Henrik Olesen

Through documented research in fields as diverse as law, the natural sciences, art history and the media, Henrik Olesen’s highly eclectic work addresses questions of identity, language, and representation to question the power relations and norms that govern our societies.

His conceptual approach, encompassing collages, posters, texts, sculptures, installations, and architectural interventions, adopts a radical and often extremely minimal aesthetic.

Born in Esbjerg, Denmark, in 1967, Henrik Olesen lives and works in Berlin. He is represented by the Buchholz Gallery (Berlin/ Cologne/New York) and Franco Noero (Turin). His work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions in both public and private international institutions, including the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2019); the Pavillon Schinkel, Berlin (2018); CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art, San Francisco (2017); Dépendance, Brussels (2005 and 2014); Ludwig Museum, Cologne, (2012); MoMA, New York (2011); Malmö Konsthall, Malmö (2010); Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich (2008); Migros Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, Zurich (2007); Transmission Gallery, Glasgow (2005); Secession, Vienna (2004), and the Kunstverein, Salzburg (2003).

Henrik Olesen has also participated in many group exhibitions such as the Collection Giancarlo e Danna Olgiati, Lugano (2023); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2003 and 2023); Museum Gunzenhauser, Chemnitz (2022); Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich (2022); Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna (2022); Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn (2022); Kunstmuseum, Basel (2022); Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich (2021); KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2021); Künstlerhaus, Vienna (2021); Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2019); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2018); New Museum, New York (2008, 2012, and 2017); Punta della Dogana – Fondation Pinault, Venice (2015 and 2016); Fondation Prada, Milan (2016); Centre For Contemporary Art Ujazdwski Castel, Warsaw (2014); the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne (2013); Fondation Giorgio e Isa De Chirico, Rome (2012); KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2011); Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (2010); MACBA, Barcelona (2009); ICA – Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2008); Witte de With, Rotterdam (2007), and the Ludwig Museum, Cologne (2006).

Henrik Olesen’s work has been featured in several international events like the 32nd and 33rd São Paulo Biennales (2016 and 2018), the Taipei Biennale (2014), the 12th Istanbul Biennale (2011), the 8th Gwangju Biennale (2010), the 6th Berlin Contemporary Art Biennale (2010), the 50th and 53rd Venice Biennales (2003 and 2009), as well as the 8th Vilnius International Art Triennale (2002).

DANISH ARTIST HENRIK OLESEN CREATES THE TWELFTH EDITION OF THE LAUGHING COW® COLLECTOR’S EDITION BOX

In 2014, Lab’Bel, the artistic laboratory of the Bel group, launched a project in collaboration with major contemporary artists resulting in the creation of The Laughing Cow® Collector’s Edition Boxes. These yearly editions allow the brand to renew and update the connections it has cultivated with artists since its inception in 1921. The Collector’s Edition Boxes are considered by those who create them to be artworks in their own right. They offer the consumer a double choice: either they can eat the contents or conserve the box intact as a collector’s object. This offbeat and highly original project allows Lab’Bel (est. 2010) to fulfil one of its main aims of making art available to a wide audience.

After Hans-Peter Feldmann, Thomas Bayrle, Jonathan Monk, Wim Delvoye, Karin Sander, Daniel Buren, Mel Bochner, Rosemarie Trockel, Franz Erhard Walther, Martha Wilson, and Cildo Meireles, Danish artist Henrik Olesen has been entrusted with the creation of the twelfth Collector’s Edition Box by Lab’Bel. Lab’Bel thanks Filippo Weck from galerie Buccholz to have help to establish contact with the artist.

Curator of the 2025 edition: Laurent Fiévet.

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