What a great show.
Having just returned from NYC and openings at my two favorite spots, I have now a new Copenhagen venue added to my shit list.
David Risley Gallery is showing Paper Works a group exhibition featuring the talent of Helen Frik, Ulrik Heltoft, Eri Itoi, Jadranka Kosorcic, Sara Mackillop, Philomene Pirecki, Ebbe Stub Wittrup, Jack Vickridge, Anna Fro Vodder, Ane Mette Hol, Ryan Gander, Henry Krokatsis, Klaus Thejl Jacobsen, Michael Simpson, Emma MacNally, Christian Vind and Adam Thomas.
Not many names in that pile ring a bell with me, but not many names ring bells with me, knowingly or not. Having spent all summer working on a big commission the relocation of the gallery had 
escaped me, and it was by chance I stopped by walking from Martin Asbæk Gallery to Gallery Christoffer Egelund.
Bigger the surprise walking into the charming small space devoted this time to paper. Not knowing what to look at I spun around a few times before focusing on what was to be my favorite piece in the show- Verso by Adam Thomas. Verso is paper pulp jammed together in a rectangular cube roughly the dimensions of a standard paper sheet(A4 or letter), the David Risley web site says dimensions variable(maybe the crumbling spill at the bottom). Obviously that makes the size not an issue, even though it is hard to over look when it is paper and reasonably close in proximity.
I love the electric tape holding the piece to the wall. No fancy gadgets here, just a sincere low tech effort, yet plastic industrial material. It adds a tremendous potent dialogue to the very minimal piece( or because it is so sparse). The pulp immediately reminded me of old crumbled up notes, phone numbers from nights out found left in pockets of newly washed trousers, even though in my marital family frame of mind the thought of cleaning the filter in our tumble dryer forced its way into my frontal lobe- admittedly not the most romantic of associative thoughts.
Much more than the size, the placement drew me to Verso. Sitting on the floor taped to the wall in the far corner of the gallery this process prone abstract marvel whispers to eager eyes rather than popishly screaming its content to the first and biggest crowd. Not hung on the wall, not standing on the ground, hardly holding it self together Verso speaks of finesse, frailty and though it appears to be jammed together by a tremendous force that slowly seeped away leaving Verso as a relic of a process and a monument to an energy long gone and now left to slowly disintegrate in front of our very eyes.
In its frailty. Its Immediacy. I find that there is an out of body relation between process/intervention, material and installation. It appears not sought after, nor over emphasized, just exactly right, as it quietly sits by it self occupying only its own space, relating to it self, but speaking of a tension found in relationships through out our existence. It reminds me of works by Ian Pedigo, Sara Brahman and other artist using found material and a sparse process creating sublime experiences through found and minimal use of materials.
Ebbe Stub Wittrup out did him self, for once or again humbling his work, turning down the volume, leaving behind not only a less intrusive experience, but a very frail and delicate exposure to his photography placed within a very strong artistic tradition (free stuff), and with a focus much more on the overall content, context etc. bla. bla. bla.
Other pieces where great as well, like Michael Jeppesen noted in Information (posted on the gallery window I only noticed it second time coming around) Jack Vickridge pulls out an extremely aesthetic experience of a piece of dry wall, pinned to the wall by nails. To me it is slightly more theatrical than Verso, and have faded a bit since I first lay eyes on it.
It is by far the best show I have seen in a while and the over all impression was not crowded even though the gallery is small and the show includes many artist. Maybe some of the pieces lost out in the crowd(Klaus Thejl Jakobsen, Outdoor PH lamp) and made me loose out on some important points, I recommend to any one checking it out and I am going back - maybe even this week. And the next. And the one after that.
