Søren Behncke
Søren Behncke (b. 1967), also known as Papfar, is a Danish visual artist. He works with cardboard, painting, sculpture, installations and street art. Originally a graphic designer Behncke has worked as an artist since 2003. He lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark.
As Papfar Behncke is well known for his for reuse of already existing materials such as cardboard and plastic wrapping, which he incorporates it in his practice.
Behncke’s approach appears both playful and filled with strong art historical references. The reuse-aesthetic challenges the viewer: Recognisable materials become the basis for his art – creating a new take on familiar objects, which confronts us with our modern-day consumer culture: The pizza box or fruit crate is not only storage, but also a canvas on he paints, discarded cardboard becomes sculptures or incorporated on a canvas.
A renowned example of his interventions is the large-scale three-dimensional cardboard sculpture, which could be seen at ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum in 2006: Behncke had a giant cardboard-catapult smuggled in – and then gave it to ‘Boy’, the famous sculpture by Ron Mueck. Or adapting Georg Lober’s sculpture of H. C. Andersen (1956) in Central Park, New York to Behncke’s own ‘Mechanical Andersen’, 2008: These works are fleeting and temporary by nature.
At first glance Behncke’s motifs might seem simplistic or naïve, however, they often have strong art historical references. His work draws the viewer in with bold colors and strong lines. Within Behncke’s work the artist becomes a muse: He challenges our perception of art history, when he paraphrases artists such as Picasso and Matisse. The reinterpretation underlines the interplay of picturing and representing, which is so crucial for our understanding own place in society.
Behncke has had solo exhibitions at ARoS kunstmuseum (DK), Museum Jorn (DK) amongst others and group exhibitions at ARKEN Museum for Samtidskunst (DK), J. F. Willumsens Museum (DK) and KØS Museum of Art in Public Spaces (DK), Heerup Museum (DK).
Installation view of BABUSKA – a solo exhibition by Søren Behncke (2019)