Organization
Photo: Henrik Jauert
ARKEN is a private Foundation.
The museum’s ultimate authority rests with the board of trustees which comprises six members.
In addition, the museum staff has elected two non-voting representatives to the board.
The board is appointed every four years. Mayor Ole Bjørstorp chairs the board.
The day-to-day management of ARKEN is in the hands of director Christian Gether.
Board of Trustees
Chairman
Mayor Ole Bjørstorp
Deputy chairman
Director Lars Eskesen
Board Members
Former Director Eva Hofman-Bang
Rector Hanne Leth Andersen
Rector Kirsten Langkilde
Artistic and Managing Director Michael Bojesen
Non-voting staff representatives
Technical Assistant Kim Jeilman
Art Educator – outreach & community building Gunnar Munksgaard
Director
Christian Gether
b. 12.3.1948
Museum Director, Aff. Professor, mag.art. & cand.mag.
ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, Ishøj
Employment
2007 Roskilde University, Department of Communication, Business and Information Technologies, The Master in Experience Leadership, Aff. Professor
1997 ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, Museum Director
1995 Danish Contemporary Art Foundation, Director
1986 Vestsjælland Museum of Art, Sorø, Museum Director
1984 – 85 Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers of Fine Art, Appraiser
1983 – 84 Den Permanente A/S, Department Head
1983 – 85 The Danish University Extension, Copenhagen, Lecturer
1979 The Danish Academy in Rome, Queen Ingrid’s Roman Scholarship
1975 Statens Museum for Kunst, Student Assistant
1970 A.P. Møller Shipping Company, shipping education
Exams at the University of Copenhagen
1982 Mag.art. in art history
1975 Eksam.art. in film & media studies
1974 General aesthetics
1973 Eksam.art. in English language and literature
1971 Filosofikum, The general philosophical exam
Supplementary training
2002 Leading Retrenchment at J. Paul Getty Leadership Institute, J. Paul Getty Institute, Los Angeles, USA
2001 Negotiation Dynamics at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France
2000 Competitive Strategy at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France
1999 CRM (Costumer Relations Management) at Arthur Andersen, Copenhagen
1997 Negotiation Strategy at the Danish Technological Institute, Copenhagen
1993 Museum Management at J. Paul Getty Trust’s Museum Management Institute at Berkeley University, Berkeley, California
1984 Journalism and Communication at the Danish School of Journalism, Aarhus
Appointments on boards and commities as well as selected feelance work
2010 – 13 Member of the board of Henie Onstad Art Centre, Norway
2007 Member of the Advisory Board, The Master in Experience Leadership, Department of Communication, Business and Information Technologies, Roskilde University
2006 – 09 Member of the steering committee of Danske Initiativpuljer
2006 Member of the presidium of the Danish Mental Health Fund’s National Campaign against Depression
2003 – 07 Member of the board of Danish Museum’s Art Conservation Center
2003 Curator of exhibition of drawings by Per Kirkeby at Museum Rupertinum in Salzburg in connection with the presentation of the Herbert Böchel Prize
2002 Member of the council of Wonderful Copenhagen
2002 – 07 Member of the board of WOCO, Wonderful Copenhagen
2002 Chairman of commission on ‘the library money’ for the Ministry of Culture
2000 Chairman of The International Culture Council
Member of steering committee re. setting up of ‘Eventure Organisation’ and the development of ‘experiential accounts’ under WOCO, Wonderful Copenhagen
1999 Member of Business Management Group 49
Brumleby Culture Fund
Jury member re. decoration of Lathi, Finland
1998 The board of the Danish Illuminating Engineering Society (retired early 2000)
Lecturer on partnership between the private sector/tourism and cultural life
