On a visit to Los Angeles, Odense-born Danish recycle artist THOMAS DAMBO explains his personal mission, "waste no more." He describes his early public projects inspired by waste left at music festivals, his Copenhagen Happy Wall commission at Kongens Nytorv, and the origins of his iconic and popular Trolls series. Always large-scale and community-driven, Thomas's message is consistent, that we share our trash and share the knowledge of our trash.

Thomas selects a work by Adam Dircksz from the SMK collection.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS5532

(Photographer: Emily Wilson)

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From Frederiksberg outside of Copenhagen, Funen-born Danish artist KIRSTEN JUSTESEN talks about the iconic 1970 exhibition Damebilleder (Women's Images) and about her year-long residence in New York in 2006 with the support of the Danish Arts Foundation. Trained in classical sculpture, Kirsten describes her use of her own body in her art and about the female gaze, and shares her mixed feelings towards being called a pioneer in the feminist art movement.

Kirsten selects a work by Melchoir Lorck from the SMK collection.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KKS1966-13

(Photograph Source: Kirsten Justesen)

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

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email: [email protected]

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And we invite you to donate to the American Friends of Statens Museum for Kunst and become a patron: https://donorbox.org/american-friends-of-statens-museum-for-kunst

In his art-filled home in Hellerup, Danish-Pakistani art collector and education entrepreneur KHURRAM JAMIL introduces MILAAP, his exhibition space that situates contemporary art in dialogue with his own collection characterized by thought-provoking work from the Global South. He shares his work on educational technology that brought him to Boston and New York from 2014 to 2020. And he describes the origin of his deep relationship with the artist collective SUPERFLEX.

Khurram selects a work by SUPERFLEX from the SMK collection.

https://open.smk.dk/artwork/image/KMS8810

(Photograph: Robert Damisch)

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

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And we invite you to donate to the American Friends of Statens Museum for Kunst and become a patron: https://donorbox.org/american-friends-of-statens-museum-for-kunst

From Omaha, Nebraska where he's called home for 20 years, Lem-raised Danish wind turbine engineer PEDER HANSEN reminisces about his family's role as wind turbine pioneers in Denmark, whereby he credits his mother for getting Vestas into the industry in the 1970s, and his father for getting Vestas wind turbines into the US field in the 1980s. Peder talks about climbing up wind turbines, and the strong Danish immigrant and Danish-American community in the Midwest.

Peder selects a work by P.S. Krøyer from the SMK collection.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS3605

(Private photograph)

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

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And we invite you to donate to the American Friends of Statens Museum for Kunst and become a patron: https://donorbox.org/american-friends-of-statens-museum-for-kunst

From her West London flat, Danish-Irish actress CLARA RUGAARD, known especially for her roles in I Am Mother (2019) and Black Mirror (2023), talks about her latest project The Crow Girl. Having worked internationally, Clara reflects on the pressure she felt coming from a bilingual family and being hard to categorize, but her love of storytelling, of relating to characters, and being surrounded by creatives, has kept her firmly committed to the film and television industry and to the art of acting.

Clara selects a work by P.C. Skovgaard from the SMK collection.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS529

(Photograph: Joseph Sinclair)

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

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And we invite you to donate to the American Friends of Statens Museum for Kunst and become a patron: https://donorbox.org/american-friends-of-statens-museum-for-kunst

In his home in Humlebaek in northern Copenhagen, art collector and advisor JENS FAURSCHOU recalls opening his namesake gallery in 1986, which was followed by galleries in Beijing and in New York. He shares insights on the art world landscapes of Copenhagen, Beijing, and New York, reminisces about artists and art world figures with whom he's collaborated, and a missed opportunity to meet Andy Warhol. Most importantly, Jens defines good art as art that challenges.

Jens selects a work by Henri Matisse from the SMK collection.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMSr171

(Private photograph)

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

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Bagsværd-born and raised Danish voiceover and performance capture director and coach TRINE C. JENSEN left Denmark 35 years ago to pursue her art, first in Miami, then New York, before landing in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. She shares her insights in one area of her expertise, video game voice acting, and describes the nonlinear storytelling approach and scope in Sony's Horizon Zero Dawn and Rise of the Rōnin. And she compares Danish expatriates to the hobbits from Lord of the Rings.

Trine selects a work by Henri Matisse from the SMK collection.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMSr189

(Photographer: Grey Coutts)

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

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On the eve of the release of Gladiator II, Elling-born Danish actress CONNIE NIELSEN recalls leaving home at 18 for Paris and Milan, moving later in New York at the recommendation of an American director, and the casting experience with Gladiator from 2000 that made her an international star. She shares her views about the role of women in Hollywood, her tv series about Danish author and painter Karen Blixen, and her interest in exploring female historical characters.

Connie talks about what she looks for in art.

(Private photograph)

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

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From his home in Charlottenlund in Copenhagen, Danish founder of his namesake art gallery NICOLAI WALLNER describes his passion, activated when a high schooler, for artists and for representing artists, and his efforts in the 1990s to open his gallery on Store Kongensgade, which pushed forward the paradigm shift in the development of Copenhagen's contemporary art scene. Nicolai recalls his first art fair in New York, and explains why Kermit the Frog is his hero.

Nicolai selects a work by Andrea Mantegna from the SMK collection.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMSsp69

(Private photograph)

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

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And we invite you to donate to the American Friends of Statens Museum for Kunst and become a patron: https://donorbox.org/american-friends-of-statens-museum-for-kunst

From her home office, Des Moines, Iowa's Grandview University's American president and former prosecutor RACHELLE KECK talks about discovering her Danish ancestry as she leads the Danish Lutheran university founded by Danish immigrants and based on the ideologies of Golden Age Danish minister and author N.F.S. Grundtvig. Rachelle also discusses the unique skillsets of attorneys in running colleges and universities.

Rachelle selects a work by Egill Jacobsen from the SMK collection.

https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMS4972

(Photographer: Todd Bailey)

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We invite you to subscribe to Danish Originals for weekly episodes. You can also find us at:

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And we invite you to donate to the American Friends of Statens Museum for Kunst and become a patron: https://donorbox.org/american-friends-of-statens-museum-for-kunst