Sky Gazing at the ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum

The sky is hidden, symbolic and sacred in works from Dutch still life, Danish Romanticism, and Italian journey paintings, reminding us that the sky holds significance in many cultures.

Sky Gazing also includes important modernist works by Wassily Kandinsky (b.1866-1944), Alexander Calder (b.1898-1976), and Ib Geertsen (b.1919-2009) who each explore the sky through symbols and distillations, and it introduces Danish audiences to the beautiful spirit works of Australian indigenous artist Naminapu Maymuru-White (b.1952) whose larrakitj (memorial poles, ed.) tell the story of the Milky Way, The River and the ‘everytime’ place of souls who travel between the sky and earth.

During the installation of the exhibition, the Tasmanian artist Lucienne Rickard (b. 1981) performed her epic extinction drawing and erasure act to bring attention to loss of species and the crisis we now face in the age of the Anthropocene. From hope and heaven to dread and loss, the Sky Gazing journey is a grand contemplation of shifting sensibilities and stark truths told through the imagination and observations of artists across time.

Sky Gazing is organized by curator and writer Juliana Engberg. Engberg has been Artistic Director of several Biennales – Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney – and has created and curated exhibitions for numerous galleries, museums and projects: For the Venice Biennale and Glasgow International among others. She was the Programme Director of Aarhus 2017: European Capital of Culture.