Art with clear reference to Symbolism and Art Nouveau

JUNE 4, ON THIS DAY

The most significant Danish artist of late modernity (after 1980), Jens Galschiot was born on this day, June 4 1957 in Frederikssund, Denmark. Certified as a construction blacksmith in 1978, he opened a 2000 square-meter combined foundry, studio, workshop, gallery and a sculpture park known as Gallery Galschiot in 1985.

His mode of expression mainly consists of naturalistic and organic forms influenced by the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. He mostly works with various sculpture to fight and raise voice against the injustice in the world and put them in big squares and cities around the world.

Galschiot’s well-known sculpture Pillar of Shame, was first erected in NGO Forum of the FAO summit in Rome in 1996.  In 1997 another pillar was erected at Hong Kong as a protest a against China’s crackdown of Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. As a part of worldwide Color Orange campaign launched by Galschiot to denounce China’s human rights violations, the pillar was painted orange on 30 April 2008. Recently, the sculpture was pulled down on 22^nd December 2021. Two other pillars have been erected, in Mexico in 1999 and in Brazil in 2000.

Cocoon and My Inner Beast were two significant sculptures by him among many more. Cocoon was made for the Danish exhibition in Art Pavillion at the World Exhibition, Seville Expo 92. My Inner Beast is a sculpture that represent pig in human clothes and it was being erected in twenty cities across Europe without the knowledge of the authorities. The purpose was to focus on the increasing violence, intolerance, racism and persecution of minorities in Europe.

Fundamentalism, by Galschiot is a sculpture with 600 quotes from the Torah, the Bible and the Quran. It depicts the letters of the word ‘Fundamentalism’.

He is the founder of the organization Aidoh (Art in Defence of Humanism).

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