Melou Vanggaard

MELOU VANGGAARD
BORN 1969 / DENMARK / LIVES AND WORKS IN COPENHAGEN

EDUCATION:

1996:
BA Art History, Departments of Arts and Cultural Studies, Copenhagen University DK

1996-2003:
School of Visual Arts, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen DK

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:

2010:
Meaning Of Void, Group show, Christoffer Egelund Gallery, Copenhagen DK
Aluring Dark Blue and Hangovers, Solo, Traneudstillingen, Gentofte DK
Last Temptation, Co-Lab, Copenhagen DK

2009:
Liquid Shadow, Solo show, Co-Lab, Copenhagen DK
Nordic art, Casino Metropolitano, Mexico
Paintspace VIII‏, Rundetårn, Copenhagen DK
We are the places we see – an attemt to a Keirkegaard project,  Copenhagen Office, DK
Palles Børnebørn, Clausens Kunsthandel, Copenhagen DK
Garage, Dunk, Copenhagen DK
Multipels, Co-lab, Copenhagen DK

2008:
Overload, WAS, Copenhagen DK
Flyde skulptur festival, CO-Lab, Copenhagen DK
Projckt room, Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen DK
Beers, Co-lab på Byens, Copenhagen DK
The map is not the territory, Esbjerg Kunstmuseum, Copenhgen DK
Who is your dad?, JMOCA, L.A. US
Strange Ranger,  Circus Gallery, L.A. US

2007:
Sorteper. Modrat, Copenhagen DK
Walking Between [solo show]. Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen DK
Match Race. Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum, Aalborg DK
Postparty and the two headed show. Byens Kro, Copenhagen DK

2006:
Berlin paintings [w/ Erling Viktor], Kong Christian, Copenhagen DK
X-mas, Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen DK
Kalenderen, Byens Kro, Copenhagen DK
Maleriets 11 hjørner, Sophienholm, Lyngby DK
Emergency Room, Nikolaj Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen DK
Selvsving [w/ Selvsving], The Factory of Art and Design, Copenhagen DK
Camp Eden. Kong Christian, Copenhagen DK

2005:
Gæstfrihed [w/ Selvsving], Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Copenhagen DK
Bar-life, Byens Kro, Copenhagen DK
Flow Show [w/ Jon Stahn], Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen DK
II. Biennial of Graphical Arts, Kaliningrad, Russia
Klub Selvsving, Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Copenhagen DK
Drunken Friends, Byens Kro, Copenhagen DK
Smagsdommer, det ka’ du selv være – selvsving [w/ Selvsving]. Den Frie Udstillingsbygning, Copenhagen DK

2004:
There is a girl on my car, Danske Grafikeres Hus, Copenhagen DK
Girls and Guns, kopenhagen.dk, Copenhagen DK
New Blood, Galleri Tom Christoffersen, Copenhagen DK
Ceramics 2004, kopenhagen.dk, Copenhagen DK
Drawing 2004, kopenhagen.dk, Copenhagen DK
Udfald. Springforbivej, Copenhagen DK
Book Objects, kopenhagen.dk, Copenhagen DK
Stolen works by Stahn & Schulenburg. Riga, Copenhagen DK
Selvsving [w/ Selvsving], kopenhagen.dk & Basement, Copenhagen DK

2003:
Multiples 2003, kopenhagen.dk, Copenhagen DK
Drawing 2003, kopenhagen.dk, Copenhagen DK
Danish Summer, Galleri Tom Christoffersen, Copenhagen DK
Selvsving [ w/ Selvsving]. Roskilde Festival, Roskilde DK
EXIT 03, Kunstforeningen Gl. Strand, Copenhagen DK
My Thai. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen DK
Copenhagen-Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand
Selvsving [w/ Selvsving], Køge Art Museum of Sketches, Køge DK
Floorless – In the red, Overgaden – Institute of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen DK