1997-99 Lecturer at seminars on museum management/cultural administration at the University of Krakow, Poland
1996 Committee for the Biennial Germination, Antwerp, the Netherlands
Jury member in connection with memorial for the 600 years jubilee of the Kalmar Union, Kalmar, Sweden
Curator: MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ: SCULPTURE 1996, Charlottenborg
1995 Chairman of Committee re. collaboration between Artists, Museums and Schools, the Nordic Council of Ministers
Chairman of Sleipnir, committe re. travelling scholarship for artists, the Nordic Council of Ministers
Member of expert group re. the Calaidoscope Programme, the European Commission, Brussels
1994 Chairman of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Committee on Art and Craft
‘The Museum of Art, a Changing Institution’ produced in connection with a new museum bill for the Danish Ministry of Culture
1993 Member of the International Committee in the Danish Museum Council
Analysis of ‘Nordic Art Centre’ in Helsinki, Finland for the Nordic Council of Ministers with a view to streamlining the institution with regards to qualifications of art, human resources, marketing and economy
1991 Member of KIKU, The Ministry of Culture’s International Art Committee
1990 Chairman of FDK, the Association of Danish Museums of Art
1988 Sorø Tourism and Business Council
1987 Vestsjælland County’s Museum Council
1980 Art critic at the Liberal Press Bureau
1978 Auction registration for Fondation Custodia, Paris
Orders of chivalry
Knight of the Order of Dannebrog (Danish)
Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (French)
Cross of Honour for Science and Art 1st Class (Austrian)
Selected monographs, exhibition texts and catalogue articles
Contribution to the book Peter J. Lassen, published by Montana on the occasion of Director Peter J. Lassen’s eightieth birthday, 2010
[The Sculptor Kai Nielsen, 1882 – 1924]
Billedhuggeren Kai Nielsen, 1882 – 1924. Borgens Forlag, 1986
Articles on art, a selection
Vincent van Gogh & The Implicate Order
Van Gogh, ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, 2018
[Cosmic Ocean – Life, Poetry and Beauty, A Hymn to Humanism]
Kosmisk hav – livet, poesien og skønheden, en hymne til humanismen
Carl-Henning Pedersen – De monumentale værker, 2016
Per Kirkeby – From the Surface of Pop Art to the Depth of the Mind
Kirkeby on Laesoe, 2016
Language as Sculptural Material
Within a Realm of Distance – Lawrence Weiner at Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Art Foundation, 2015
Utopia and the Contemporary Art Museum
Utopia & Contemporary Art, 2012
A Lifelong Dedication to Art
The Dresing Donation, 2011
A Museum for Participative Man
ARKEN BULLETIN NO. 5, 2010
On Limits and Transgressions: What is ‘Beyond Belief’?
Experiencing Damien Hirst’s For the Love of God at White Cube Gallery, 1 June 2007
ARKEN BULLETIN NO. 4, 2009
It’s Healthy to Be Afraid
Interview with Damien Hirst
ARKEN BULLETIN NO. 4, 2009
Abjection and Construction of Identity. The Abject in Andreas Golder’s Painting.
ARKEN BULLETIN NO. 3, 2006
[Anders Zorn, an Introduction to Anders Zorn and Nordic Contemporary Art]
Anders Zorn, en introduktion i Anders Zorn og nordisk samtidskunst
ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, 2004
[The Body, the Cathedral of Our Time. On Edvard Munch’s Men Bathing, 1907-08]
Kroppen, den ny tids katedral. Om Edvard Munchs Badende men (Badende Mænd), 1907-08
In ‘500 års verdenskunst’, Gyldendal, 2004
[Henry Heerup’s Vitalism, HENRY HEERUP – FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY]
Henry Heerups vitalisme, HENRY HEERUP – TRO, HÅB OG KÆRLIGHED,
ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, 2003
[‘Cell Arabesque’ by Elisabeth Toubro]
’Cellearabesk’ af Elisabeth Toubro, Ny Carlsbergfondets 100års jubilæumsbog, 2002
Communicating in a Junk Culture, Noble & Webster: Falling Apart.
