Christian Lemmerz - Largo
I 2009–10 præsenterede Christian Lemmerz udstillingen Largo på Statens Museum for Kunst i en række store, lysfyldte en suite-sale. Udstillingen bestod af en gruppe skulpturelle værker, der skildrede livets cyklus fra fødsel til død – en klassisk memento mori med særlig vægt på dødeligheden, et tema der gennemgående har været centralt i Lemmerz’ kunstneriske praksis.
Som karakteristisk for hans oeuvre var skulpturerne markante i deres udførelse, støbt i gråsort bronze og med titler som Grab. Udstillingen omfattede en sekvens på syv monumentale, stående relieffer, hvor knogler og kranier diskret trådte frem fra overfladen. For at sikre anatomisk præcision og korrekte proportioner anvendte Lemmerz endda et ægte menneskekranium som reference i arbejdsprocessen.
De syv relieffer bar en dyb symbolsk betydning. I kristen ikonografi har tallet syv en hellig betydning og refererer både til skabelsens syv dage og til menneskets symbolske tal – tre plus fire. Her repræsenterer tre den åndelige sfære, legemliggjort i Den Hellige Treenighed, mens fire betegner den jordiske sfære, såsom de fire verdenshjørner eller Paradisets floder. Denne teologiske og symbolske dybde gennemstrømmede værkerne og forstærkede oplevelsen af at træde ind i et kontemplativt, næsten ritualiseret rum.
Free-standing sculptures
Reliefs
Detail
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Grab
Christian Lemmerz insists in his practice that death is not something to be wrapped in comforting narratives or reduced to a self-help manual. For him, death is neither an abstract philosophy nor a gentle metaphor — it is an unrelenting part of life that we must all confront. In the interview “I Am Not a Self-Help Book About Death,” he emphasizes that his art is not about offering consolation or easy answers, but about awakening the viewer and holding us within the existential reality that society so often seeks to repress.
Lemmerz’s work consistently revolves around mortality, the body, and transience — not to glorify death, but to compel us to face it and acknowledge its inevitability. He seeks to make the encounter with his art a confrontation: an experience that moves us beyond superficial emotion and into a space where we must feel the fragility of life for ourselves. Death is not distant or irrelevant — it resides at the very core of our existence and deserves to be seen, contemplated, and felt without filter.
His approach stands in stark contrast to popular ideals of quick reassurance and uplifting narratives. Instead, through both his works and his reflections, Lemmerz proposes that we dare to stand with death — as an integral part of our shared human condition, as a prerequisite for living fully, and as a powerful yet uncomfortable reminder of what it truly means to be alive.
Largo
Lemmerz situates his works within a spatial setting that evokes the atmosphere of a chapel or a ritual procession. The works make explicit reference to the Christian funeral rite and its associated objects: a closed coffin, a shovel, a golden flower without a stem, an oversized fetus — all iconic symbols pointing to death as both an ending and a beginning.
Throughout his career, Lemmerz has consistently explored the fragility of life, the physical decay of the human body, and the rituals we construct to confront loss. With Largo, he continues this existential meditation — not as a refined symbol, but as a visceral and emotional experience that confronts the viewer directly with life’s most profound questions.
Information about udstillingen
Christian Lemmerz insists in his practice that death is not something to be wrapped in comforting narratives or reduced to a self-help manual. For him, death is neither an abstract philosophy nor a gentle metaphor — it is an unrelenting part of life that we must all confront. In the interview “I Am Not a Self-Help Book About Death,” he emphasizes that his art is not about offering consolation or easy answers, but about awakening the viewer and holding us within the existential reality that society so often seeks to repress.
Lemmerz’s work consistently revolves around mortality, the body, and transience — not to glorify death, but to compel us to face it and acknowledge its inevitability. He seeks to make the encounter with his art a confrontation: an experience that moves us beyond superficial emotion and into a space where we must feel the fragility of life for ourselves. Death is not distant or irrelevant — it resides at the very core of our existence and deserves to be seen, contemplated, and felt without filter.
His approach stands in stark contrast to popular ideals of quick reassurance and uplifting narratives. Instead, through both his works and his reflections, Lemmerz proposes that we dare to stand with death — as an integral part of our shared human condition, as a prerequisite for living fully, and as a powerful yet uncomfortable reminder of what it truly means to be alive.
Video
What is available for sale?
The exhibition presents a curated selection of sketches by Christian Lemmerz.
Submit an inquiry to receive access to our exclusive showroom featuring all available works.
About Christian Lemmerz
Christian Lemmerz (b. 1959) is one of Denmark’s most distinguished contemporary artists, with a practice spanning more than four decades. Educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Carrara, Italy, Lemmerz works across a wide range of media — from sculpture and installation to drawing, performance, and video — yet his oeuvre remains unified by an uncompromising confrontation with the most fundamental questions of human existence: identity, suffering, mortality, and being.
Read more about the artist here
Works
At Galleri Franz Pedersen, we are proud to represent Christian Lemmerz and to present a curated selection of his sketches in this exhibition.
This offers a unique opportunity not only to experience Rantzau’s works within an exhibition and process-oriented context, but also to acquire a work for your own collection.
If you wish to view the full selection, you are welcome to contact us directly or visit our online showroom.
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