Arthur Köpcke

Born 1928 in Hamburg, Germany , Arthur ("Addi") Köpcke was, for the most part, a self taught artist. In the post- war era in Hamburg, Köpcke spent his time on painting and literature, focusing on his written work. He re- settled in Copenhagen at the end of 1957 where he founded Gallery Köpcke, with his Danish wife, Aase ("Tut"). Within the five years of its existence, the gallery became a contact point for international avante- garde art (Informel, Nouveau Realisme and Fluxus) in Denmark, a country that had until then been on the peripheries of the art scene. Artists such as Filliou, Manzoni, Roth, de Saint Phalle, Spoerri and Williams held some of their first exhibitions through Köpcke in Sweden. During this time, Köpcke played an interesting dual role as both art mediator and artist. His period as an action artist began in 1962 (October/ November) with the "Festival of Misfits" in London. It was Köpcke who brought Fluxus to Denmark. Due to his involvement and the connection to George Maciunas that he had established through his artists, "Festum Fluxorum" was held at the Nikolaj Kirke in Copenhagen in November 1962. Up until the mid-60s, Köpcke particiated in most of the main festivals of the Fluxus tour through Europe (Paris, Düsseldorf, Amsterdam, Scheveningen, Aachen etc.). At the Fluxus event that took place in Denmark during the 60s, Köpcke was involved with, amongst others, Eric Anderson and Henning Christiansen. In 1970, Köpcke’s Fluxus piece Music while you work stood at the center of "Festum Fluxorum", organized by the Block Gallery in the Berlin Forumtheater. From 1972-1973, Köpcke was a guest professor at the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen. Köpcke’s extensive range of work includes paintings, scrolls, literary works, objects, collages, assemblies and fluxus pieces. His key piece reading/ work pieces-manuscript was created between 1963 and 1965. Köpcke died in Copenhagen, in 1977.

Selected Exhibitions

2005
FLUXUS llega al MAC - una larga historia con muchos nudos - Fluxus en Alemania 1, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile

2004
Flexibilität als Richtlinie für Kultur, Wirtschaft und Politik, Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg
Is One Thing Better Than Another?, Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Köln
Fluxus in Germany 1962 - 1994, Nýlistasafnið - The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik
"I hate you" The Falckenberg Collection, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk

2003
ART IS WORK IS ART - Arthur Köpcke zum 75. Geburtstag, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg

2002
Whisper - Sammelausstellung zum elfjährigen Jubiläum, Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Köln

2000
Aller Anfang ist MERZ - Von Kurt Schwitters bis heute, Sprengel Museum Hannover, Hannover
Norden, Kunsthalle Wien (Karlsplatz, project space), Wien

Selected Bibliography

Köpcke, Arthur. This is the Köpcke Piece No. 97. Kopenhagen 1965

HOMMAGE À ARTHUR KØPCKE 1928 - 1977. Kopenhagen 1979

Bilder und Stücke. Berlin, Dortmund 1988

begreifen erleben. Berlin, Stuttgart/London, Köln 1994

WAS IST DAS - piece No. 2. Berlin und Moen 1996

Rennert, Susanne. Arthur Köpcke. Grenzgänger. München 1996

Bearbejdelse. Köln 1998

Art is work is art. Hamburg 2003


"begreifen erleben" / Gesammelte Schriften
Herausgegeben von Barbara Wien.
320 Seiten, zahlreiche z. T. farbige Faksimiles und 11 s/w Abb., 24x17, brosch., Fadenheftung.
Nachwort von Barbara Wien. Einige Texte sind übersetzt aus dem Dänischen von Susanne Rennert/Annie Bäres und Henning Christiansen.
Biographie und ausführliche Bibliographie, 1994, ISBN 3-9802287-9-7
Co-Verleger: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Köln und Edition Hansjörg Mayer, Stuttgart /London
24,80 Euro

"begreifen erleben" ist die erste umfassende Publikation der literarischen und theoretischen Schriften von Arthur Köpcke (1928-1977). Das Buch enthält alle verstreut veröffentlichten Texte, Reprints (z.B. des "reading/work-pieces manuscript") und bisher unbekannte Manuskripte, z.B. Prosa und Gedichte aus den 50er und 60er Jahren. Gedruckt sind auch viele Faksimiles von Textseiten, Essays, Vorträge, Entwürfe, Skizzen und theoretische Texte zur Kunst ("was ist konzert?", "zusammengesetztes"). Für das Buch wurden die handschriftlichen Manuskripte erstmals transskribiert.