ARKEN BULLETIN NO.1, 2002
[Man, MAN – BODY IN ART FROM 1950 TO 2000]
Mennesket, MENNESKET – ET HALVT ÅRHUNDREDE SET GENNEM KROPPEN
ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, 2000
[Man’s Quest, MAN – BODY IN ART FROM 1950 TO 2000]
Det søgende menneske, MENNESKET – ET HALVT ÅRHUNDREDE SET GENNEM KROPPEN
ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, 2000
[The Bridge to the 20th Century, ECHOES OF THE SCREAM]
Broen til det 20. århundrede, SKRIGETS EKKO
ARKEN Museum of Modern Art and the Munch Museum, Oslo
[The Bridge to the 20th Century, TV programme from the Norwegian Rigskringskastning based on text in the exhibition catalogue ECHOES OF THE SCREAM]
Broen til det 20. århundrede.
TV udsendelse fra den norske Rigskringkastning baseret på min tekst i udstillingskatalog,
SKRIGETS EKKO, 2001
[Edvard Munch’s Vitalism, EDVARD MUNCH – THE SIMPLE LIFE. PAINTINGS FROM EKELY 1916 – 1944]
Edvard Munchs vitalisme, EDVARD MUNCH – DET NÆRE LIV. MALERIER FRA EKELY 1916 – 1944
ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, 1999 – 2000
[Salvador Dalí, an Introduction to His Work]
Salvador Dalí, en introduktion til hans værk, SALVADOR DALI
ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, 1999
USA-EUROPA, EURO-POP, A DIALOGUE WITH THE US
ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, 1999
MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ. En introduktion
Charlottenborg, Copenhagen and Kulturhuset, Stockholm, 1996
[THE VITAL IMPULSE. A Rash Outline of Vitalism’s Backdrop.]
LIVSOPSVINGET. En hasarderet baggrundsskitse til vitalismen, MIKROMAKRO
Vestsjælland Museum of Art, Sorø, 1995
[ART X 6]
KUNST X 6. Vestsjælland Museum of Art and Norrköpings Konstmuseum, 1995
Terry Atkinson MUTE 3, Vestsjælland Museum of Art, Sorø, The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland and Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK, 1994
[Daring to Show What You Dare to Think]
At vove at vise det man vover at tænke, Stokrosebanden, 1993
Kirsten Gregersen, CORNER, 1993
[WASTE]
ABFALL, Christian Lemmerz, Vestsjælland Museum of Art, 1993
Pavillions for Nothing and Rooms for Redundant Gestures
Vestsjælland Museum of Art and Norrköpings Konstmuseum, 1993
[Bonnen in the 60s]
Bonnen in den 60er Jahren. Landesmuseum Oldenburg, Germany, 1992
[Apprehensive Insolences]
Ængstelige uforskammetheder, FLÅT(D)ENS NYHED(T)ER
Vestsjælland Museum of Art, 1990
[Nature, Commitment and ‘Fjällräven’]
Naturen, engagementet og ’Fjällräven’, in AD-SKILLELSER, Berit Jensen Vestsjælland Museum of Art, 1989
[Læsø Conversations with Sonny Tronborg, SORØ IMAGES]
Læsøsamtaler med Sonny Tronborg, SORØ BILLEDER
Vestsjælland Museum of Art, 1989
[From Frederiksstaden to Frederiksberg Garden, CROWN PRINCE AND HUMAN BEING]
Fra Frederiksstaden til Frederiksberg Have, KRONPRINS OG MENNESKEBARN
Vestsjælland Museum of Art, Sorø, Bomann-Museum,Celle, Städtisches Museum, Flensburg and Stadtmuseum, Düsseldorf, Germany, 1988 -1989
[A Gruesome Story, STRUENSEE AND DENMARK IN THE 1770S]
En grum historie, STRUENSEE OG DANMARK I 1770´ERNE, 1988
[MAN, God of the Modern World, PARIS-THE DOLOMITES-NEW YORK]
MENNESKET, den moderne verdens Gud, PARIS-DOLOMITTERNE-NEW YORK. WIIG HANSEN. Vestsjælland Museum of Art, Sorø, Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf, Germany, 1988 and Kunstverein Kiel, 1989
[The Drawings of Peter Bonde]
Peter Bondes tegninger, Vestsjælland Museum of Art, 1987
[The Pictures of Eva Weiss Bentzon. PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS]
Eva Weiss Bentzons billeder. MALERIER OG TEGNINGER. Kunstforeningen, 1982
[Spanish Symbolism in Spain in the 17th Century]
Spansk symbolisme i Spanien i det 17. århundrede (Valdes Leal). Cras XVI, 1977
Plus a number of newspaper articles and features, e.g. on Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí, Edvard Munch as well as film reviews in the film periodical LEVENDE BILLEDER.
