Kærs Art Café – Four evenings dedicated to art

Art historian and TV presenter Peter Kær explores the wondrous world of art in the company of art historians, curators and Thomas Mathiesen, head chef at Brasserie Kunst.

We begin each evening by dining together. The head chef has drawn inspiration from the evening’s theme and created a special dish to match.

PROGRAMME FOR THE EVENINGS ️
17:30: Doors open
18:00: Dinner is served
18:45: The art takes centre stage
19:30: Break
20:00: The art takes centre stage again
20:45: Thank you for joining us tonight

Ovartaci

22 October
Participants: Peter Kær, art historian, journalist, MA, and Amalie Marie Lausten, curator
Over six decades, Ovartaci (1894–1985) created art in which identity, transformation and imagination merged. Through his art, Ovartaci’s complex personality created a distinctive and imaginative world that stood in contrast to life in psychiatric care.
This evening, Amalie Marie Lausten, curator at Kunsten, will help us understand this artist, who in recent years has gained popularity and recognition worldwide. This autumn, a major exhibition on Ovartaci will be on display at Kunsten.

The world’s 20 most valuable paintings

29 October
Speakers: Peter Kær, art historian, journalist, MA, and Flemming Friborg, art historian
Works of art are sold worldwide for billions – most recently Gustav Klimt’s portrait of Elisabeth Lederer for 1,525,220,886 DKK.
This talk will present the 20 works that have fetched the highest sale prices in recent times. Focusing on art as a commodity, we will take a closer look at the mechanisms at play when art is valued. What is expensive and what is valuable?
On this evening, art historian Flemming Friborg, former director of the Glyptotek and postdoctoral researcher at CBS, together with Peter Kær, will shed light on the art market.

The Work of the Hand – Anna Thommesen and Ursula Munch-Petersen

12 November
Participants: Peter Kær, art historian, journalist, MA, and Teresa Østergaard Pedersen, PhD and museum curator, Holstebro Art Museum
We’ll be focusing on two prominent Danish artists: the tapestry artist Anna Thommesen (1908–2024) and the ceramicist Ursula Munch-Petersen (1937–2025). Throughout their long lives, both worked with colours and forms – and with a deep respect for the work of the hand.
Anna Thommesen created large, sensuous tapestries rooted in the ancient traditions of weaving, and she dyed her own woollen yarns in close connection with natural materials. Thommesen’s works oscillate between the strictly composed and the colouristic, offering us a rare insight into an artistic process in which time, concentration and precision are paramount.
Ursula Munch-Petersen worked with ceramics as both functional objects and concepts. She posed fundamental questions: What is a cup? What do we actually need? And how can form, function and community be conceived together in a world characterised by overproduction?
Together with Teresa Østergaard, curator and head of collections at Holstebro Art Museum, we explore how their practices challenge the boundaries between art and craft, and why their works may be more relevant than ever. Holstebro Art Museum is staging special exhibitions on the two artists in the coming season.

COBRA – Who were the others?

26 November
Participants: Peter Kær, art historian, journalist, MA, and Lucas Haberkorn, Head of Collections and Research, Museum Jorn
When this artists’ group is mentioned, most people can name Asger Jorn, but who were the others? COBRA was founded by artists from the Netherlands, Belgium and Jorn from Denmark. The movement was short-lived, but its influence has endured.
This evening, together with Lucas Haberkorn, curator and Head of Collections at Museum Jorn, we’ll be looking at the other artists and the role of the collective within COBRA.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
✨ Tickets can be purchased via Folkeuniversitetet.
✨ Price: 1,995 kr. for all four sessions. The price includes food and a glass of wine. Coffee and cake can be purchased separately.
✨ Participants without an annual pass to Kunsten must purchase an admission ticket when registering with Folkeuniversitetet.
✨ You can buy an annual pass to Kunsten at kunsten.dk/årskort