CHART 2025: the Nordic fair combining art, sustainability and city tours

The Nordic countries' fair CHART, now in its 13th edition, is running from 28 to 31 August, with a focus on art in public spaces. It is the most important contemporary art fair in the Nordic countries - comprising Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Denmark - held in the premises of the historical Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen. Under the direction of Julie Quottrup Silbermann, the last edition recorded 22,000 admissions.

Thirty-six galleries are featured in this edition, a limited number that allows for a close exploration of the local art scene. Among them, Galleri Riis in Oslo offers a selection of the photographic series "Generator 1" and "Generator 2" by Per Berntsen (Norway, 1953), images of hydroelectric generators from power plants in southern (2007, b/w) and northern Norway (2022-2025, colour; ed. 5; €6,500 each). Gender issues are at the heart of the Icelandic gallery Pula's exhibition with works by Rakel McMahon (Reykjavík, 1983), who presents "For You / Against You", 2024 (prices EUR 1,275 each, EUR 7,650 for the complete set of 6), a series of female shoe silhouettes whose heel is made of a wax candle that has to be lit and consumed, a tribute to the Danish eco-feminist movement Bluestockings. Standard from Oslo exhibits "Gas Sculpture", 2014 (€72,000), an always topical piece by the satirical artist and writer Matias Faldbakken (Hobro, 1973): a series of dangerous gas canisters that the artist attacks with "acts of vandalism" that become pictorial figures suggesting catastrophic events.

Changing the aesthetics of the Charlottenborg courtyards is the new temporary site-specific production that forms the backdrop to the public programme. It is 'Re-Route' by Samuel Charles Barratt (Leicester, 1994), selected through a competition open to architects, set designers and artists. The work consists of 400 red and white traffic cones of iconic Nordic design, used as sculptural modules to create a festive visual pattern. The intervention is entirely conceived in the name of sustainability: the materials used are recycled plastic and the entire installation is demountable and reusable, without generating waste. "There is no waste, everything will be reused," says the British architect and designer.

Also in the context of Kunsthal Charlottenborg, the Chapel offers a selection of works all under DKK 20,000 (EUR 2,684), designed to bring in new collectors. The space presents an exhibition curated by Nicki Friis Willumsen of Project Materia who, together with the Danish gallery Edition Solenne, specialising in the production of limited edition art objects, presents multiples that are united by a careful exploration of materiality, its processes and history. Pieces in white Tuscan marble (Andres Reisinger, 'Cappuccino', 15,000 euros), bronze (produced by the Mariani foundry in Pietrasanta) and glass (Willelm Van Hooff, 'I don't do enough II', 4,800 euros) form an organic group of elements arranged in a kind of garden. Alongside the exhibition, a further 29 works, also under the DKK 20,000 threshold.

For the past four editions, the Tivoli Gardens have played a leading role in CHART. Ceramics, bas-reliefs, bronze sculptures in the round and performance installations offer the public a taste of contemporary languages. Here, standing out is the work by Jenny Brockmann (Berlin, 1976) 'Find Seat #12', 2020; (from Dorothée Nilsson Gallery ed. 10 priced at EUR 29,900), a circular sculpture/platform that is activated by the public who, as they sit on it, create an imbalance that forces a constant redefinition of its balance. Sif Itona Westerberg (Copenhagen, 1985) with 'Kindred', 2024 (from Galleri Bo Bjerggaard EUR 17,500) offers a concrete bas-relief in which classical imagery is mixed with heterogeneous styles and perspectives referring to the dark sides of contemporary society. Finally, for the first time, CHART also proposes a selection of art videos - signed by Elina Brotherus, Janaina Tschäpe, Heino Aho and Valentin Ranger - projected in some metro stations for the duration of the fair.