Selected articles on the function of the art museum vis-à-vis the audience and the cultural heritage and international concerns at the dawn of the new millennium
ARKEN – Huset og kunsten, ARKEN Museum for Moderne Kunst, 2016
Det participative museum, Performance-design 10 år, 2014
The Art Museum – Still an Institution in Transition. Published in Museums – Social Learning Spaces and Knowledge Producing Processes, the Danish Agency for Culture, 2013
[The Future Art Museum]
Fremtidens kunstmuseum. ARKEN’s Annual Report, 2007
[Painting Revisited]
Med og mod maleriet. ARKEN’s Annual Report, 2006
[ARKEN – 10 Years’ Anniversary]
ARKEN – 10 ÅR. ARKEN’s Annual Report, 2005
[The Contemporary Space for Reflection]
Det moderne refleksionrum. ARKEN’s Annual Report, 2004
[Management with Values. 12 Conversations with Danish Senior Managers]
Ledelse med værdier. 12 samtaler med danske topledere, Børsen, 2003
[It is about Life]
Det handler om livet. ARKEN’s Annual Report, 2003
[The Museum of Art as a Forum for Debate – Something to Reflect Upon]
Kunstmuseet som debatforum – få en ny tanke med hjem. ARKEN’s Annual Report, 2001
[Cultural Life and Business Life, a Fruitful Alliance]
Kultur- og erhvervslivet, en frugtbar alliance. Kunstårbogen 2000 as well as ARKEN’s Annual Report, 2000
[Seven Interviews on the Museum of Art]
7 interviews om kunstmuseet by P.L. Jørgensen, Iben Dalgaard, Pernille Kleinert, the Department of Art Theory, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, 1995/96
[The Museum of Art, a Changing Institution]
Kunstmuseet, en institution i forandring, 1995 for the Ministry of Culture
[A New Spirituality]
En ny åndelighed, DANSKE MUSEER no. 1, 1995
[Management Report on Nordic Art Centre in Helsinki]
Institutionsanalyse af Nordisk Kunstcentrum i Helsinki, 1994 for the Nordic Council of Ministers
[MUTE 3 by Terry Atkinson at Vestsjælland Museum of Art]
MUTE 3 af Terry Atkinson på Vestsjællands Kunstmuseum, DANSKE MUSEER no. 3, 1992
[Contemporary Art]
Samtidskunsten, DANSKE MUSEER no. 6, 1991
[Danish Museums Meet French Museums]
Danske museer møder franske museer, DANSKE MUSEER no.5, 1991
[Contemporary Museums of Art]
Kunstmuseerne i samtiden, DANSKE MUSEER no. 3, 1991
[The Time of the Museum, the Museum of the Time]
Museets tid, tidens Museum, CRAS LIX, 1991
[Art Societies as Presenters of Art. Korsør Art Society 1966-1986]
Kunstforeninger som kunstformidlere, Korsør Kunstforening 1966- 1986
[The Royal Academy of Fine Arts and the Free Schools of Visual Art from 1756 to 1980] Kunstakademiet og De frie Billedkunstskoler fra 1756 til 1980, Sophienholm, Lyngby
As well as a large number of newspaper and trade journal articles on the museum as institution.
