Ditlev Fejerskov, Freelance Journalist
Photos: Kavian Borhani
Painting by Mia Carl. Sculpture by Inger Margrethe Hansen. Bowl by Vincent de Rijk
Step inside the alluring home of freelance Journalist & Creative Director Ditlev Fejerskov and wife dentist Julie Darling, where carefully selected art and design objects create a personal sphere.
Ditlev Fejerskov
Freelance Journalist & Creative Director,
When I visited my grandmother in her apartment on Frederiksberg Allé as a child, it felt like the sun was always shining. The apartment was full of ceramic bowls and sculptures she had made herself, classic design furniture such as Poul Kjærholm's marble table and Wegner's wicker chairs, books in piles and art on all the walls. Being surrounded by that growing up has given me a sense of belonging, and I innately cultivated a curiosity for the same type of literature, design, and art. I grew up visiting many museums such as Louisiana, where my mother also worked for a period. I really enjoyed being in the children's room, drawing, painting, and sculpting.
My first original piece of art was a painting by Farshad Farzankia that my family gave me for my 30th birthday. A few years later, my wife Julie gave me a painting by Mie Olise Kjærgaard when we got married. It was such an overwhelming experience that I was moved to tears. Since then, we have collected art works from artists such as Emily Gernild, Coline Marotta, Jon Pilkinton, Anton Munar, Cecilia Fiona, Mads Hilbert, Anton Funck, Mason Saltarelli and Albert Grøndahl.
I’m not buying art as a financial investment, and I have no ambitions to sell any of our collected works. For me, it is an investment in the joy of life. I can find many qualities in a work of art: the colours and motifs can lift my mood. The story can amuse me. What does the artist want to say with it? What was he/she himself drawing from when it was created? In a good art piece, I keep on discovering unseen details. As a journalist and Creative Director, I find inspiration in the artists' free work process. Since I was little, I've been making up my own rules in games and sports, and it's still a method I’m practising when writing and working with photo and video productions: to push the norms and do things differently. I also find more inspiration in reading fiction than other forms of journalism. Artists are free to create in exactly the way they feel and that appeals to me. It's not just the work itself that does it for me. I have a personal relationship with most of the artists whose works we have hanging on our walls. It is just as much their personality and their entire universe and studio that appeals to me.
Painting by Coline Marotta.
Small painting by Mie Olise Kjærgaard.
“It’s not just the artwork itself that does it for me. I have a personal relationship with most of the artists whose work we have hanging on our walls. Their personality and entire universe and how they work appeal to me. ”
Painting by Mia Carl. Sculpture by Inger Margrethe Hansen. Bowl by Vincent de Rijk. Painting by Farshad Farzankia. Sculpture by Frederik Nystrup Larsen and Oliver Sundqvist.
Sculpture by Sabrina Lucia. Sculpture by Josefine Winding. Black Forma by Kasper Thorup.
When I interview an artist whom I have not met before, and if the person interests me and the art appeals to me, I get an irrepressible desire to bring some of their art home. We generally have works by artists who come from the same generation as ourselves. I think it's because we are surrounded by some of the same cultural references from literature, music, film, politics, design and of course art history that their work speak to me. Where some are good at writing or making films and in that way can become a voice for a generation, visual artists are those who put pictures on what the rest of us have inside us.
I also look at skilled designers as artists. They create objects that we surround ourselves with and that we feel resonate with who we are or wants to be. For instant, I like Kasper Thorup's designs. He is a good friend, and we share a common perception of arts and design. I enjoy listening when Kasper talks about his design and processes. Learning about his methods in developing a product gives me a deeper understanding and connection to it. The journey that lays behind the finished product, from sketching and prototypes can be even more fascinating than the product itself, because a very intuitive and honest product is created. It may not be perfect craftsmanship, but it radiates the personality of the designer. This is probably why I love the unfinished lampshade that Kasper gave me and Julie, and which we display on the bookshelf as a piece of art, and his bowl and lamps, which he himself made by hand.
Painting by Emily Gernild. White glass sculpture by Kasper Thorup.
Painting by Cecilia Fiona. Small painting by Anton Munar. Drawing by Josef Zekoff.
“It may not be perfect craftsmanship, but it radiates the personality of the designer. This is probably why I like so much the unfinished lampshade that Kasper gave me and Julie, and which we display on the bookshelf as a piece of art, and his dishes and lamps, which he himself made by hand.”
(From Top) Drawing by Josef Zekoff. Drawing by Mason Saltarelli. Painting by Sune Christiansen.
TAKE US THROUGH YOUR TIPS FOR DISCOVERING ART IN COPENHAGEN?
My favourite galleries in Copenhagen are Brigade, V1 Gallery, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Galleri Bo Bjerggaard , Andersens' and á mon avis
I particularly like museums such as Louisiana, SMK, ARKEN, Ordrupgaard and the Picasso Museum, and the Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris. CHART Art Fair is a good opportunity to experience contemporary art.
If you want to discover new art talents, the art academies' graduation exhibitions and their ongoing exhibitions such as Rundgang and Spring and Fall markets are good places to go.
Nothing beats visiting an artist´s studio or atelier and experience where the artwork is created, understanding the process and the artist.
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