Kirsten Justesen, (b. Odense, 1943) is trained in classical sculpture and was part of the Danish avant-garde of the 1960s. She developed a broad-based artistic practice in the expanded field of sculpture at an early stage of her career. Since 1968 she has used her own body as a material and is widely acclaimed as a pioneering figure in the field of body art. Her early works focussed primarily on a feminist aesthetic, challenging normative representations of women and views of gender. Her later oeuvre is of a more philosophical and existential nature, exploring the relationship between the body, spatiality and language, often in transmedial installational works. Justesen’s art is characterised by a conceptual approach to sculpture, the terms of which she renegotiates in manifold forms with an emphasis on time, process and action.
As a key figure of the feminist avant-garde, since the 1970s Kirsten Justesen has participated in numerous influential exhibitions in Denmark and internationally. These include Images of Women, Charlottenborg, Copenhagen (1970); MAGNA. Feminism: Art and Creativity, Galerie nächst St. Stephan, Vienna (1975); International Feminist Art, shown at seven museums including Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague (1979-80); Dialog med det Andet, Brandts, Odense (1994); WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, shown at four museums including MOCA – Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2007) and P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, New York City (2008); Women House, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C., La Monnaie de Paris, Paris (2018); and Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s, most recently at La Mécanique Générale, Arles (2022).
Alongside her art, since 1967 Kirsten Justesen has designed stage sets for Danish theatres and from 1985-1990 contributed to the development of the scenography programme at the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Copenhagen. During the 1990s she worked in close collaboration with the Randi Patterson Company, a partnership resulting in the modern dance performances Pink Lady (1996) and Diamonds (1997).
EDUCATION
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| 1961-64 | Trainee at Johannes Nielsen & Ethel Johansen advertising agencies, Odense |
| 1964 | Assistant to the sculptor Ane Brügger, Laurbjerg |
| 1964-65 | Funen Art Academy, Odense |
| 1965-68 | Jutland Art Academy, Aarhus |
| 1968 | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Sculpture, Copenhagen |
| 1969-1973 | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Contextual and Conceptual Practices, Copenhagen |
| 1973, 1975 | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Arts Education, Copenhagen |
| 1977 | Post-graduate teacher training, Metropolitanskolen, Copenhagen |
GRANTS AND AWARDS
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| 1988 | Ole Haslund Artist’s Foundation |
| 1989, 1993 | The Henry Heerup Bursary |
| 1991 | Anne Marie Telmanyi Bursary |
| 1996 | Eckersberg Medal |
| 1998 | Danish Art Foundations Lifelong Honorary Grant |
| 1999 | Niels Wessel Bagge Artist’s Foundation |
| 2001 | Viggo Jarl Bursary |
| 2002 | Carl Nielsen & Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Honorary Award |
| 2003 | Anna Nordlander Prize |
| 2005 | Thorvaldsen Medal |
| 2017 | Ruth and Finn Torjussen Foundation |
| 2020 | 15. Juni Fonden Honorary Award |
| 2024 | Anna Klindt Sørensen Honorary Grant |
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
- Brundlund Castle Art Museum, Aabenraa, Denmark
- CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark, Middelfart, Denmark
- Court Theatre, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Danish Arts Foundation, Denmark
- Emily Harvey Collection, New York City, USA
- Helsingborg Museum Art Collection, Helsingborg, Sweden
- Horsens Art Museum, Horsens, Denmark
- JP / Politikens Hus, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark
- MAN, Museum Anna Nordlander, Skellefteå, Sweden
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde, Denmark
- National Gallery Prague, Czech Republic
- National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC, USA
- New Carlsberg Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Randers Kunstmuseum, Randers, Denmark
- Sammlung Verbund, Vienna, Austria
- SMK – National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Sorø Kunstmuseum, Sorø, Denmark
VISITING PROFESSORSHIPS, LECTURES & ARTIST TALKS
- Sculpture professor at the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm, 1994.
- Lectures and artist talks at art academies and museums in the US, Middle East and Scandinavia
- Lecture series on feminist aesthetics
- Sculpture, Space and Form programme at the Danish School of Education, Copenhagen
RESIDENCIES
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| 1990 | Nordic Institute of Contemporary Art (NIFCA), Sveaborg, Finland |
| 1995, 2000, 2009 | San Cataldo, Italy |
| 2001, 2014, 2018 | Circolo Scandinavo, Rome, Italy |
| 2001, 2002, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2020 | Klitgården, Skagen, Denmark |
| 2003, 2004, 2012, 2016 | Danish Art Workshops, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 2006 | International Studio & Curator Programme, ISCP, New York City, USA |
| 2007, 2015 | Emily Harvey Foundation, Venice, Italy |
| 2013 | Jyllands-Postens Foundation’s Residency, Berlin, Germany |
ADVISORY BOARDS
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| 1980 | Danish Society of Artists, Sculptor Section |
| 1987-1993, 1994-2020 | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts |
| 1993-1994 | Deputy board member, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts |
| 1988-1990, 1999-2002 | Fellows of the Royal Academy |
| 1989-1990, 1999-2002 | Chair for Sculpture and Vice President, Fellows of the Royal Academy |
| 1990-1993, 1998-1999, 2004 | Deputy board member, Fellows of the Royal Academy |
| 1990-2003 | Architecture Committee, Fellows of the Royal Academy |
| 1996-1999, 2008-2014 | Fellows of the Royal Academy Jury |
| 2002-2003 | Danish Arts Foundation, Committee for Visual Arts |
APPOINTMENT COMMITTEES
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| 1989 | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen (Professor, School of Graphic Arts) |
| 1995-1999 | Danish National School of Performing Arts, Copenhagen (Head of Scenography Department) |
| 1982-1990 | Danish National School of Performing Arts, Copenhagen (admissions board, scenographers and directors) |
| 1990 | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen (Lecturer, School of Media Arts) |
| 1999 | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen (Admissions board, School of Visual Arts) |
| 2003 | Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen (Professor, School of Sculpture) |
| 2007 | University of Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm (Professorial appointment) |
| 2009 | Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts, Oslo (Professor, School of Sculpture) |
BOARDS
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| 1986-2001 | Kunstmuseum Brandts, Odense (chair) |
| 1986-1990 | National Museum of Photography, Kunstmuseum Brandts, Odense |
| 1990-1993 | Nordic Artists’ Federation, Copenhagen |
| 1993-2003 | Danish Society of Ecclesiastical Art |
| 1994-1997 | Nordic Art and Craft Committee (NKKK) |
| 1996-2013 | Odin Theatre, Holstebro |
| 2001-2013 | Ole Haslund Art Foundation |
| 2003-2006 | Teatret Kaleidoskop / Kanonhallen, Copenhagen |
| 2004-2013 | J.P. Lund & Vilhelmine Bugge artist’s grant |
| 2012-2013 | Circolo Scandinavo, Rome |
EXTERNAL EXAMINER & JURY MEMBER
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| 1985-1987 | Aesthetics and Culture programme, Aarhus University |
| 1994, 2015 | Artists’ Easter Exhibition |
| 1995 | Naalakkersuisut, Katuaq – Greenland Culture Centre, Nuuk |
| 1999 | ‘Adgang til kulturen’, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture |
| 2000, 2001, 2017 | Artists’ Autumn Exhibition |
| 2003-2017 | Danish National Schools of Architecture |
| 2005 | Naalakkersuisut, Tusass Telecommunications, Nuuk |