Cathrine Raben Davidsen: Grafik 1998-2022

Cathrine Raben Davidsen (b.1972) has in her almost 30 years as a visual artist developed and refined a strong and personal style. Regardless of the medium she is working in – whether it’s painting, printmaking or ceramics – her works share the same essence of feminine, poetic and almost spherical energy. Cathrine Raben Davidsen moves effortlessly through time and space, between myth and history,light and darkness, reality and fantasy – from past to present, where human challenges and universal dilemmas are her preferred subject matter.

The starting point for all her artistic processes is printmaking. The written word or the drawn line. But mainly the former, even if it ends up as a visual narrative embodied in art. To Cathrine Raben Davidsen, words and pictures are interconnected within the graphical art domain; From very early on, writing has been an aesthetic tool for the artist, as manifested in the spectacular and expansive, densely written mind maps featured in this exhibition that lie at the root of her work. The mind maps also aid our understanding of Cathrine Raben Davidsen’s process and, equally important, the source of her inspiration that can be found across the history of art.

Therefore, Cathrine Raben Davidsen’s work in printmaking has long since become a fundamental and essential part of a multifaceted practice that she characterizes, cultivates and celebrates as a continuous study. In fascination with printmaking technique and curiosity about its manifold expressions, it has become an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Often, it is through the printmaking process that she finds themes for subsequent paintings.

This retrospective exhibition presents for the first time a selection of Cathrine Raben Davidsen’s comprehensive graphic art production from 1998 to 2022. The exhibition is a study in an artist’s use of different printmaking techniques – lithography, etching, monotype, monoprint and cyanotype – for the purpose of obtaining a nuanced portrayal of man’s relation to nature and our understanding of the spiritual world.

It is quite unique to see a contemporary artist of her talent explore printmaking so comprehensively as is the case here. As an art museum with a large graphic collection, we wholeheartedly embrace the opportunity to feature Cathrine Raben Davidsen’s prints.

The exhibition is supported by Danish Arts Foundation.

The exhibition is shown from June 17th - September 18th, 2022.