Kasper Sonne (born 1974 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is an internationally exhibited Danish artist living and working in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in New York. In his understated monochromatic paintings, sculptures, signs, and works on paper, Kasper Sonne investigates how we interpret our surroundings to make sense of the world. As he explains: “Through a continuous construction and deconstruction of meaning, I wish to explore how individual and cultural references influence the way we read the world around us.” Sonne’s series of manipulated advertisements exemplifies his methods of examining meaning. In these works, he blackens out everything but the name of the advertised product, such as Secret deodorant or Obsession perfume. By dissociating the word from the product it had been labeling, Sonne effectively divests it of the meaning imposed upon it by that product, leaving it up to viewers to make the word meaningful again through their own processes of interpretation and association.
b. 1974 in Copenhagen, Denmark
Lives and works in New York
EDUCATION
1997-2000 BA, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
HEART – Herning Museum Of Contemporary Art, Herning, Denmark
David Roberts Arts Foundation, London, UK
Fubon Art Foundation, Taiwan
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBTIONS
(C) denotes that a catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition.
2019 Brigade CPH First Light Residency, Havana, Cuba
THM Paintings, A Hug From The Art World, New York, USA
2018 Body Body Head, Kaikai Kiki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2016 New Religion, HEART – Herning Museum Of Contemporary Art, Herning, Denmark
2015 Dirty Blonde, Christian Larsen, Stockholm, Sweden
Black Box, Jeanrochdard, Brussels, Belgium
Kasper Sonne, The Arts Club, London, UK
2014 New Territory, West, Den Haag, The Netherlands (C)
Bad Chemistry, Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy (C)
On Destruction And Decoration, Galerie Olivier Robert, Paris, France (C)
2013 Zero Emotional Content, The Hole, New York, US
All Their Lies Are True, Henningsen Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
All Information Is Subject To Change, SALTS, Basel, Switzerland
2012 The Total Loss of Innocence Regained, Primo Piano, Paris, France
2010 Pure Colors, Charles Bank Gallery, New York, US
Untitled Sign # 3, SAPS museum, Mexico City, Mexico
2009 Total Revolution, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2006 Trust Me, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2003 AM I EVIL?, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2002 The Dicktator Sucks!, I-N-K Institut for nutidskunst, Copenhagen, Denmark
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
(C) denotes that a catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition.
2020 Socle du Monde Biennial, HEART – Herning Museum Of Contemporary Art, Herning, Denmark
2019 First Light, Brigade CPH, Copenhagen, Denmark
2018 Collaborations, Copenhagen, Denmark
2017 Solace, 524 West 26th Street, New York, USA
2016 Face To Face, Palazzo Fruscione, Salerno, Italy
The Ties That Bind, Achenbach Hagemeier, Wuppertal, Germany
Summer Show #1, Galerie Lily Robert, Paris, France
2015 #HashtagAbstract, Ronchini Gallery, London, UK, curated by Kamiar Maleki
Gatherings, Fergus McCaffrey, New York, US
Text Efter Tekst, Den Frie - Center of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark (C)
VOLUMES, Berthold Pott at Kunstverein Kolnberg, Cologne, Germany
2014 The Go Between, National Musem of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy, curated by Eugenio Viola (C)
Nuit Blanche, Pavillon Vendôme – Centre d’art Contemporain, Clichy, France
Over (Drive+Flow), Galerie Olivier Robert, Paris, France, curated by Benjamin Bianciotto (C)
The Go Between, Sprovieri Gallery, London, UK, curated by Eugenio Viola
From Pre-History to Post-Everything, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, US
Bikuben, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Utah, US, curated by Rebecca Maksym
The Brask Collection, Munkeruphus, Denmark (C)
Sputnik III, Barbara Seiler Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
YEAH AND LOOK WHERE IT GOT US, Mon Cheri, Brussels, Belgium
Drive the Change, 100plus Zürich, Switzerland, curated by Annette von Spesshardt-Portatius (C)
2013 ZEIGEN - Karin Sander, Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
Room 1, Henningsen Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Wall, Galerie Olivier Robert, Paris, France, curated by Benjamin Bianciotto
