The renovation of Christian VIII's Palace in Copenhagen has given its future residents - Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary - the opportunity to re-institute the tradition of commissioning artists to decorate royal residences.
The Royal Couple has chosen ten young artists to put the finishing touches on a DKK 30 million (EUR 4 million) project to renovate the palace, which dates from 1758.
Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary have emerged as significant patrons of the arts, and experts said being asked to participate was 'the most prestigious' thing a Danish artist could be called to do.
'This isn't just a matter of creating art that is contemporary with the Royal Couple,' said Flemming Borreskov, managing director of the Realdania Foundation, which is funding the project. 'This is more a question of making art and architecture work together the way it did when the palace was built by Frederik VIII.'
Though the artists' works will not be unveiled until the renovation is complete in 2009, the list is weighted heavily with painters. Art consultants associated with the project said, however, to expect 'much more than just paintings'.
Poul Erik Tøjner, director of the Louisiana Museum of Modern art and co-ordinator for the project, said the choice heralded the return of decorative arts to a place alongside functionalism.
'I am certain we will see a number of interesting ways in which [the integration of art and architecture] can be carried out according to modern premises,' he said. 'Whether that is with light, choice of colour, narration, prisms, crystals, statement, beauty or something else only time will tell.
As a sneak preview, the basic details of two projects were announced. Danish-Icelandic Olafur Eliasson, a visual artist whose work is characterised by the elements of nature - light, heat, moisture, steam and ice - will create a 'room with light'. And installation artist Jeppe Hein has been commissioned to work together with a landscape architect to redesign the place gardens.
The eight other artists selected are: Kasper Bonnén, Jesper Christiansen, Erik A Frandsen, John Kørner, Tal R, Morten Schelde and Kathrine Ærtebjerg.
