PRESENTATION: Sky Gazing

Skygazing, or more literally gazing at the sky, is an activity for leisure or with an interest in amateur astronomy. Astronomical observations are generally made with the naked eye or with basic optical aids. Simple naked-eye observations of the sky can reveal a great deal about the basics of astronomy and give a better understanding of the cosmos, while instruments, such as telescopes, are used to study deep space. Many different celestial objects can be viewed while skygazing during both night and daytime.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: ARoS Museum Archive

The group exhibition “Sky Gazing” explores the ways artists have considered and been inspired by the vast spaces and events of the universe and its impacts on art and nature here on Earth. Including works by contemporary artists Douglas Gordon, Angelica Mesiti, Roni Horn, Søren Thilo Funder and more, The exhibition also presents Danish and European masters, whose works broaden our understanding of man’s eternal fascination with sky gazing from the observational to the abstract. The sky is hidden, symbolic and sacred in works from Dutch still life, Danish Romanticism, and Italian journey paintings, reminding us that the sky holds significance in many cultures. “Sky Gazing” also includes important modernist works by Wassily Kandinsky, Alexander Calder and Ib Geertsen, who each explore the sky through symbols and distillations, and it introduces Danish audiences to the beautiful spirit works of Australian indigenous artist Naminapu Maymuru-White whose larrakitj (memorial poles, ed.) tell the story of the Milky Way, The River and the ‘everytime’ place of souls who travel between the sky and earth. British artist Tacita Dean records the duration of the 1999 eclipse, allowing animals and landscape to tell the tale of this mysterious event which periodically interrupts normality. Her one-hour film installation captures the failing light and the second dawn – a birth, a Genesis, a resurrection – which transforms the senses. Visitors also experience the immersive cosmos created by the Scottish artist, Katie Paterson, who invents a galaxy from a dazzling disco ball of photographed eclipses.  This is brought together with her prepared piano piece “Earth-Moon-Earth (Moonlight Sonata Reflected from the Surface of the Moon)” (2007) in which the moon ‘plays’ Beethoven’s composition via satellite bounce.  Lucienne Rickard performs her epic “Extinction: drawing and erasure act to bring attention to loss and the crisis we now face in the age of the Anthropocene. From hope and heaven to dread and loss, the Sky Gazing journey is a grand contemplation of shifting sensibilities and stark truths told through the imagination and observations of artists across time.

Photo: Sky Gazing, ARoS 2024. Installation view: Anders Sune Berg © ARoS 2024

Info: Curator: Juliana Engberg, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aros Allé 2, Aarhus, Denmark, Duration: 5/10/2024-16/2/2025, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 11:00-21:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-17:00, www.aros.dk/