Ten years ago, Kirstine Roepstorff traded the vibrant urban life for the tranquil countryside of her childhood home near Fredericia, after living abroad for many years. Born in Copenhagen and having thrived in bustling cities worldwide, she eventually felt an inner need for space and nature. The passing of her grandmother and the decision to keep the family home marked the beginning of a new, reflective chapter in her life and art.

"In reality, when you welcome nature as your neighbor, you also welcome hard work, and lots of it. But hey! This is just a different kind of reflection and contemplation method. I enjoy it, and I enjoy making art with soil beneath my feet instead of concrete."

SAYS ROEPSTORFF, WITH A THOUGHTFUL SMILE ON HER FACE

Roepstorff has exhibited at leading museums both domestically and internationally, from Aros, Trapholt, and Arken, to MoMA in New York, the National Museum in Oslo, Kunstpalais Erlangen, and the Venice Biennale back in 2017 where she represented Denmark with an exhibition entitled “influenza. theatre of glowing darkness”.

Best known for her collages and mixed-media works, incorporating textiles, metal, glass, wood, and concrete. Her often-playful works create engaging, sensory experiences that explore the relationship between the physical and the non-physical, aiming to connect people and evoke a sense of cosmic and earthly interplay.

“For viewing purposes, we have built platforms in the atelier, so we can observe the artworks in production from various angles. Every time you look from a new angel, you see something different. I use this actively in my process.”

– KIRSTINE ROEPSTORFF

Vipp first encountered Roepstorff during this year’s 3daysofdesign when collaborating on an installation in Vipp Home.

Roepstorff presented a creative take on a hairdressing station, paying homage to the very beginning of Vipp when Danish metalworker Holger Nielsen crafted a unique pedal bin as a gift for his wife’s hair salon in 1939. Her clients, many of whom were in the health services, started inquiring about the bin for their own businesses, marking the start of the Vipp brand we know today.

In recent years, Roepstorff has become more engaged in public and large-scale artworks. Artworks on a grand scale demand a diverse range of talents. Beyond artistic skills, it requires finely tuned social, diplomatic, innovative, and common-sense abilities, along with a thorough grasp of various logics, logistics, craft processes, and technical terminology.

The challenge lies in the fact that everything created is essentially a prototype, expected to both serve its purpose, radiate integrity, and achieve a certain standard of perfection from the outset. Once completed, the artwork becomes a focal point for a wide array of opinions and interpretations, standing alone based on its inherent strength.

“I often find that I only understand my own works in hindsight. I go with the flow and see where the process brings me. This is needed and necessary grounding time for me.”

– KIRSTINE ROEPSTORFF