2002:
24 seksuelle stillinger og varianter, New International Underground, Copenhagen DK
MuteboX invites, Charlottenborg Exhibition Hall, Copenhagen DK
Abschieds-konzert, Galleri Tom Christoffersen, Copenhagen DK
Brøl! / Roar!, Copenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen DK
Art Parade, Copenhagen DK

2001:
Henne hos slagteren, nede i kælderen...[w/ Trine Boesen], Copenhagen DK
The latest craze, Galleri Søren Houmann, Copenhagen DK
Multiples 2001. kopenhagen.dk, Copenhagen DK

2000:
Mute. MuteBox Exhibition Space, Copenhagen DK
Jon Stahn & Melou Vanggaard [w/ Jon Stahn]. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen DK
Mail-art. Musée de l’Hotel-Dieu, FR

1999:
Ice-Multiples [m. Jon Stahn]. Project in Jelgava, Latvia
Private Parts [video screening]. Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen DK

1998:
Melou Vanggaard & Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen, Kunstakademiets Udstillingssted Q, Copenhagen

1997:
Hey, how are you doing?, Gallery Eat me, Copenhagen

ART FAIRS BY GALLERI CHRISTOFFER EGELUND:

2008:
The Nordic Art Fair, Forum, Copenhagen, DK.
SWAB, Barcelona, ES.

2007:
The Nordic Art Fair, Forum, Copenhagen DK

2006:
Art Copenhagen, Forum, Copenhagen DK
alt_cph, The Factory of Art and Design, Copenhagen DK
Art Chicago in The Park, Chicago US

2005:
Art Chicago, Navy Pier, Chicago US
Art Copenhagen, Forum, Copenhagen DK
Art Miami, Convention Centre, Miami US

2004:
Art Paris Louvre, Paris FR

GRANTS, HONOURS, ETC.:

2006:
Solar Foundation Honoury grant

2003:
Awarded in the Danish stamp collection, the 250 year anniversary of The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
Artist of the year, DBI

2002:
Artist of the year, Medialog
Månson Legat

OTHER ACTIVITIES:

2006:
Teaching courses at Århus Kunstakademi

2005:
Teaching courses at Kunsthøjskolen på Ærø
Lecturer at Borups Højskole

2004:
Curator [w/ Christian Vind] of Claus Carstensen: Eftersyn, Galleri Tom Christoffersen

2003-04:
Artistic manager of kopenhagen.dk

2002:
Founder of MuteboX Edition Publishers

2000:
Co-founder of www.kopenhagen.dk
Founder of MuteboX exhibition space

1995:
Initiating Galleri Eat Me!
Initiating [w/ Jon Stahn & Simon Grimm] MuteboX

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Illustrator of Pixi-essay: List in Wonderland. Wonderland, September 2007
REUMERT vs. ELMER + Selected. Ed.: Niels Reumert & Elmer. Galleri Chrisoffer Egelund, Copenhagen 2007
Maleriets 11 hjørner, Sophienholm, Lyngby 2006
Marie Kirkegaard: Flow Show – Melou Vanggaard & Jon Stahn, Galleri Christoffer Egelund, Copenhagen 2005
Totemkvinde, MuteboX Edition, Copenhagen 2004

STATEMENT:

Melou Vanggaard Works combine the abstract figurative language with the word. Her paintings move on the edge between the waste and emotional landscape of the image and the structure of the written language. An overwhelming energy transforms the written word into a boiling borderland between statement and icon. Fragments of text expresses ambiguous and metanarrative puns like “Rapacity, In my face, Money-Drunk”. The puns flow from associations whether they are decoded as an outlet of the expressive energy or read as a reference to a profound meaning. The text can be seen as an imitation of the picture or can be read as a perverted message where “In my face” refers to a cum shot that connotes a pornographic or a masculine discourse of power. In Melou Vanggaard´s works we are confronted with the contradictions of the western culture. In one hand expressive and spontaneous and at the same time linguistic and arbitrary.