Secret Garden II, Gl. Holtegaard - gallery for contemporary and modern art, Denmark, curated by Mads Damsbo (C)
Tectonic, The Moving Museum, Dubai, UAE, curated by Simon Sakhai and Aya Mousavi
IRL, Point B, New York, USA, curated by Mikkel Carl
2012 The Dark Cube, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France, curated by Francesca Gavin
Tonight We Won’t Be Bored - 10 years of V1 Gallery, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Each Memory Recalled Must Do Some Violence To Its Origin, curated by Aaron Moulton, undisclosed location
Under The Volcano, Andromeda Arte Contemporaneo, San Jose, Costa Rica, curated by Raul Zamudio
Paper Match, Halmlageret, Copenhagen, Denmark, curated by Johan Rosenmunthe (C)
The Inhabitants, Apart, Copenhagen, Denmark, curated by Mathias Kryger and Christina Malbek
Celebrity Skin, White Box Contemporary, San Diego, US, curated by Raul Zamudio
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Leila Heller Gallery, New York, US, curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath (C)
The Artist Is Not Present, Meulensteen, New York, US, curated by Tali Wertheimer & Susi Kenna (C)
BODY SNATCHERS, White Box Contemporary, New York, US, curated by Raul Zamudio
Donatello parmi les fauves, Galerie Olivier Robert, Paris, France, curated by Benjamin Bianciotto
Transhuman, Old School, New York, US, curated by Cecelia Stucker
An Øje At The Hole, The Hole, New York, US, curated by Jens-Peter Brask
Overgaden at The Armory Show, New York, US, curated by Henriette Bretton-Meyer
Casa de Empeno with The Armory Show, Anonymous Gallery, New York, US
RETROspect, Charles Bank Gallery, New York, US
Casa de Empeno, Anonymous Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico
2011 Grey Area – Art and Object Shop, Bass Museum of Art, Miami, US
Visible Alternative, New Museums Festival of Ideas for the New City at Old School, New York, US
No One is an Island, LMCC at Governors Island, New York, US, Curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoud
Lake of Fire, Den Frie - Center of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark, Curated by Mikkel Carl (C)
Ut Pictura Poesis, Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen, Denmark, Curated by Jesper Elg
In Case We Don't Die, KPH Volume, Copenhagen, Denmark
What’s he building in there? Fuse Gallery, New York, US, curated by Jesper Elg and Mikkel Grønnebæk
Artprojx Cinema at the SVA Theatre, New York, US, curated by David Gryn
Art Machine, The Hole, New York, US, curated by Alife and Kathy Grayson
One Shot, Kunstpakhuset, Ikast, Denmark, curated by Jesper Elg
Status, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
January White Sale, Loretta Howard Gallery, New York, US, curated by Beth Rudin DeWoody (C)
2010 Faint to black, Henningsen Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark, Curated by Mikkel Carl
Art Moves, Commissioned billboard, Torun, Poland (C)
Paradiso, 17th annual Watermill Center benefit, Watermill, NY, US
Album, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Seeing Voices, Stedman Gallery, Rutgers, New Jersey, US
One Shot, Allmänna Galleriet 925, Stockholm, Sweden (C)
2009 Summer Show, LaviolaBank Gallery, New York, US
When the vacation is over for good, Pianissimo Gallery, Milan, Italy
One Shot, Werkstette Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark (C)
2008 The Destruction of Atlantis, Union Gallery, London, UK, Curated by Jesper Elg
Year One, LaViolaBank Gallery, New York, US
56° N, 10° E, Museo de San Carlos, Mexico City, Mexico (C)
FIGUR, Lauritz Kunsthal, Copenhagen, Denmark
TEMPO, Skien, Norway, Public art commission, Curated by Anne Szefer Karlsen (C)
2007 What can desert islands do?, Seventeen Gallery, London, UK, Curated by Paul Pieroni
Spitting Image, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2006 Exportable Goods - Contemporary Danish Art, Galerie Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna, Austria,
Curated by Severin Dunser and Jesper N. Jorgensen (C)
The wish list, M+R Gallery, London, UK
2005 DNA, DogA, Norges Design og Arkitekturcenter, Oslo, Norway
DNA, So Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
DNA, Galleri edition, Copenhagen, Denmark
Framed, Turbinehallerne, Copenhagen, Denmark
2004 Video 2004, Bergen Kunsthall, Bergen, Norway
Dagen efter, Public art exhibition in the cities Copenhagen, Århus and Randers, Denmark
One, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2003 Size 12, Galleri Asbæk, Copenhagen, Denmark
2002 KE 2002, Den Frie udstillingsbygning, Copenhagen, Denmark (C)
Gallery Luhmann, Nils Stærk Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark, Curated by Jason Dodge
