COPENHAGEN.- In September ARKEN opens a major exhibition of brand new works by the artist Michael Kvium. In a giant total installation Kvium unfolds events of our time against a backdrop of circus-tent stripes and invites the audience into Circus Europa.

For decades Michael Kvium has dealt with the absurdities of life and the meaninglessness of existence in his caricatures of human activity. On 2 September ARKEN opens its doors to Michael Kvium’s Circus Europa, an exhibition in which the audience is taken on a sensory tour of Kvium’s universe through new paintings, films, installations and sculptures. The theme in focus is nothing less than the state of the world.

Europe in the spotlight
Circus Europa is a thought-provoking exhibition about the direction in which Europe and we ourselves are going. In the exhibition Kvium unfurls events that typify our time and interweaves issues such as tourism, entertainment, news, the flow of refugees, war and climate change. With mordant irony and raw humour the political scene and everyday life are presented as if in one great circus show.

Welcome to the ring
The theatrical is a fundamental element in Kvium’s art and is central to the exhibition at ARKEN. In Circus Europa the audience is involved through clowning, dramatic conjuring tricks and theatrical situations. Kvium’s figures, both repulsive and fascinating, draw our gazes and perform for us who have stepped into the circus ring. An entertaining and disturbing show is played out all around us.

Large format
Circus Europa consists of new works that Kvium has created for the exhibition at ARKEN. The format of the exhibition marks out a new direction for Kvium, who has not previously created a total installation on this scale. The exhibition can be experienced at ARKEN from 2 September 2017 until 14 January 2018.