Bjørn Nørgaard

Bjørn Nørgaard (born 21 May 1947 in Copenhagen) is a Danish artist who has been active in a variety of fields. He has significantly influenced the art scene in Denmark both through his "happenings" and his sculptures in Danish cities. Although he has specialized in sculpture since 1970, his greatest achievement is perhaps his work in designing Queen Margrethe II's tapestries. Nørgaard was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1985 to 1994. His main workshop is in the village of Bissinge on the island of Møn.

Nørgaard studied in the 1960s at the newly founded Copenhagen School of Experimental Art where, as a 17-year-old, he came into contact with artists such as Per Kirkeby and Richard Winther. Influenced by the German performance artist Joseph Beuys, he was involved in collaborative works and happenings where he found new ways to give artistic expression to the left-wing causes of the time.

One of the most striking of these was "The Female Christ" (1969) when his wife Lene Adler Petersen walked naked with a cross through the in order to remind society of Christ's visit to the temple. Trading was suspended for the rest of the day. Another was his "Horse Sacrifice" (1970) where he slaughtered a horse on a field in the north of Sealand and carved it up into small pieces which he put into hundreds of jam jars. Here he was successful in encouraging the press to focus on the Vietnam War and hunger in Biafra. The happening caused quite a commotion and debate.

Working with a variety of materials, Nørgaard applies art to communicating with society whether through sculpture, festivals, film, painting, graphic art or architecture. He has succeeded in providing critical reflections on culture, politics and society as it evolves.

Much of his work involves sculpture where he is adept at combining themes from art and culture, providing a new perspective on topics of current interest. His interest in history is certainly one of the reasons why he was chosen in 1990 to design the large-scale sketches for the tapestries tracing the history of Denmark at the request of Queen Margrethe. He was awarded the Ingenio et Arti medal in 1999.

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