SELECTED PRESS
2018 Zachary Weiss, Observer.Com, “5 Young Collectors”, July.
2017 Gabriel Roland, Collectors Agenda, “In The Studio”, July.
2016 Andrew Nunes, The Creators Project, “Nature Devours Art in a Series of Eco Sculptures”, June
Lizzane Merryl, Artlyst, “Early American Landscape Painting The Seed Of American Exceptionalism”, June
Lisbeth Bonde, Bo Bedre, “Det Nye Stjerneskud”, June
Ashley W. Simpson, Vogue, “Free Arts”, April.
Lars Svanholm, Jyllands Posten, “Kasper Sonne – New Religion”, March
Deianira Tolema, ArteFuse.com, “South-Italian Art Scene Revived by Ernesto Esposito’s Astounding Collection”, April
2015 Lily Le Brun, Financial Times, “E-appreciation Thru Instagram”, Aug.
Natalie Hegert, ArtSlant.com, “Hashtag Abstract”, July
Colin Gleadell, Telegraph, “Market News: scandal sells”, June.
Michael Slenske, Modern Painters, “A Controlled Burn”, cover and main feature, Feb.
Damilola Oshilaja, Eclectic Magazine, “Residual Crystals”, Jan.
William Davie, Hunger TV, “The Arts Club: Kasper Sonne”, Jan.
2014 Pernilla Holmes, Financial Times, “A Piece Of The Action”, Dec.
Michael Slenske, Architectural Digest, “Bright Prospects”, Dec.
Marco Meneguzzo, Artforum, Review “Kasper Sonne”, Nov.
Marina Casdan, Artsy.net, “Up and Coming: How Kasper Sonne is Setting the Art World on Fire”, July
Mousse Magazine, “Kasper Sonne, Bad Chemistry”, July
Cura Magazine, “Kasper Sonne, Bad Chemistry”, July
Anastasia Indrikova, Esquire Russia “Maiden Us In Sensation”, May
2013 Leigh Silver, Complex.com, “10 coolest booths at NADA art fair 2013”, Dec.
Shana Beth Mason, KunstForum.as, “Commendable choices from Artissima”, Nov.
Katy Diamond Harmer, Flash Art, “Kasper Sonne - New York Tales”, Sept.
Beth Fiore, Artsy.net, “Kasper Sonne and Kadar Brock at The Hole Gallery”, Sept.
Allyson Shiffman, Interviewmagazine.com, “Dungeons, Dragons and Art”, Sept.
Oscar Laluyan, Artefuse.com, “At The Hole”, Sept.
Max Noy, Galleryfiend.com, “Dredge Up & FALL Back into Art, Fiend”, Sept.
Bugu Melis Caglayan, Thisisourfauna.com, “Conceptual Tales”, Sept.
Nell Alk, Wall Street Journal, “Online Art Auction Finds Home”, April.
2012 Katy Diamond Harmer, Flash Art, “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, Oct.
Francesca Gavin, Sleek-Mag.com, “The Dark Cube”, Oct.
Alison Martin, Examiner.com, ”Rock, Paper, Scissors at Chelsea gallery”, July.
Agnès Violeau, French Vogue Online, “L’éloge de la rébellion, Galerie Olivier Robert”, May.
Christina Lessa, FLATT magazine, “Kasper Sonne”, May.
Agnès Violeau, French Vogue Online, “Art contemporain – Kasper Sonne at Primo Piano”, April.
2011 Eugenie Dalland, Oakzine, “Kasper Sonne”, Sep.
Shireen Lohrasbe, Whitehot Magazine, “Art Market Report: May 2011”, June.
