This fall’s special exhibition “Chain” is a site-specific exhibition that relates to the Johannes Larsen Museum – including the spaces in which the works are displayed.

The group CHROMA is behind “Chain”, and CHROMA consists of knitwear designer Iben Høj, weaver/textile designer Karin Carlander and ceramicist Lea Mi Engholm. The three artists will engage in a close dialog with the site and challenge both the material and the visual expression. To tie the exhibition together, Høj, Carlander and Engholm use deliberate techniques of collage, colour and composition, and actively use the capasity, lighting and natural light of the spaces.

A shared sensational work of art

Iben Høj, Karin Carlander and Lea Mi Engholm want to create a shared sensational work of art – a work that awakens curious wonder and is open to free interpretation. The artworks will stand as strong material statements in themselves, but with a common work title “Chain”. The exhibition can therefore be experienced as a cohesive entirety, a kind of Gesamtkunstwerk.

Community and generosity are important keywords in the process of the exhibition. The craftsman often works in solitude, but CHROMA seeks dialog. The collective and the process where the artists inspire each other and find common references and overlaps between the disciplines makes sense to them in a time when many are looking for the close, the original materials and a sense of cohesion.

Cross-disciplinary exhibition

The artistic foundation of the works is carried by the materials, and this is CHROMA’s strength as a group. The three artists are each specialized in their own field, but share a common approach to artistic practice, where they have their hands in the material and where the process often becomes a visible part of the work.

Despite – or perhaps because of – the different references and aesthetic understanding of clay and textiles, CHROMA wants to create a present and sensuous exhibition that should give food for thought and move the idea of exhibitions across disciplines.

The Artists

Lea Mi Engholm graduated from Design School Kolding, Department of Ceramics in 2006 and works as a practicing artist with clay as a material. Lea Mi Engholm received a large working grant from the Danish Arts Foundation in 2020 and was awarded a prize in 2021 for the exhibition Infrastructure.

Karin Carlander is a Danish weaver and textile designer. She learned weaving as a 19-yr. old from Jacqueline de la Baumen Dürrbach in France. In 1987, she graduated as a textile designer from The Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen. As a student, she was especially drawn to Japanese design and craftsmanship, and she studied for three months in Japan. In 1988, she founded her own studio, and in 2013, she created her own machine-woven linen collection. It was certified under “Masters of Linen” in 2016, a French certification that only two Nordic brands have been awarded.

Iben Høj graduated with a specialization in knitwear from the University of Brighton, Faculty of Fashion and Textiles. She lives in Kerteminde and has received numerous grants and awards throughout her career as a knitwear designer and has also worked for major international brands. Iben Høi regularly exhibits her work and designs in Denmark.