More give me more give me more – this your doorstep by Martin Erik Andersen
Exhibition period Saturday 29 June – Sunday 6 October 2024.

Horsens Art Museum acquired back in 2010, thanks to the Ny Carlsbgergfondet Martin Erik Andersen’s large installation more give me more give me more – this your doorstep from 2009.

In this installation, the 4.5 x 15 meter silicone carpet is experienced, based on the historic Ardabil carpet, a classic Persian carpet from around 1540. With the work, Martin Erik Andersen has translated, shifted and reproduced the carpet and instead of leaving it flat on the floor, he has raised it with the help of a series of metal structures behind it. The carpet thus stands upright in the room and meets the viewer with its large and complex grid with more than 120,000 cut-out parts, which are manually shaped, copied, interpreted and cast in silicone. The work sets up a personal meeting between viewer and work, where the viewer has the opportunity to sit next to the carpet and listen to the complex soundscape that is also part of the installation.

On the original Aradbil carpet there is an inscription: “No other grace than this doorstep, no other shelter than this door of yours.” As well as the weaver’s name Maqsud. The inscription thereby also forms the starting point for the title of Martin Erik Andersen’s version of the unique carpet, here with the title More give me more give me more – this your doorstep.

With the installation, Martin Erik Andersen focuses sharply on authenticity versus artificiality, unfinished work processes versus completed perfection and a bodily presence versus an alienating enigmatic. More give me more give me more – this your doorstep is a work that explores new materials with a rare zeal. And not least, it is a work that focuses sharply on the Western world’s ability and willingness to absorb new cultures.

Since the end of the 1980s, Martin Erik Andersen has made his mark on the art scene with his distinctive works, often sculptures and sculptural objects, but also with drawing, textiles and sound. The works often carry many layers of meaning and draw on a clear register of references to both art and cultural history. Martin Erik Andersen was born in 1964 and graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. In 2004 he received the Eckersberg Medal, in 2010 he received the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl Nielsen Legat, as well as the Thorvaldsen Medal in 2014.

Exhibition period Saturday 29 June – Sunday 6 October 2024.

Pictures: Jacob Friis-Holm Nielsen