Andrew M. Goldstein, Artinfo.com, “No One is an Island“, May.
Line Dall, Berlingske Tidende MS, “Kasper Sonne”, April.
2010 Adina Popescu, Artforum.com, Critics pick’s New York, “Kasper Sonne”, Oct.
2009 Ana Finel Honigman, Art in America, “International Review”, Dec.
Torben Zenth, New Danish Art 09, Nov.
Torben Zenth and Anna Holm, Kopenhagen.DK, “Kasper Sonne”, Nov.
Francesca Gavin, Dazed and Confused, “Art News”, Sep.
Wonderland Magazine # 10, Sep.
2008 Michael Jeppesen, Information, "Kunst ved Jeppesen", Dec.
Anne Lill W. Ass, Telemarksavisa, "Kunst som ruver", June.
2007 Mette Sandbye, Weekend avisen, "Kunstkoncentrat", Nov.
Mads Damsbo, Information, "Basel blues", July.
2006 Natalia Goldin Lundh, Plaza Magazine International, “Top 40 under 40”, Summer issue.
Peter Michael Hornung, Politiken, "Tro mig", April.
Sune Fredskild, Kopenhagen.dk, “Trust Me”, April.
2005 Michael Thouber, DR 2, “Tematirsdag, Kunstsamlerne”, Nov.
Chris Pedersen, Perfect Editions, "Kasper Sonne", Oct/ Nov.
Amber Fu, Ready Made Magazine Japan, "Kasper Sonne", Oct/ Nov.
Torben Gammelgaard, Ledelse i dag, "Gadekunst ind i stuerne", May.
2004 Dorthe Nielsen, Børsen, "Kunst som livsstil", Dec.
Anne Kielgast, Citadel, "Norse Projects", Dec.
René Fredensborg, Urban, ”Kongelig Klunke-Clubbing”, Oct.
Anette Vestergaard, Politiken, ”Smidt ud af galleriet”, May.
Lise Mülhausen, DR TV “Kulturmagasinet Viva”, Feb.
Jacob Kreutzfeldt, Kultur Nyt på DR P2, ”Kunst i byen”, Feb.
Morten Brink Iwersen, Politiken, ”Kunst i gadehøjde nu!”, Feb.
Michael Thouber, Kunstmagasinet DR P2, ”Dagen Efter”, Feb.
Mads Johannes Nielsen, Kopenhagen.Dk, ”Hyldest til rødderne”, Feb.
Michael Thouber, Kunstmagasinet P2, ”Kunst i det offentlige rum”, Jan.
Michael Thouber, TV Danmark2, ”Kunst på stenbroen”, Jan.
Lasse Lavrsen, Information, ”Galleriet der kom ind fra gaden”, Jan.
Ida Buhl, Berlingske Tidende, ”Gadens rebeller...”, Jan.
Thomas Dalvang-Fleurquin, Copenhagen Post, ”Highly regarded artist”, Jan.
Thomas Lykke, Bo Bedre, ”Kasper Sonne, talent med en rå og ærlig stil”, Jan.
2003 Dansk Kunst ’02, Dec.
Sand, Politiken, ”Er jeg ond?”, Aug.
Torben Zenth, Kopenhagen.Dk, ”Am I evil?”, Aug.
Vesterbro bladet, ”Am I evil?”, Aug.
Metro Express, ”Am I evil?”, Aug.
2002 Pernille Anker Kristensen, Jyllands Posten, ”Livsglæden er tilbage”, Oct.
Roxanna Albeck, Costume, ”Dansk kunstner af internationalt format”, Oct.
Pernille Anker Kristensen, Jyllands Posten, ”? Til Kasper Sonne”, Aug.
Trine Ross, Politiken, ”The Dicktator Sucks!”, Aug.
Mette Nielsen, AOK.Dk, ”The Dicktator Sucks!”, Aug.
Pernille Anker Kristensen, Jyllands Posten, ”Storby råt”, Aug.
Trine Ross, Politiken, ”Komsammen for venner”, Marts.
Jamie McPhee, III Magazine ”, The unexpected Mr. Kasper Sonne”, Feb.