Bjørn Nørgaard, born 1947 in Copenhagen, Denmark

• As a young man, Nørgaard seeks out the experimental art school “Eks-skolen” as an alternative to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts

• Bjørn Nørgaard is ready to “empty himself of all he had learnt” and becomes inspired by the other artists at Eks-skolen and their desire to challenge conventional concepts of art

• As part of the work aimed at forming a new vein of art, Bjørn Nørgaard stages a number of actions that take place directly in front of the audience. Overall, Nørgaard’s practice evinces a conceptual consistency that links up his actions, works in the public space, and sculptures

• In 1968 Bjørn Nørgaard meets the artist Lene Adler Petersen; they are married the next year. The couple explore how art can interact with society in jointly executed works and actions

• With the action A Ritual Dissection of a Horse (The Horse Sacrifice) from 1970 Nørgaard demonstrates a strong willingness to take his artistic vision and work to
• A keen interest in human beings and the human figure in relation to the world is a principal element in Nørgaard’s art. In his works he demonstrates different approaches to the figure, often while engaging classical sculpture in new dialogues

• Up through the 1980s Nørgaard acted as visiting professor abroad. From 1985 to 1994 Bjørn Nørgaard was a professor at the Sculpture School at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen

• Perhaps the best-known work by Bjørn Nørgaard is a series of tapestries for the Great Hall at Christiansborg Palace, seat of the Danish Parliament; he was commissioned to create the tapestries as a gift to Queen Margrethe II, and the series was made over the course of the years 1988-2000. His work has received funding from The Academy Council, the Danish Arts Foundation, and many other foundations and grants.

• Nørgaard has received numerous distinctions such as the Eckersberg Medal, the Prince Eugen Medal, the Thorvaldsen Medal, the Ingenio et Arti order, the Pro Europa European culture award, the Order of Dannebrog, and the Årets Håndværker (Artisan of the Year) award. He is part of the permanent collections of many public art museums in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, UK and Australia

• Nørgaard has held solo exhibition in China three times, in 2004 in Xiamen, in 2007 at the Danish Cultural Center in Beijing and in 2014 at CAFAM Art Museum in Beijing. In 2017, he will exhibit at Gingko Art Space in Beijing.