PRESS RELEASE

The exhibition Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything will offer an immersive, visually compelling and in-depth experience of Leonard Cohen’s magnificent oeuvre when it opens on October 24, 2019 in Copenhagen. The exhibition, organized and circulated by the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, brings together 13 international artists and 20 musicians who have been inspired, influenced or otherwise moved by Cohen’s life, work and legacy.

KUNSTFORENINGEN GL STRAND AND NIKOLAJ KUNSTHAL PRESENT A MAJOR INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF CONTEMPORARY ART INSPIRED BY THE LIFE AND WORKS OF LEONARD COHEN, AND A LIVE PROGRAMME DEDICATED TO THE LEGENDARY CANADIAN MUSICIAN.

Courtesy of Old Ideas, LLC

LEONARD COHEN: A CRACK IN EVERYTHINGOCTOBER 24, 2019 - APRIL 13, 2020

Truly exceptional in the breadth of its conceptualization, the exhibition breaks down the boundaries for how contemporary art can compellingly stage the encounter of music with literature and visual arts.

The exhibition, which gave rise to massive lines of people reaching far into the street when it was presented in Cohen’s birthplace Montréal, invites the public to participate in interactive works, making it a different, richly sensual and inclusive experience.

A LIFE’S WORK INTERPRETED THROUGH CONTEMPORARY ART

World famous names like Candice Breitz, Tacita Dean, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, Taryn Simon and many more participate in this grand exhibition. All the works have been created especially for the exhibition, and in their individual ways the artists focus on the unique ability of the Canadian icon to combine lyrics and music. In connection with the presentation of the exhibition in Copenhagen, Danish musicians Steen Jørgensen and Katinka Bjerregaard have each recorded a Cohen song for the audio installation Listening to Leonard, along with many other international artists among them Moby, The National with Sufjan Stevens, Ragnar Kjartansson and Richard Reed Parry, Socalled, Feist, and Julia Holter.

“We are very proud to present the exhibition Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything here in Copenhagen at Kunstforeningen GL STRAND and Nikolaj Kunsthal. The exhibition sets completely new standards for what is considered possible for a contemporary art exhibition. It’s an exhibition you want to visit again and again,” says Helle Behrndt, director of Kunstforeningen GL STRAND. She continues: “We are very excited about giving the Danish audience a chance to experience the exhibition. Whether you are a fan of Leonard Cohen or not, you have something to look forward to.”

“It’s a fantastic opportunity, and we’re looking forward to presenting such a large, exciting exhibition in Copenhagen. We are excited about getting the audience inside the two art galleries for a unique experience where poetry, spirituality and music are central to the works,” says Helene Nyborg, director of Nikolaj Kunsthal.

The exhibition Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything has been organized by the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) and curated by John Zeppetelli, Director and Chief Curator of MAC, with Co-Curator Victor Shiffman. The presentation in Copenhagen is coordinated by Kunstforeningen GL STRAND in collaboration with Nikolaj Kunsthal.

The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, a state corporation funded by the Gouvernement du Québec, thanks Leonard Cohen for his support of this exhibition. Robert Kory, Adam Cohen and Lorca Cohen provided invaluable assistance in the successful organization of this project. The MAC also acknowledges the support of CBC/Radio-Canada and the National Film Board of Canada, as well as Sony Music and Sony ATV.

The exhibition in Copenhagen is made possible by our generous donors A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene Formaal, The Obel Family Foundation, Konsul George Jorck og Hustru Emma Jorck’s Fond, The City of Copenhagen and The Danish Arts Foundation.

The exhibition Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything premiered in the fall of 2017 in Montréal, and was later presented in the spring of 2019 at the Jewish Museum in New York. Following its Copenhagen showing, it will travel in 2020 to the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

The exhibition can be experienced at Kunstforeningen GL STRAND and Nikolaj Kunsthal from October 24, 2019 to April 13, 2020. One ticket will buy you access to both art galleries.

EXHIBITION ORGANIZED BY

COMPREHENSIVE LIVE LEONARD COHEN PROGRAM

During the exhibition there will be plenty of opportunities to experience different facets of Leonard Cohen’s life and works, at the exhibition itself as well as a series of events that will be held in the exhibition period. You will be able to participate in yoga meditations in the spirit of Leonard Cohen; experience six special Cohen Sessions with the author and music columnist Klaus Lynggaard; hear talks with several of the participating artists and the Cohen biographer Sylvie Simmons; poetry readings; a Leonard Cohen tribute concert; singalongs, and much more. The venues include both Kunstforeningen GL STRAND and Nikolaj Kunsthal, and other places around Copenhagen – including Cinemateket, The Royal Danish Library, The Copenhagen Synagogue and The Church of the Holy Spirit.

LIVE PROGRAM – LEONARD COHEN: A CRACK IN EVERYTHING

2 X ARTIST TALKHear several of the artists from Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything - Candice Breitz, Kara Blake and Ari Folman – talk about their contributions to the exhibition and their relation to Leonard Cohen. They will discuss what Cohen has meant to them and how they interpreted him and his works in the exhibition. The talks, led by John Zeppetelli (MAC), Helene Nyborg Bay (Nikolaj Kunsthal), and Anne Kielgast (GL STRAND), will be in English. Dates: October 22 + 24 at Nikolaj Kunsthal and Kunstforeningen GL STRAND.

6 X COHEN SESSIONS WITH KLAUS LYNGGAARD: TALKS, MUSIC AND POETRYThe Cohen Sessions are six events hosted by Cohen expert, author and reviewer Klaus Lynggaard, who has invited Danish poets, singer-songwriters and Cohen enthusiasts to perform songs, read poems and discuss the great literary songwriter from different perspectives. Klaus Lynggaard has given the artists the freedom to transform the inspiration from Cohen into something personal and original, while the talks focus on the different phases of the Cohen oeuvre. Dates: November 6, November 20, January 29, March 18, February 19 and April 1 at Kunstforeningen GL STRAND and Nikolaj Kunsthal.

FILMS ABOUT LEONARD COHENDuring the exhibition Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything, Cinemateket will present several films about Cohen’s life, music and poetry. The first event planned is an after-work party on November 8 with a screening of the concert film Leonard Cohen: Live in Dublin. Several of the films in the ongoing program will be introduced by the Cohen expert Klaus Lynggaard. On October 29, the cinema Grand Teateret will show the documentary Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love with yet another introduction by Klaus Lynggaard.

EXHIBITION ORGANIZED BYEXHIBITION ORGANIZED BY

YOGA & COHENMeditation and spirituality were central topics in Leonard Cohen’s life. Find your inner peace with yoga in the spacious church interior of Nikolaj Kunsthal. The yoga practiced is Kundalini, which focuses on consciousness by training and developing body, mind and spirit. The instructors Anne Almann and Cristina Signorelli will guide you through two hours of blissful yoga. Prior knowledge of yoga is not necessary. The meditation sessions will conclude with images and sounds from Cohen’s universe. Dates: October 26, October 29, November 19, November 23, December 10, December 14, January 11, January 14, February 15, February 18, March 2, March 7, March 28 and March 31. All dates 8:30AM at Nikolaj Kunsthal.

TRIBUTE TO LEONARD COHEN – JEWISH NEW YEAR CONCERTOver 50 years Leonard Cohen created a vast musical legacy which continually inspires many people. Jewish Culture in Copenhagen and The Jewish Community in Denmark invite you to the New Year concert Tribute to Leonard Cohen, paying homage to Cohen’s greatest works. Contributors: Steen Jørgensen, Claus Hempler, Mike Andersen, Bjørn Fjæstad, Signe Svendsen and Sara Indrio. Date: October 29, 03:30PM and 07.30PM in the Copenhagen Synagogue.

INTERNATIONAL AUTHOR’S STAGE: SYLVIE SIMMONS IN CONVERSATION WITH NEAL ASHLEY CONRAD THINGWhen Sylvie Simmons’ biography of Leonard Cohen, I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen, was published in 2012 it was called the definitive biography of Leonard Cohen by The New York Times. The Royal Danish Library has invited Sylvie Simmons to talk to Neal Ashley Conrad Thing about the sometimes self-effacing personality and ever-searching soul that in time made the name of Leonard Cohen legendary. Date: December 11, 8PM at The Royal Danish Library.

CHORAL CONCERT AND SINGALONG: WE SING LEONARD COHENExperience a choir of both amateur and trained singers, and sing in the Leonard Cohen choral and singalong concert conducted by singer Gitte Degn. The Minister Jens Biegel-Fogh delves into the religious aspects of the singer and his poetry, and the pianist Kasper Daugaard sits at the piano. Sign up for the Leonard Cohen choir at www.houseofsinging.com.

NIGHT CHURCH WITH LEONARD COHENThe Church of the Holy Spirit invites you to a singalong sermon, which focuses on Cohen’s music, words and life. Sing along to classics like “Hallelujah”, “I’m Your Man” and “So Long Marianne”. The sermon will be held by the Minister Jens Biegel-Fogh; Gitte Degn will conduct the singalong and Kasper Daugaard will be at the grand piano. Date: January 10, 7PM in the Church of the Holy Spirit.

Unless otherwise specified, admission to the exhibition Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything is not included in the stated ticket prices.

The program may change. Keep up to date with the events program at www.glstrand.dk and www.nikolajkunsthal.dk.

EXHIBITION ORGANIZED BY

INFO:The exhibition features mulitmedia artworks by Kara Blake, Candice Breitz, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, Christophe Chassol, Leonard Cohen, Daily tous les jours, Tacita Dean, Kota Ezawa, George Fok, Ari Folman, Jon Rafman, Zach Richter, and Taryn Simon.

International musicians have recorded exclusive covers of Cohen songs for the audio installation entitled Listening to Leonard. They are Aurora, Brad Barr, Katinka Bjerregaard, Basia Bulat, Douglas Dare, Melanie De Biasio, Dear Criminals, Lou Doillon, Feist, Chilly Gonzales and Jarvis Cocker with the Kaiser Quartett, Half Moon Run, Julia Holter, Steen Jørgensen, Li’l Andy and Joe Grass, Little Scream, Moby, Ariane Moffatt with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, The National with Sufjan Stevens, Ragnar Kjartansson and Richard Reed Parry, Socalled, and Leif Vollebekk.

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A press conference will be held on October 23 at 11AM, where John Zeppetelli, Director and Chief Curator of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; Anne Kielgast, Chief Curator at Kunstforeningen GL STRAND; Helene Nyborg, Artistic Director of Nikolaj Kunsthal, and a number of the participating artists will be present.

For further information please contact Head of Communication at Kunstforeningen GL STRAND Stine Bjerregaard Ditlevsen at sd@glstrand.dk or tel.: +45 3336 0261.

If you have questions about the exhibition and artworks, contact Anne Kielgast, Chief Curator at Kunstforeningen GL STRAND at ak@glstrand.dk or tel.: +45 3336 0267.

Konsul George Jorck og Hustru Emma Jorck’s Fond.

EXHIBITION ORGANIZED BY