One for all: Rineke Dijkstra’s portraits go on show at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra once said of her work, ‘I never have a fixed idea when I photograph someone. Of course I have a preconceived notion of the background, and the light, but never the person. I don’t like to give too many directions. For me it’s important that a pose arises sort of unconsciously or naturally.’
Her first major retrospective, held at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, is a testament to this now trademark natural pose that the photographer manages to bring out in all of her subjects. From her mother-daughter portrait Marianna and Sasha (2014), to two grungy teenagers lounging in the park, Vondelpark (2005), Dijkstra’s work is quickly recognised through this nonchalant gaze that centers her subject, however young or old, as rare and otherworldly.
Showcasing a mix of work from her two-decade long career, ‘The One and the Many’ explores the way much of Dijkstra’s oeuvre continues the legacy of the Dutch Masters, from her native Netherlands. Like the Dutch tradition, the photographer takes local, normal people from small towns and turns them into the pièce de résistance of her art. Such is the dignity she offers her subject in Almerisa, Leidschendam (2000), that it becomes similar to the modern day Girl With a Pearl Earring (1665) by Vermeer.
The exhibition traces the evolution of Dijkstra’s intimate portraiture style and how it’s the product of her own down-to-earth non-ego. Her main concern is connecting with her subject on a simple and human level. ‘I try to capture something of the personality of these people,’ she says, ‘but at the same time extract something universal relating to humanity in general.’
Other works exhibited like Jalta, Ukraine (1993), show how Dijkstra’s manipulation of the unique Netherlands light have become a calling card of her work. Using this light, she adds a sense of divinity to her subjects. Despite being a simple beach shot in a chlorine-faded one-piece, the photograph Kolobrzeg (1992) nods to Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, a classic motif from this master of Dutch painting.
Olivier, Quartier Vienot, Marseille, France, November 30, 2000, by Rineke Dijkstra. New York, Paris and London; Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin and Paris and Jan Mot, Bruxelles
Jalta, Ukraine, July 30, 1993, by Rineke Dijkstra. New York, Paris and London; Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin and Paris and Jan Mot, Bruxelles
Kolobrzeg, Poland, July 26, 1992, by Rineke Dijkstra. New York, Paris and London; Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin and Paris and Jan Mot, Bruxelles
Marianna and Sasha, Kingisepp, Russia, November 2, 2014, by Rineke Dijkstra. New York, Paris and London; Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin and Paris and Jan Mot, Bruxelles
Almerisa, Asylum Centre Leiden, The Netherlands, March 14, 1994, by Rineke Dijkstra. New York, Paris and London; Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin and Paris and Jan Mot, Bruxelles
Vondelpark, Amsterdam, June 19, 2005, by Rineke Dijkstra. New York, Paris and London; Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin and Paris and Jan Mot, Bruxelles
Installation view of ‘The One and the Many’ by Rineke Dijkstra at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
INFORMATION
‘The One and the Many’ is on view until 30 December. For more information, visit the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art website
ADDRESS
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Gl Strandvej 13
3050 Humlebæk
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Artists consider magic, matter and memory at the Melbourne NGV Triennial
Melbourne’s NGV has opened its third triennial, uniting art, design and architecture from around the world
By Elias Redstone Published
-
Eero Saarinen’s former US embassy in Oslo is restored
The former US embassy in Oslo by Finnish American modernist Eero Saarinen has been restored to its 20th-century glory and transformed for contemporary mixed use
By Giovanna Dunmall Published
-
Hedi Slimane’s second Celine dog collection to outfit your pet
The second Celine dog collection is revealed in an Hedi Slimane-shot photo series, starring the designer’s canine companion Elvis and some royal friends
By Jack Moss Published
-
Ursula Reuter Christiansen on her art: ‘I have to go through, and through, and through’
German-Danish artist Ursula Reuter Christiansen tells Wallpaper* what drives her, as her exhibition ‘Rose Thorn’ opens at Von Bartha, Copenhagen
By Alice Godwin Published
-
How Copenhagen’s Chart Art Fair celebrated its first decade
The 11th Chart Art Fair highlights span architectural installations, an ongoing sculpture show, and a novice collectors’ exhibition
By Nargess Shahmanesh Banks Published
-
American artist Rachel Rose reaches for the sun and the moon in her Nordic exhibition debut
Rachel Rose’s ‘Good Morning Midnight’ at GL Strand, Copenhagen, centres on her cinematic Enclosure (2019) and recent video The Last Day (2023)
By Alice Godwin Published
-
Wallow in Ragnar Kjartansson’s epic riffs on Nordic melancholia at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson brings his ‘Epic Waste of Love and Understanding’ to Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (until 22 October 2023)
By Alice Godwin Published
-
Kimsooja transforms Copenhagen’s underground Cisternerne into a laboratory of light
We exclusively preview South Korean artist Kimsooja's ‘Weaving the Light’, an illuminating, kaleidoscopic installation in Copenhagen’s subterranean Cisternerne (26 March – 30 November 2023)
By Alice Godwin Published
-
Esben Weile Kjær’s zany tribute to 1990s teenage rebellion
Artist Esben While Kjær, a rapidly rising star in the Danish art world, has just unveiled a radically curated show of the Arken Museum for Modern Art’s collection
By Alice Godwin Published
-
Royal College of Physicians Museum presents its archives in a glowing new light
London photography exhibition ‘Unfamiliar’, at the Royal College of Physicians Museum (23 January – 28 July 2023), presents clinical tools as you’ve never seen them before
By Martha Elliott Published
-
Museum of Sex to open Miami outpost in spring 2023
The Museum of Sex will expand with a new Miami outpost in spring 2023, housed in a former warehouse reimagined by Snøhetta and inaugurated with an exhibition by Hajime Sorayama
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published