Selected art exhibitions at ARKEN Museum of Modern Art
2019
BELOVED BY PICASSO
PATRICIA PICCININI – A WORLD OF LOVE
YOUNG DANISH ART – FORECASTING THE FUTURE
2018
VAN GOGH
STARRY NIGHTS
DEAR PLANET
J.F. WILLUMSEN – COLORS & STRIPES
CANDICE BREITZ – LOVE STORY
ALPHONSE MUCHA
2017
UGO RONDINONE – VOCABULARY OF SOLITUDE
MY MUSIC
MICHAEL KVIUM – CIRCUS EUROPA
NATURE (RE)TURNS
LIGHT IN DARKNESS
GOSH! IS IT ALIVE
2016
ABDOULAYE KONATÉ
NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE
KALEIDOSCOPE
2015
GERDA WEGENER
BJØRN WIINBLAD
ART IN SUNSHINE
DAVID OSTROWSKI – THE F WORD
RANDI & KATRINE. BETWEEN TOWERS
2014
MICHAEL ANCHER AND P.S. KRØYER – FRIENDS AND RIVALS
HUNDERTWASSER – ARTIST AND ECO-ACTIVIST
THE MODEL: PALLE NIELSEN
2013
FRIDA KAHLO – A LIFE IN ART
HOTSPOT CLUJ – NEW ROMANIAN ART
CARL-HENNING PEDERSEN 100 YEARS
2012
INDIA : ART NOW
INDIA : FASHION NOW
TREFFPUNKT: BERLIN
THE ESSENCE OF COLOUR – THE ART OF QUEEN MARGRETHE II
2011
WARHOL & BASQUIAT
ANSELM REYLE
ANNA ANCHER
2010
UTOPIA: OLAFUR ELIASSON
THE WILD 80s
DIRECTOR’S CHOICE
MIRÓ – I WORK LIKE A GARDENER
2009
UTOPIA: KATHARINA GROSSE
CHINAMANIA
UTOPIA: QIU ANXIONG
MONET, RENOIR, VAN GOGH, GAUGUIN – IMPRESSIONISTS AND POSTIMPRESSIONISTS IN THE ISRAEL MUSEUM, JERUSALEM
2008
TRIUMPF OF DESIRE – DANISH AND INTERNATIONAL SURREALISM
PICASSO & WOMEN
THE SKAGEN PAINTERS – IN A NEW LIGHT
ANDREAS GOLDER – IT HAS MY NAME ON IT
2007
MAD LOVE – YOUNG ART IN DANISH PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
DUANE HANSON – SCULPTURES OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
2006
HI BOB – GREATEST HITS. NEW PAINTINGS BY PETER BONDE
GO FIGURE! YOUNG DANISH PAINTING
2005
CHAGALL’s WORLD OF LOVE
FERNAND LÉGER – MAN IN THE NEW AGE
2004
PICASSO – FOR ALL TIMES
2003
HENRY HEERUP – FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY
2002
FERNANDO BOTERO, collaboration with Moderna Museet, Stockholm
SIGRID HJERTÉN & ISAAC GRÜNEWALD – FAMILY LIFE AND AVANT-GARDE, collaboration with Norrköpings Konstmuseum, Sweden
STOP FOR A MOMENT – PAINTING AS PRESENCE, collaboration with NIFCA, Helsinki
ASGER JORN, collaboration with Cobra Museum, Amstelveen and Kunsthalle zu Kiel
2001
ECHOES OF THE SCREAM, collaboration with the Munch Museum, Oslo
GERHARD RICHTER, IFA, Stuttgart
THE DESIRING EYE, collaboration with Moderna Museet, Stockholm
THE WILD WEST, collaboration with Denver Art Museum, Colorado
SPACE 2001 – NEW ABSTRACTION
2000
EDVARD MUNCH – THE SIMPLE LIFE, collaboration with the Munch Museum, Oslo
