http://www.contemporaryartsreview.com/?p=113. Retrieved 2009-06-19. 
17. ^ Taka Ishii Gallery (Apr 22 - May 20, 2006). "Elmgreen & Dragset: "The Incidental Self"". artnet. artnet Worldwide Corporation. http://www.artnet.com/galleries/Exhibitions.asp?gid=1031&cid=100743. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
18. ^ Graczyk, Michael (20 February 2006). "Desert, cows and designer shoes; The handbags and pumps are part of the landscape of `Prada Marfa,' an art piece that's turning heads in a West Texas town". Los Angeles Times: pp. E!*. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/990091881.html?dids=990091881:990091881&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+20%2C+2006&author=Michael+Graczyk&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Desert%2C+cows+and+designer+shoes%3B+The+handbags+and+pumps+are+part+of+the+landscape+of+%60Prada+Marfa%2C%27+an+art+piece+that%27s+turning+heads+in+a+West+Texas+town.&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
19. ^ Mendelsohn, Adam E. (10 August 2005). "Stealing the Show". Artforum (Artforum International Magazine). http://www.artforum.com/diary/id=9631. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
20. ^ Allen, Jennifer (1 October 2005). "Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset: Klosterfelde (Linienstrasse)". Artforum International (Artforum International Magazine, Inc.). http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-18713243_ITM. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
21. ^ Brown, Jonathan (12 May 2004). "Artists hope to ruffle feathers with model of dying sparrow". The Independent (Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd). http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-116470915.html. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
22. ^ Leitch, Luke (11 May 2004). "Watch the birdie; Twitching sparrow is a state of the art model at Tate Modern". The Evening Standard (Associated Newspapers Limited). http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-116457550.html. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
23. ^ "MCA Collection Highlights: Elmgreen and Dragset". Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset/Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. 2005. http://www.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/work_detail.php?id=165&artname=&. Retrieved 2008-06-20. 
24. ^ McBreen, Ellen (1 May 2003). "Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset at Emmanuel Perrotin". Art in America (Brant Publications, Inc.). http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-23146267_ITM. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
25. ^ Bang Larsen, Lars (6 June 2000). "Whiteout". frieze magazine. http://www.frieze.com/issue/print_article/whiteout/. Retrieved 2009-02-08. 
26. ^ Elmgreen & Dragset: Short Cut, May 7 – June 4, 2003 Nicola Trussardi Foundation, Milan.

External links

• Elmgreen & Dragset's contribution for the Fourth Plinth 2012
• Elmgreen & Dragset: The Collectors, The Danish & Nordic Pavillion, 53rd Venice Biennial in 2009
• Searle, Adrian (31 October 2008). "Elmgreen and Dragset: Private view with Adrian Searle". The Guardian (London: Guardian News and Media Limited). http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/audio/2008/oct/31/elmgreen-dragset. Retrieved 2009-02-08.  (Podcast)
• Elmgreen & Dragset on Artcyclopedia
• Elmgreen & Dragset: Memorial at the Tiergarten in Berlin
• "Drama Queens"- Trailer
• Elmgreen & Dragset Galleries

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