Kirstine Roepstorff
Born	1972 (age 52–53) Copenhagen,Denmark
Nationality	Danish
Education	Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts,Rutgers University
Notable work	57th Venice Biennale

Kirstine Roepstorff (born 1972) is a Danish multidisciplinaryartist known for her work incollage,sculpture, andinstallation.^[1] Her practice explores the "in-between" spaces of thehuman experience, focusing on themes ofdarkness, thesubconscious, and transformation.^[2] Roepstorff examines howhistory,politics, andspirituality shape our understanding of identity and reality, often revisiting ancient techniques to challenge modern systems.^[3] Roepstorff has exhibited widely, including representingDenmark at the57th International Art Exhibition in Venice in 2017 and presenting a major solo exhibition,Renaissance of the Night, atKunsthal Charlottenborg in 2018.^[4] She holds an MFA from theRoyal Danish Academy of Fine Arts andRutgers University, Mason School of Fine Art, has received several notable awards, including theEckersberg Medal and theNy Carlsberg Foundation Art Prize.^[5][6][7]

Kirstine Roepstorff was born inVirum in 1972, and grew up inCopenhagen andFredericia,Denmark.^[8]

From 1994 to 2001, she was a student at theRoyal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and affiliated withClaus Carstensen’s painting school.^[9] During her studies, she became part of the artist collectiveKørners Kontor, alongsideJohn Kørner,Tal R andKasper Bonnén.^[10] The artists took an ironic and critical stance towards the genres, traditions, and ways of describing art and artists in art history. Among the key events they were involved in wereStreet Sharks (1999),Standardrum (2001), andAmbassaden (2000).^[11][10]

In 1997, Roepstorff co-founded the feminist artist groupKvinder på Værtshus with artists Åsa Sonjasdotter, Andrea Creutz, and Lisa Strömbeck.^[12] The group was later expanded to include members Nanna Debois Buhl, Nynne Haugaard, Katya Sander, Marika Seidler, and Christina Prip.^[13] Among their most well-known actions wasSexogpenge, where the group mapped and wrote interpretive comments on billboard advertisements inCopenhagen and distributed flyers with a link to the website sexogpenge.dk, a guide to products using sexist advertising in their marketing. In 2000, they also presented the workHerstories Tour, where the group organized canal tours inCopenhagen, focusing on women and female topics, such asAmagerkonerne at Grønttorvet.

In 2000, Roepstorff completed anMFA atRutgers University, Mason School of Fine Art in the USA.^[14] In 2001, she moved toBerlin to live and work.^[15] She returned to Denmark in 2015, and lives and works outsideFredericia.

In 2011, Roepstorff was commissioned to create the poster forCopenhagen Jazz Festival.^[16][17]

In 2015, Kirstine Roepstorff created a three-ton tubular bronze bell installed atDOKK1, a harbor center inAarhus.^[18][19] The bell, engraved with a rising sun and infinity symbol, is connected toAarhus University Hospital, 16 km away, allowing new parents to celebrate their baby's birth by activating the sound. Visitors can touch the bell, feeling its vibrations as a reminder of the energy and new beginnings each birth brings. The installation serves as both an artistic piece and a symbol of interconnectedness, reflecting the cycle of life and the community.

In 2017, Roepstorff was selected to represent Denmark at the57th Venice Biennale.^[20][21][22] For theDanish Pavilion, she developed the exhibition projectInfluenza: Theatre of Glowing Darkness which^[23][24][25] explored the metamorphosis that occurs between the destruction of the known and the embrace of the new. Through a dynamic interplay of light, darkness, and sculptural interventions, Roepstorff created an immersive environment that invited viewers to reflect on the process of transformation, disruption, and renewal. The work aimed to encourage a relearning of our perceptions and responses to change, emphasizing the necessity of evolving in the face of uncertainty and the unknown.^{[26][27][28][29]}