GÜNTHER FÖRG, collaboration with Reina Sophia, Museo Arte Contemporanea, Madrid and Museet for Samtidskunst, Oslo
VERONICA’S REVENGE, photographs from The Lambert Collection
MAN – BODY IN ART FROM 1950 TO 2000
1999
CARL-HENNING PEDERSEN AND CHAGALL
CHRISTIAN BOLTANSKI, DISAPPEARANCE
EUROPOP, A DIALOGUE WITH USA
ROBERT SMITHSON, RETROSPECTIVE, collaboration with Moderna Museet, Stockhom and Museet for Samtidskunst, Oslo
SALVADOR DALÍ – LATE WORKS
1998
COBRA 1949-1952, Collaboration with CoBrA Museum, Amsteveen
THE FERVOUR OF DADA, ERNST SCHWITTER’S COLLECTION, collaboration with Sprengelmuseum, Hannover
1997
DESIRE AND VOID, collaboration with Kunsthalle Wien and Kunstverein, Frankfurt
CLAUS CARSTENSEN, CROSS OVER
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS OF NEW AND OLD ART AT VESTSJÆLLAND MUSEUM OF ART 1986-1995
JOHAN BÜLOW’S COLLECTION of early foreign drawings. catalogue for Vestsjælland Museum of Art
KRONPRINS OG MENNESKEBARN Tegninger af Kronprins Frederik fra 1770 – 1772,
collaboration with Bomann Museum, Celle, Germany
[CROWN PRINCE AND HUMAN BEING. Drawings by Crown Prince Frederik 1770 – 1772]
KUNST X 6: LERCHE, EBBESEN, NØRGAARD, SHOKKING, RUE, JENSEN,
collaboration with Norrköpings Konstmuseum, Sweden
[ART X 6]
ROBERT SMITHSON: DRAWINGS FOR LAND ART PROJECTS
collaboration with Kunstmuseum Münster, Kunstraum München, Germany
SVEND WIIG HANSEN: PARIS – THE DOLOMITES – NEW YORK
collaboration with Stadtmuseum, Düsseldorf and Kunstmuseum Kiel
PETER BONNEN: ARBEITEN IN METAL
collaboration with Kunstmuseum Oldenburg, Germany
[PETER BONNEN: WORKS IN METAL]
BRUCE MCLEAN: PAVILIONS FOR NOTHING AND ROOMS FOR REDUNDANT GESTURES
IB AGGER: BLOMSTRENDE KIRSEBÆRTRÆER
[CHERRY TREES IN BLOOM]
CARL ANDRE: SKULPTUR OG POESI
[SCULPTURE AND POETRY]
PETER BONDE: TEGNINGER
[DRAWINGS]
CLAUS CARSTENSEN: TEGNINGER
[DRAWINGS]
DORTE DALIN OG MOGENS MØLLER: SOUL
GLEN BANKS AND HANNAH WOLVES: ART IN RUINS
BENT JENSEN: SEPARATIONS – FRA FINGER TIL MUND
[SEPARATIONS – FROM FINGER TO MOUTH]
CHRISTIAN LEMMERZ: ABFALL
[WASTE]
LARS NØRGÅRD: FLÅT(D)ENS NYHED(T)ER
SONNY TRONBORG: SORØ BILLEDER
[IMAGES OF SORØ]
KUNST X 6: FREDDIE A. LERCHE, TORBEN EBBESEN, LARS NØRGÅRD, SHOKKING OG RUE
[ART X 6: FREDDIE A. LERCHE, TORBEN EBBESEN, LARS NØRGÅRD, SHOKKING AND RUE]
SVEND DALSGAARD: FORSØG
[EXPERIMENTS]
CLAUS CARSTENSENS BIDRAG TIL SAO PAULO BIENNALEN
[CLAUS CARSTENSEN’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE SAO PAULO BIENNIAL]
SØREN ANDREASEN OG JACOB JACOBSEN: MIKRO MAKRO
[MICRO MACRO]
Christian Gether. Photo: Per Morten Abrahamsen
Organizational Chart