michael elmgreen & ingar dragset: 'the collectors' at the danish pavilion

'a. family's home' - the danish pavilion set-up to look like a house for sale
image © designboom

for the first time in the history of the venice art biennale, two national pavilions,
the danish and the nordic, come together to present one single exhibition entitled,
'the collectors'. curated and staged by artist duo elmgreen & dragset, the work of twenty-four
international artists and artist groups are included to transform the two spaces into
domestic environments where the audience is invited as guests. dining rooms, bedrooms,
furniture, fireplaces, a stained glass skylight and the artworks nestled within the households,
reveal the uncanny stories of fictional inhabitants, with their obsessive characters and diverse
lifestyles.

the public is invited to take a guided tour with a real estate agent through the 'for sale'
danish pavilion and is told the story of the ingmar bergman-style (swedish director) family
dramas that once haunted the house. the tour then continues over to the adjacent nordic pavilion.

at the heart of 'the collectors', there is an exploration of collecting, a practice which combines
intimacy, publicness, obsession and self-expression as seen by the objects which have been
selected to decorate the two homes.


'table for bergman' by elmgreen and dragset, 2009
wood, paint, perspex, chairs, glassware, cutlery, hand-painted porcelain
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l: 'torso of a (forever) young man' by elmgreen and dragset, 2008
r: 'untitled' by maurizio cattelan, 2009
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'rosa', 2006 by elmgreen and dragset
gilded brass, steel, fiber glass with epoxy, garments, shoes
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porcelain collection scattered on the floor of the kitchen
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the porcelain collection takes over the counter, sink and shelves of the kitchen
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the living room of the home where the work of martin jacobson, norway says and elmgreen & dragset is displayed.


interior design / staircase by elmgreen and dragset, 2009
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detail of the staircase
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'I will never see you again'
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outside the danish pavilion, people line-up for tours during the 'open house'
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