Bruno Zhu, "Men at Work"
12.09.2026-14.02.2027
Fotos / Photos: David Stjernholm (Dag / Day); Mikkel Kaldal (Nat / Night)
MEN AT WORK
*English below
Men at Work befinder sig i den korridor, der forbinder de to hovedudstillingsrum på HFKD. Den smalle passage bliver til en catwalk for mandlige modeller, som poserer i modekampagner for det italienske mærke Dolce & Gabbana. Bruno Zhu omskaber dem til klistermærker i menneskestørrelse, som er hæftet på A-skilte indpakket i gavepapir. Hver model har en tilsvarende trafikkegle, som imiterer hans posering. For Zhu deler de to visuelle motiver nogle formelle ligheder: modellernes markerede muskler udstråler styrke, struktur og høj synlighed, omtrent som en almindelig trafikkegle.
I slutningen af 2000 repræsenterede de veltrænede, hårløse og afklædte D&G modeller et særligt kønnet fænomen i modeindustrien: Selvom de var særdeles synlige, blev mændene ofte instrueret i at støtte deres kvindelige modparter. Deres formål var at komplementere en scene, samtidig med at de forblev stort set anonyme. Trafikkegler tjener et tilsvarende formål – funktionelle og alligevel anonyme – når de afgrænser et givent område. Ved at sidestille dem fremhæver Men at Work deres status som objekter, hvilket igen gør dem skulpturelle. Udklippet fra modemagasinernes sider genopstår disse statueske modeller tyve år senere, hvor repræsentationer af maskulinitet og seksualitet i det globale nord gennemgår en skelsættende krise.
I udstillingsperioden vil udstillingsteksten blive erstattet af en folder redigeret af kunstneren. Folderen indeholder et forord af Zhu, en eksklusiv dansk oversættelse af første kapitel af den franske filosof Gilles Lipovetskys bog “The Empire of Fashion: Dressing Modern Democracy” fra 1987 samt et nutidigt modsvar til Lipovetskys omdiskuterede tekst af forfatter og kunstner Huw Lemmey. Emner som distribuering og tilgængelighed er grundlæggende for Zhus praksis. På kunstnerens foranledning vil folderen stå frit til rådighed, men kun på dansk, for at imødekomme HFKDs hjemmehørende publikum. Ved at prioritere det oversatte resultat bliver denne redaktionelle øvelse bevidst uforståelig for Zhu selv.
Men at Work er i dialog med Women Upstairs – kunstnerens samtidige udstilling på O – Overgaden i København. Mens HFKD er befolket af mandlige modeller, er det kvindelige mannequiner, der på
O – Overgaden står opstillet inde i strukturer, som ligner nødudgangsskilte. De to udstillinger tegner en hypotetisk linje mellem vest og øst og markerer kunstnerens første soloudstilling i Danmark.
Bruno Zhu (f. 1991, PT) bor og arbejder mellem Portugal og Holland. Seneste projekter inkluderer udstillinger på Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian, Lisabon (2026); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2026); M HKA, Antwerp (2025) og Chisenhale Gallery, London (2024). Zhu er medstifter af A Maior, et kuratorisk program med base i hans forældres interiør- og tøjbutik i Viseu, Portugal.
Udstillingen er venligst støttet af Statens Kunstfond, Holstebro Kommune, Det Obelske Familiefond, Færchfonden og Augustinus Fonden.
Men at Work occupies the corridor connecting the main exhibition spaces at HFKD. The narrow passageway becomes a catwalk for male models found posing in fashion campaigns by the Italian brand Dolce & Gabbana. Bruno Zhu transforms them into life-sized stickers stuck onto sandwich boards covered with gift wrapping paper. Each model has a corresponding traffic cone mimicking their pose. For Zhu, these two visual motifs share formal similarities: the models’ defined muscles project strength, structure, and high visibility, much like an ordinary traffic cone.
In the late 2000s, the D&G models – toned, hairless, undressed – represented a peculiar gendered phenomenon in the fashion industry: though highly visible, men were often directed to support their female counterparts. Their purpose was to complement a scene while remaining largely anonymous. Traffic cones perform a similar role – functional yet anonymous – when circling a designated area. By putting them together, Men at Work accentuates their objecthood, which in turn makes them sculptural. Cropped from the pages of fashion magazines, these statuesque models reappear twenty years later, when representations of masculinity and sexuality in the Global North traverse an epochal crisis.
During the exhibition period, the exhibition text will be replaced by a booklet edited by the artist. The booklet will include a foreword by Zhu, an exclusive Danish translation of the first chapter of French philosopher Gilles Lipovetsky’s 1987 book “The Empire of Fashion: Dressing Modern Democracy”, as well as a contemporary response to Lipovetsky’s contentious text by novelist and artist Huw Lemmey. Questions of distribution and access are central themes in Zhu’s practice. Per the artist’s request, the booklet will be freely available only in Danish to accommodate HFKD’s domestic audience. By privileging the translated outcome, this editorial exercise becomes deliberately unintelligible to Zhu himself.
Men at Work is in dialogue with Women Upstairs, the artist’s concurrent exhibition at O–Overgaden in Copenhagen. While HFKD is populated by male models, O–Overgaden hosts female mannequins standing inside structures resembling emergency exit signs. These two exhibitions draw a hypothetical line from West to East, marking the artist’s first solo commission in Denmark.
Bruno Zhu (b. 1991, PT) lives and works between Portugal and the Netherlands. Recent projects include exhibitions at Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian, Lisbon (2026); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2026); M HKA, Antwerp (2025); and Chisenhale Gallery, London (2024). Zhu is a member of A Maior, a curatorial program set in his parents’ home furnishings and clothing store in Viseu, Portugal.
The exhibition is kindly supported by the Danish Arts Foundation, Holstebro Municipality, the Obel Family Foundation, the Færch Foundation, and the Augustinus Foundation.