Martin Asbæk Gallery
Copenhagen
About the gallery
Martin Asbæk Gallery (est. 2005) focuses on contemporary Scandinavian as well as international art by well-established and emerging artists, working in a wide range of media.
The gallery's programme focuses on contemporary and established artists who have an impressive history of exhibitions and collections and whose works are represented in both institutional and major private collections. Painting, photography, drawing and sculpture as well as installation, performance, video and conceptual art are shown in about twelve exhibitions per year.
Featured artists
Clare Woods (UK)
Des Hughes (UK)
Trine Søndergaard (DK)
Introduction
Clare Woods
Clare Woods’ paintings are essentially concerned with sculpting an image in paint (on aluminum) as well as expressing the strangeness of an object. The subject matter of the artist is based on an intuitive response to found photographic source material and can be seen as being in the borderland between the figurative and nonfigurative. We are given small hints about the subject, such as a chair, a chandelier, or a still life, but we are deprived of the full subject and thus the full story of these objects.
Clare Woods’ is currently presenting a solo show at Serlachius, Finland (2022-2023) and her most recent solo ex- hibitions include Buchmann Galerie, Mead Gallery at the University of Warwick, and Dundee Contemporary Arts. Woods’ is also behind several public commissions, and her work is included in the collection of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; Arken Museum of Modern Art, Denmark; Arts Council Collection, London; British Council; CCA Andratx, Mallorca, Spain; Goverment Art Collection; The Nation Collection of Wales, Cardiff; Southampton City Art Gallery and Tullie House Gallery, Carlisle.
Clare Holmes, 'Deep Sleep', (2023). Oil on aluminium. 150 x 200 cm. Image courtesy of Martin Asbæk Gallery.
Clare Holmes, 'Lazy Bones', (2023). Oil on aluminium. 150 x 100 cm. Image courtesy of Martin Asbæk Gallery.
Clare Holmes, 'Soaring Glory', (2022). Oil on aluminium. 100 x 150 cm. Image courtesy of Martin Asbæk Gallery.
Introduction
Des Hughes
In the work of Des Hughes, almost nothing is ever quite what it first appeared to be, thanks to the artist’s re- markable ability to manipulate his chosen materials. Hughes' sculptural practice engages with traditional sculptural materials in new and inventive ways: mixing bronze with organic material for instance or creating enigmatic embroideries, combining different texts and motifs – and often dealing with the hardships and entanglements of contemporary life.
Des Hughes has exhibited at several institutions in England and abroad, most notably The Hepworth Wakefield, Manchester Art Gallery, Henry Moore Foundation, Camden Arts Centre, and Tate Britain. The artist is represented in the collections of Arts Council Collection, United Kingdom, The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery, Saatchi Collection London and The David Roberts Foundation as well as in private collections in The United States, Canada, Denmark, Italy, France, and Germany.
Des Hughes, 'Donkey', (2021). Bronze. 53 x 80 x 29 cm. Image courtesy of Martin Asbæk Gallery.
Des Hughes, 'Poor Step', (2019). Bronze. 31 x 20 x 32 cm. Image courtesy of Martin Asbæk Gallery.
Des Hughes, 'Climbing Frame', (2022). Bronze. 55 x 48 x 39 cm. Image courtesy of Martin Asbæk Gallery.
Introduction
Trine Søndergaard
Photo-based artist Trine Søndergaard’s works are characterized by a precision and sensibility that co-exist with an investigation of the medium of photography itself, its boundaries and what constitutes an image. A central theme in Søndergaard’s oeuvre is vision and the gaze, and her work is layered with meaning and quiet emotion, often revolving around existential questions. While her work is often initiated by a personal angle, it also contains an exploration of more general phenomena related to historical, cultural and gender related questions.
In 2000, Trine Søndergaard received the Albert Renger Patzsch Award and has since received numerous grants and fellowships, including the Anne Marie Telmányi’s honorary award for female artists. Søndergaard’s work has been featured in many international group and solo exhibitions, most recently at Dunkers Kulturhus, Gl. Holte- gaard, Gothenburg Art Museum and the National Photography Collection in Copenhagen. Søndergaard is repre- sented in major public and private collections all over the world and has completed public commissions for both museums and cultural institutions.

Trine Søndergaard, 'Hovedtøj #71', (2021). Archival pigment Print. 110 x 110 cm. Image courtesy of Martin Asbæk Gallery.

Bredgade 23, 1260 Copenhagen