The reckoning with the father and the role of fatherhood are more present than ever in public debate, literature and popular culture. From earmarked “paternity leave” to pop stars confronting their fathers on social media. From Danish Glenn Bech to French Édouard Louis. From super-dad to no-show.

The group exhibition Daddy Issues focuses on the role of the father. Over the years, we have seen countless exhibitions about motherhood, while the father has often been conspicuously absent. Although the confrontation with the father has played a significant role in literature and pop culture, it has not claimed the same position within the visual arts. This exhibition examines the relationship with the father through a selection of works that do not shy away from the personal and intimate, but instead open up space for individual reflection and collective consideration of the father’s significance.

Daddy Issues zooms in on the father–child relationship in all its complexity: from conflict to reconciliation, abuse to care, idealisation to demonisation – and all the grey areas in between. Through sculpture, painting, film, photography and installation, 25 Danish and international artists map the landscape of fatherhood, for better and worse, from the 1950s to the present, with a strong emphasis on contemporary art.

Artists
Magnus Andersen (DK, 1987), Benedikte Bjerre (DK, 1987), Kaspar Bonnén (DK, 1968), Werner Büttner (DE, 1954), Robert Carter (UK, 1983), Adam Christensen (DK, 1979), Beth Collar (UK, 1984), Tracey Emin (UK, 1963), Asger Jorn (DK, 1914-73), Mette Hammer Juhl (DK, 1987), Éva Mag (RO, 1979), Kim Richard Adler Mejdahl (DK, 1989), Anna Munk (DK, 1994), Simon Dybbroe Møller (DK, 1976), Dennis Oppenheim (US, 1938-2011), Paola Paleari (IT, 1984), Michala Paludan (DK, 1983), Torben Ribe (DK, 1978), Rasmus Røhling (DK, 1982), Niki de Saint Phalle (FR, 1930-2002), Tora Schultz (DK, 1991), Selma Selman (BA, 1991), Alexander Tovborg (DK, 1983), Amelie von Wulffen (DE, 1966), Markus Öhrn (SE, 1972)