In 2018, the largest presentation of her work inDenmark was shown atKunsthal Charlottenborg with the title "Renaissance of the Night."^[30] Curated by Aukje Lepoutre Ravn, it included Roepstorff’sInfluenza: Theatre of Glowing Darkness in a new format, along with the tapestryRenaissance of the Night.^[31] The exhibition included 75 artworks across various media, including painting, collage, relief, mobile, and sculpture, showcasing both new and previously created pieces.^[32] The exhibition, structured as a journey from dusk to dawn, took place in the south wing of Kunsthal Charlottenborg. Roepstorff examined darkness, its cultural associations, and its potential as a transformative force rather than something to avoid. She presented darkness not only as the absence of light but also as connected to the human psyche, sleep, death, and the subconscious. While it could symbolize fear and uncertainty, it was also the origin of all life in a world dominated by artificial light, where darkness was often linked to the unknown.^[33]

Roepstorff created the scenography for the solo exhibitionSolo: Rita Kernn-Larsen atGl. Holtegaard, which highlighted the work of the Danish surrealistRita Kernn-Larsen (1904–1998).^[34] The exhibition presented over 100 works, including paintings, collages, sketches, and ceramics, spanning from the 1920s to the 1980s. Roepstorff's artistic interventions helped bring Kernn-Larsen’s body of work into contemporary focus, offering a fresh perspective on the artist’s lifelong contributions.^[35]

In 2018, Roepstorff's solo exhibitionEdicius og Lilith atTrapholt Museum featured a variety of immersive installations, sculptures, and collages, exploring the fluidity of boundaries and the transformation of personal and collective experiences. Roepstorff's work combined visual beauty with critical commentary, challenging traditional norms and encouraging reflection on the relationship between the individual and society. A central theme in the exhibition was the relationship between the two genders, represented byEdicius andLilith. The biblical figure Lilith (the night witch) symbolized the primal feminine forces for Roepstorff, while her own figure, "Edicius," represented a new form of sensitive and poetically charged masculinity she observed in the world. When "Edicius" was spelled in reverse, it formed the word "Suicide," symbolizing the need for men to reject the caricature of traditional masculinity in order to make way for a new, fertile era. Roepstorff created the monumental tapestryHimmelfrø, which spanned 45 square meters and resembled a celestial vault. The exhibition was accompanied by the musicFür Alina by Arvo Pärt.

In 2023, Roepstorff participated in the exhibitionWaden Tide with her sculptureMosaic Eye at Denmark’s westernmost point,Blåvandshuk.^[36] Inspired by theFresnel lens ofBlåvandshuk Lighthouse, the work explored sand as a material and resource that continually shapes the landscape.^[37] Part of the group showFirst There Is A Mountain, the exhibition highlighted sand's profound impact on both nature and civilization, inviting reflection on its often unseen role in shaping the world.^[38]

In 2024, Roepstorff was invited to be part ofFrieze Sculpture Park, curated byFatoş Üstek, with her sculptureLightning Rod.^[39] Inspired byRegent’s Park as a site of connection and convergence, the work is composed of cast bronze forms and natural stones. It explores a shift in our understanding ofenergy, how it can be captured, stored, transformed, and applied for both destruction and creation. Part of Roepstorff’s ongoing projectEarth School, the sculpture delves into the concept of ‘inner technology’ and the invisible aspects of existence.^[40][41][42]

To celebrateKoldinghus' 750th anniversary, theNy Carlsberg Foundation has commissioned four Danish artists,Bjørn Nørgaard,Tal R, Alexander Tovborg, and Kirstine Roepstorff, to design 16 tapestries in collaboration withManufacture des Gobelins. The project, expected to be completed in 2027, will include a 108 m² tapestry, including four large pieces measuring 3 x 6 meters and twelve smaller entre fenêtres (window pieces) measuring 0.8 x 2.8 meters.^[43][44][45] Her work 'Grænseland' is an exploration of borders in all their forms: territorial, spiritual, cosmic, and human. Much like a medieval altarpiece, it depicts an apocalyptic landscape where the moon forms a sacred dome, guiding the eye through a dark narrative inspired byHieronymus Bosch. A split mountain rises from the stormy sea, with a woman whose dress merges with the ocean’s depths. On each side of the sea, fortress walls divide two worlds: on the left, a brutal world where humanity wrestles with its primal instincts; on the right, a collapsed civilization reclaimed by nature. Beneath it all, sound waves pulse with the rhythm of the Earth, while a woman in a bubble keeps the music alive—delicate hope for the future.^[46]

