Brick sculptures are central to Per Kirkeby's (1938-2018) extensive life's work. Late in life, Kirkeby gave permission for the brick sculptures to be re-erected. ARKEN has filled the museum's large Art Axis with a selection of these impressive and thought-provoking sculptures.

Per Kirkeby created the first of more than 150 brick sculptures in 1966, and he erected his first major sculpture in the public domain in 1973. The exhibition at ARKEN thus marks the 50th anniversary of Kirkeby's first monumental brick sculpture. The exhibition includes the construction of two never-before-realised brick sculptures that until now have existed only in Kirkeby's sketches and architectural drawings.

Brick is ubiquitous in Denmark. The material is used for everything from churches to detached houses. In Per Kirkeby's sculptures, the brick creates a recognisability, resulting sculptures that appear inviting and homely, but also monumental and exalted. The exhibition will be displayed in the Art Axis, the museum's 150-metre-long exhibition space, where the brick sculptures will enter into dialogue with ARKEN's own architecture. Staged as a city for guests to explore and sense the materiality of the sculptures, they alternate rhythmically in scale from small low sculptures that encourage staying put to large monumental works that invite you to enter and walk through.

During the exhibition period, the sculptures will be animated with dance, performances, theatre and music. In the adjacent gallery, ARKEN has for the first time recreated a special set design in brick designed by Per Kirkeby in 1992 for the performance Iphigenia auf Tauris by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. A brand new and sensual experience of Per Kirkeby's classic brick sculptures awaits ARKEN's guests.