Bio
Peter Holst Henckel was born 1966 in Frederiksberg, Denmark. After completing upper secondary school he applied to the Schools of Visual Art at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark, to which he was admitted in 1985. After completing his Foundation Studies, he spent three years at the school of painting of Prof. Stig Brøgger, followed by two years at the graphic school of Prof. Vibeke Mencke.
In 1987, Peter Holst Henckel co-founded the Baghuset gallery with his fellow student Peter Rössell, where he made his debut with an exhibition of paintings, and in 1989 he established the periodical ‘Åndsindustri’ at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Together with Baghuset, Åndsindustri represented an artistic, theoretical and programmatic break with the eighties, and introduced ideas, artists and forms of practice which exerted a major influence on Danish contemporary art in the nineties. Holst Henckel functioned as editor-in-chief until 1992, assisted by, amongst others, his fellow students Lars Bent Petersen and the historian Anders Michelsen.
Peter Holst Henckel graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Visual Arts in 1992. While still a student, he curated and exhibited at numerous exhibitions in Denmark and abroad, such as Luxury Culture at Sophienholm, Baghuset at ARoS in Aarhus, Germinations 7 at the Centre National d’Art Contemporain in Grenoble, and the ambitious solo exhibition Dr. Merkwürdigliebe at Baghuset.
In artistic terms, Peter Holst Henckel worked throughout the 1990s mainly with serigraphy, objects and installations. In recent years, his focus has been on photography, sculpture and installations, mainly presented in an site specific context.
Since his debut in 1987, Peter Holst Henckel has held a large number of solo exhibitions, and has participated in numerous group exhibitions nationally and internationally. In recent years he has also carried out a large number of public art commissions, including site specific projects for the Royal Danish Playhouse, the Danish Defence Forces, the municipalities of Taastrup, Horsens, Herning, Svendborg and Hadsund, Ramboll´s HO, Novo Nordisk and KLP. Peter Holst Henckel is currently working on an extensive contribution to Nykredit´s new head offices in Nordhavn, Copenhagen.
Peter Holst Henckel has been awarded a number of prestigious art grants, scholarships and awards, including the Danish Arts Foundation’s exhibition prize and its three-year working scholarship in 1998, the Niels Larsen Stevn Scholarship, the Leo Estvad Scholarship, Ole Haslund’s Memorial Fund and The Colour Prize. In 2006, he was awarded the Eckersberg Medal.
In addition to his artistic practice, Peter Holst Henckel has been professor at the Jutland Art Academy, guest teacher at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Visual Arts, the Aarhus School of Architecture, the Royal Danish Academy, School of Architecture and School of Design.
After graduating from the Academy, Peter Holst Henckel co-founded the interdisciplinary art organisation Globe. In the 1990s, Globe introduced some entirely new curatorial projects and ideas in a Danish context, including the media and public project, Newsroom (1993), the first comprehensive Danish introduction of new 1990s installation art, Black Box (1994), Models of Resistance (2000) and one of the very first interventive urban art projects in Denmark, Compartments (1996).
He has also been a member and chairman of the board of directors of Overgaden, Institute of Contemporary Art, as well as chairman of the Charlottenborg Foundation (Spring Exhibitions), member of the board of directors at the Umeå School of Architecture, Sweden, member of the board of directors at KØS Museum of Art in Public Spaces and art adviser for the Danish Building and Property Agency.
He is currently President of the Academy Council at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Denmark. Further more he is a member of the artist association Den Frie (The Free Exhibition), Kunstnersamfundet (The Society of Artists) and BKF (Danish Visual Artists).