Roepstorff’s basis is collages incorporating media images that visualize existing power relations and critically deal with the history and failures of political ideas. By editing and decomposing the original material her works generate new contexts that open up spaces for negotiation and new narratives. The collages are often large using different materials like fabrics, photocopies, cuttings, foils, brass, wood and paper.^[3] In the past 5–6 years Roepstorff has broadened her collage practice by incorporating sculptural elements into her work creating new visual and bodily engaging experiences. Her sculptures have mainly been made of concrete and brass.^[1]

Balance is a key word for Roepstorff. Her works are often composed around horizontal lines whose divisions reflect different layers of consciousness. This is especially seen in her brass mobiles which Roepstorff denotes ‘Klangmennesker’ (Sound people) –"We're some kind of vibrational beings that are walking around, sometimes in unison, sometimes not. Whether we are able to go in harmony with our surroundings is very much about how our own inner sound is tuned."^[1]

She has completed significant public art projects, includingHorizons and Moons in Alserkal Avenue,Dubai,The Galactic Community Park atAalborg University (DK),Bib Au Natura in Randers (DK),Three Paradoxes–Three Medicine Balls–Three Forces inBuddinge (DK),Cosmic Dance in Fjellhamar (NO),Hydra in Fredericia (DK),The Heart of the Whale in Middelfart (DK),Untitled at Lillebælt Hospital (DK),Gong atDOKK1 Public Library inAarhus (DK), andKlangfrø at theUniversity of Copenhagen (DK).^{[123][124][125][126][127]}

Her work is held in permanent collections worldwide, includingMoMA - Museum of Modern Art (US),The Saatchi Gallery (UK),The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design (NO), Woods Art Institute (DE),Statens Museum for Kunst (DK),Arken Museum of Modern Art (DK),HEART, Herning Museum of Contemporary Art (DK),Ny Carlsberg Foundation (DK) and theDanish Art Foundation (DK),Trapholt Museum of Modern Art (DK),The Sainsbury Centre (UK), Reydan Weiss Collection (DE) among others.^{[128][129][55][130]}

• 2015: Art Prize,Ny Carlsberg Foundation,Denmark
• 2014: TheEckersberg Medal,The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Denmark
• 2014:Ole Haslunds Kunstnerfond, Denmark
• 2012; Sven Hols’ Legat, Akademiraadet, Denmark
• 2007: Zartmanns Legat,The Danish Arts Foundation, Denmark

• The Archive of Dark, In Other Words, London, United Kingdom, 2021ISBN 1916002471
• Common Cold, CMMN CLD, König Buchverlag, Berlin, Germany, 2017 ISBN 978-3960981794
• Horizons of the Moving Mind, Kunstverein Göttingen, Argobooks, Berlin, Germany, 2014ISBN 978-3-942700-58-0
• Walking Beside Time, Kunstpalais Erlangen, Kerber Verlag, Bielefeld, Germany, 2014ISBN 978-3-86678-948-7
• Dried Dew Drops: Wunderkammer of Formlessness, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel, Switzerland, 2010ISBN 3775727485
• Illuminating Shadows, Stadtgalerie Schwarz, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2010
• Nuit: Sun Forms of Beneath, Kunsthallen Brandts, Odense, Denmark, 2009ISBN 87-7766-077-3
• The Inner Sound that Kills the Outer, Museum of Contemporary Art (MUSAC),  JRP Ringier, Leon, France, 2008ISBN 978-3-03764-025-8

• List of Danish women artists
• 57th Venice Biennale

• http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/kirstine_roepstorff.htm
• På sansernes mark – besøg hos Kirstine Roepstorff (archive link)

• Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni
• Rutgers University alumni
• Artists from Copenhagen
• Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal
• 1972 births
• Living people
• Danish contemporary artists

• CS1 Danish-language sources (da)
• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards