COP- Conference of Plants 

Nina K. Ekman’s contribution to CARTE VERTE
Deadstock yarn, old newspapers, metal, wood
2020-2024

Nearly 50 plants and trees have gathered in the Music Salon among tapestries and gilded floral foliage and musical instruments. Cacti, Strelitzia, Birch, Palm, Plane and Joshua trees which originate from a wide range of habitats around the world are suddenly growing here at Kongens Nytorv at The Thott Palais. A yellow monster is lurking around with its mouth wide open, looking hungry and loud, but the trees and plants are in abundance. And what are they up to  – are they demonstrating or mourning? Or perhaps just about to sing “Imagine all the plants… Living life in peace…“

CARTE VERTE
7 French and Danish artists take over the French Embassy

The Thott Palace is one of the architectural gems on Kongens Nytorv and in the city center of Copenhagen. Throughout its long and rich history, it has always been a meeting place for Danish and French artists, and for more than a century has housed the French Embassy.

In line with this tradition, Institut français, the French cultural center in Denmark, and the Embassy open the Palace to the public on the occasion of the Carte Verte exhibition from 11 to 31 October 2024.

7 French and Danish contemporary artists have been invited to take over the Embassy’s beautiful reception rooms, which are richly decorated with a wealth of artistic treasures (tapestries, Sèvres porcelain, antique furniture) in 18th century style. The participating artists are Tiphaine Calmettes, Valentine H. Despointes, Nina K. Ekman, Maria Koshenkova, Edith Meusnier, Prune Nourry and Charlotte Thrane. And the exhibition is curated by Natalia Gutman.

Carte Verte addresses one of the greatest challenges of our time, the green transition. The exhibition provides space for the artists’ perspectives on the state of the planet, nature and the green agenda. The artists touch on themes such as overconsumption, global warming, pollution of the oceans and climate change with works that are both utopian and dystopian. They each offer a unique perspective on the exhibition’s theme and intermingle in the Palace’s unique space. Several of the artists have worked with recycled materials such as old mattresses, deadstock yarn and leather and glass bottles from the embassy’s various events.

The exhibition invites the public to discover or rediscover the embassy building and to take a new look at this baroque jewel, which will be completely transformed by a series of impressive, eye-catching site-specific art installations.

The Institut français and the French Embassy in Denmark are proud to present this exhibition with the generous support of the Institut français in Paris, the New Carlsberg Foundation, the Augustinus Foundation, the William Demant Foundation, the Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Foundation, the Arne V. Schlesch Foundation, Paule Mikkelsen’s Mindelegat and Copenhagen Municipality.

Photos: Davy Denke / Rytter & Denke