Birgit Kirke

Birgit Kirke

Location: Denmark

PAINTER - SCULPTOR
Faroese artist, born in Nuuk, Greenland - Grew up in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands - Studio and residence in Herning, Denmark.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:
Graduated from VIA Design (VIA University College), Herning, Denmark in 1981
2007-2010 Attended courses in painting, graphics and drawing at Aarhus Art Academy in Denmark
2015-2016 The Sculpture School in Skanderborg, Denmark v/Thomas Andersson

REPRESENTED IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Reykjanes Art Museum, Iceland
Nuuk Kunstmuseum, Greenland
The City Council of Grindavikurbær, Iceland
The City Council of Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
The City Council of Struer, Denmark
The North Atlantic House, Odense, Denmark

DECORATIONS:
LandboNord, Brønderslev, Denmark 2013
The Clinic “Tandsundhed” v/Kirsten Elkjær-Holm ao., Herning, Denmark

ART FAIRS:
ART Copenhagen, Denmark 2010-2016 - ART Herning, Denmark 2009-2018 - ART Aarhus, Denmark 2010-2011 - ART Fair Hillerød, Denmark 2010-2018 - Art Nordic, Copenhagen, Denmark 2017-2018 - Art2See Odense, Denmark 2012-2013 - DeeloopArt Art Fair Malmø, Sweeden 2015-2016 - ARTBAHO Art Fair, Barcelona, Spain 2016

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:

ART MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS:
Várframsýningin 2016 og 2017, Listasavn Føroya (The National Museum of Art, Faroe Islands)
Vesthimmerlands Art Museum, Denmark 2017
Nuuk Art Museum, Greenland 2014
Reykjanes Art Museum, Iceland 2013
Blicher Museum, Herning, Denmark ”Herning - yesterday, today, tomorrow” 2013
Ólavsøkuframsýningin 2009 og 2010, Listasavn Føroya (The National Museum of Art, Faroe Islands)

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
The Culture House in Thyholm, Denmark 2018
Mariager Museum, Galleri Vognporten, Denmark 2017
Galleri Sct. Gertrud, Copenhagen, Denmark 2012, 2017
Galleri Smiðjan í Lítluvík, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands 2014, 2016, 2018
Æglageret, Holbæk, Denmark 2016
Galleri Tornby, North Jutland, Denmark 2010, 2016
The Faroese House in Copenhagen, Denmark 2016
Baunhøj Mølle, Grenaa, Denmark 2015
Kunstgården in Skovby, Fyn, Denmark 2009-2015
Gallerí Fold, Reykjavik, Iceland 2014
Galleri Aadalen, Langaa, Denmark 2010, 2014
Mølholm Sognehus, Vejle, Denmark 2013
Trekanten, The Cultural House in Aalborg, Denmark, ”Nordic day with focus on The Faroe Islands” 2013

GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
Dronninglund Art Center, Denmark ”Glimt fra Færøerne” 2017
The North Atlantic House in Odense, ”Det Nordiske Lys” 2017
Galleri Smiðjan í Lítluvík, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands 2008-2013 og 2017
Spring Exhibition, Vestjydske Artists 2017
Galleri Tornby, North Jutland, Denmark 2009-2015 og 2017
Galleri Aadalen, Langaa, Denmark 2011-2013 og 2015-2017
Gallerí Fold i Reykjavik, Iceland 2015, 2016, 2018
Art Nou Mil-lenni Gallery, Barcelona, Spain 2016
Galleri Sct. Gertrud, Copenhagen, Denmark 2013-2016
Easter exhibition in Brønderslev, Denmark 2013 and 2015
Grindavik Culture Week, Iceland 2014
KATUAQ, Greenland Cultural House in Nuuk, Greenland 2014
Augustiana Sculpture Park and Art Center, Gallery Nørballe, Denmark "Faroese Summer" 2014
Anders Draghes Gård in Nyborg, Denmark 2014
Galleri Smag & Kunst, Ebeltoft, Denmark 2014 and 2018
Galleri Molevit ”Nordic Artist Meet in Skagen, Denmark” 2011, 2013 og 2014
Kulturspinderiet in Silkeborg, Denmark 2010
Aarhus Art Academy, Denmark 2009

CURATOR:
Curator at the exhibition ” Glimpse from the Faroe Islands”, Dronninglund Art Center 2017
2019-2021: For a 3-year period, member of the censorship jury of the annual exhibition “Várframsýningin”, which takes place at The National Museum of Art, Faroe Islands (Listasavn Føroya).

BOOKS:
"101 artists 2015" by Tom Jørgensen (pages 98 and 99)

ARTIST RESIDENCIES:
ART 56* in Hvide Sande, Denmark, granted by Holmsland Klit Tourist Union, July 2017.
Lille Skiveren in North Jutland – former prime minister Jens Otto Krags summer residence – together with nine members of KKS (The Danish Women´s association). The stay was granted by BKF (Danish Visual Artists), February 2018.
Art stay / workshop at Mikkelberg, Center for Nordic Art in Sydslesvig – together with six members of KKS. The stay was supported by the Art Center in connection whit an upcoming exhibition, October 2018.

ARTIST STATEMENT:
I come from the Faroe Islands. The Faroese nature is an ongoing theme in my works. My upbringing on the Faroe Islands has made a deep trace into my soul and given me something that I find difficult to explain with words. The nature, the weather, the light, the silence, the storms, the mountains, the sea, the clouds - everything is so different.
The climate on the Faroe Islands is hard and the weather is very changeable, which is clearly reflected in my works. I love the Faroese autumn with the drizzle, fog and the mountains that adorn the colors of autumn. There is also some fear indulging in the winter´s weather and storms, where the sky and the sea sometimes stand in one. The spring's fleeting and poetic colors, where it all begins again, and the summer's bright nights is also something very special.
There are both abstract and recognizable elements in my paintings that create some kind of recognition with reference to the nature. My motifs float somewhere between the abstract and the recognizable, where mountains, rocks, sea, water, clouds, horizon glimpse - disappear, melt together and can be seen again.
You do not get a definite answer to what it is you see. It is the drama between the abstract and the recognizable that occupies me.
My artistic practice includes painting, graphics, drawing and sculpture. It is not a production form where I make "nice" works. To me, it is about translating and expressing my ideas. The satisfaction comes when I see the results of my efforts accomplished in a work. I hope my works awake people's curiosity and imagination, and that the works opens up a space that leaves an option of interpretation.
Over the years I have participated in numerous exhibitions in Cultural Centers, Art Museums, Art Fairs and Galleries in the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Denmark, Sweden and Spain.

MORE INFORMATION:
www.birgitkirke.dk


Portfolio: