Local artist Stine Florian drew portraits in charcoal of both high and low. Her works have adorned the walls of local homes, and a special exhibition at Geomuseum Faxe now unfolds the stories behind the faces.
Meet local characters as diverse as the girl from the poor farm, the school teacher and the brewer behind Kongsted Brewery when Østsjællands Museum opens the exhibition "Stine Florian's Faces" on October 12 at Geomuseum Faxe.
The exhibition was created on the initiative of the Faxe Visual Arts Council and the Faxe Municipal Archives. The archive has lent the portraits, and Østsjællands Museum has unearthed the local stories behind the portraits, telling the story of the era and its living conditions.
- "I'm delighted to present an exhibition that combines the artistic and cultural history that Østsjællands Museum stands for. It has also been a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with other important cultural institutions in Faxe Municipality," says Kasper Renström Østervig, Director of Østsjællands Museum.
- The exhibition is important because it conveys our local cultural heritage, and there have been several strong forces at work to make it happen. I'm pleased that together we can unfold local history and work together to offer a beautiful and informative exhibition for the benefit of the citizens, who may even see an ancestor among the portraits," says René Tuekær, Chairman of the Planning & Culture Committee.
Stine Florian: A foster child with a special talent
The artist Stine Florian was a foster child on the kindness of others, but she had a talent for drawing, and unusually for a working-class woman, she was given the opportunity to train at the Drawing and Art Industry School for Women in Copenhagen. Perhaps growing up in cramped conditions gave her a special eye for those who could not normally afford to be portrayed.
For artist and vice chairman of Faxe Visual Arts Council Lotte Tauber Lassen, there is no doubt that the portraits offer a special quality and invite contemplation:
- In Stine Florian's drawings, life is rendered in the gaze of the eyes. We greet the portrayed over time, and their gaze is caught in perpetual stillness on the paper. The images themselves remain silent - they hold on to their secret, leaving room for contemplation. We can consider what their lives were like, just as we can relate to our own," says Lotte Tauber Lassen.
The portraits in the exhibition are from local homes
The charcoal drawings in the exhibition are on loan from Faxe Kommunes Arkiver and have been collected in dribs and drabs from the families who have had it hanging.
- It's great that the drawings are coming out to live in the local community that created them. It's a very special collection because it has come to us little by little and consists of pictures of people's family members that have hung in their homes and been part of their everyday lives," says Archive Manager Marianne Rimmen Raasted.
Tales of the past are touching and harsh
The portraits on display each have a little story attached to them, and it is curator at Kulturmuseum Øst Naomi Pinholt who has dug up information about the local destinies.
- It's been a moving process, getting close to ordinary people who lived in our area. Their stories are harsh and show how much our society has changed over the past few generations. Stine Florian's faces helped pave the way for our modern society and for us to have access to good health, education and a secure old age," says Naomi Pinholt.
Try your hand at portraiture
In addition to the portraits by Stine Florian, the exhibition includes a workshop where you can try your hand at charcoal drawing and an old-fashioned photo studio with an armchair. For the little ones, there is the opportunity to dress up in period clothing and there are a few cultural-historical objects on display.
Press contact:
Director of Østsjællands Museum, Kasper Renström Østervig, phone: 20 51 77 20
Curator at Kulturmuseum Øst, Naomi Pinholt, phone: 21 55 22 06