June 28 1997 - March 22 1998

Foreword

The Adventures of ART is Martin Bigum's first major solo exhibition and, despite the artist's young age (born 1966), it is to many people a long-awaited exhibition, giving a survey of the artist's work during the period 1991-1997. Or rather, some of them. As suggested by the title of the exhibiton, it is the artist's permanent figure, the small deathlike manikin in a monk's hooded habit ART, who is the front figure in this exhibition.

With ART Bigum leads us through his private universe in which ART personifies the phenomenon "art" in an unusual materialisation with the scythe across his shoulder and the long nose protruding under his monk's hood. The pictures are harsh, mystical and, occasionally, affectionate and entertaining commentaries of an art declared dead long ago, but which nevertheless is alive and well with absolute integrity in the pictures of the exhibition.

ART is seen in situations where he harvests experience or swings the scythe one last time, frozen in the midst of mysterious scenarios with many quotations from other art, and the expression has the cartoons as one of its direct references. Precise, often with humour and always passionately.

In these pictures Martin Bigum circles around central themes of art; however, the ex-hibition is also intended to show the artist as more than the creator of ART, and we have therefore emphasized that we want to show some of the artist's efforts in other fields. By using photography, poetry and video as his medium, Martin Bigum was able to explore expressions and themes which are no less interesting than ART's adventures, and which quite differently positions the artist on the contemporary art scene. Although Martin Bigum's versatile talents also includes expert craftmanship, which makes his pictures so appealing right away, it is also important to keep in mind that Bigum personally stresses the contents in his art works, and that he here wrestles with some of the greatest and toughest themes in art.

Against that background it was an obvious idea for the four art institutions to join hands in arranging an exhibition with Martin Bigum, and we look forward to present the artist to the audience on what looks like a veritable tour of Denmark with exhibitions scattered evenly across the country.

We have all been in touch with several persons - within and outside the exhibition institutions - who have each in their own way shared in setting up this exhibition. We wish to extend a warm thanks to all of them; but first and foremost we wish to thank Martin Bigum for an exciting process with excellent and enthusiastic cooperation. Simultaneously, we wish to extend our appreciation to the many people who have willingly lend us their pictures by the artist for a rather extended period of time.

Kunsthallen Brandts Klædefabrik, Odense
Herning Kunstmuseum
Randers Kunstforening / Randers Kunstmuseum
Portalen in Greve