As a critical observer and conceptual powerhouse Barbara Kruger grapples with power dynamics, gender, identity, late capitalism, and the mass media in her first survey exhibition in Scandinavia.
No Comment presents Barbara Kruger's most iconic works; her early paste-ups; large-scale vinyl wall and floor installations; multi-channel and single channel video; soundscapes; large scale LED together with brand new site-specific text-based vinyl works.
The exhibition takes over ARoS, and all vinyl works in this unique exhibition are customised to ARoS' architecture. The largest work will be over 30 metres high and will be displayed on the entrance wall from ARoS Lev. 1 to Lev. 8.
“We are thrilled to welcome to Denmark and Scandinavia one of the most influential artists of our time. By skillfully harnessing the seductive power of advertising, Barbara Kruger combines images drawn from mass-media with concise, authoritative language to question social and power relations. No Comment, I’m sure, will have us look at our lives and society anew,” says museum director Rebecca Matthews.
The exhibition extends to the Aarhus Lightrail network
No Comment is curated by Ellen Drude Skeel Langvold in close collaboration with the artist.
As part of the exhibition, Barbara Kruger will dress a number of Aarhus Lightrail carriages with her works. Residents and visitors to the city can look forward to experiencing No Comment and Barbara Kruger's voice not only at ARoS, but throughout the city and as part of their everyday routines.
Finally, the exhibition includes soundscapes - both in the exhibition gallery, and also in surprising places such as ARoS' guest toilets and ARoS Butik.
A critical observer
Barbara Kruger was born in 1945 in Newark, New Jersey. For over 40 years, Kruger’s astute observations of society have reflected, and critically examined, our contemporary condition. Especially her moving images and sonic interventions are major components in No Comment at ARoS. For the past 20 years Kruger has been producing moving image works, both multi-channel and single channel videos, and large-scale LEDs.
Visitors can look forward to encountering reconceptualized versions of iconic works such as Untitled (I shop therefore I am) (1987–2019), Untitled (That’s the way we do it) (2011–2024), and Untitled (Your body is a battleground) (1989–2019), which comment on themes such as women's equality and abortion rights, subjects which remain as urgent in 2024 as they were in the 1980s.
“It would be great if my work became archaic, if the issues that they try to present, the commentary that I'm trying to suggest was no longer pertinent. Unfortunately, that is not the case at this point,” says Barbara Kruger.
Kruger’s work is characterised by her use of oversized typefaces and commercial and industrial formats. Throughout her career she has incorporated everything from magazine covers, t-shirts, and mugs to bags and skateboards into her artistic practice. In recent years, Kruger has explored how her own works are photographed, adopted and given new life by others both commercially and on social media. This can also be experienced at ARoS in the multi-channel video Untitled (No Comment) from 2020.
The exhibition No Comment can be seen from 29 November, 2024 to 21 April, 2025.
Barbara Kruger and No Comment is celebrated and documented in a richly illustrated publication including texts by curator Ellen Drude Skeel Langvold and philosopher and author Vincent F. Hendricks among others. The publication is supported by The New Carlsberg Foundation.
The exhibition is realised with generous support from the Augustinus Foundation and the Dreyer Foundation.
Press photos can be freely downloaded when giving due credit:
Go to dropbox.
For further information and information about the opening and press preview, please contact:
ARoS Press and Communication
presse@aros.dk
+45 61904942