Arthur Köpcke Explained

Arthur Köpcke (Born 1928 in Hamburg - Died 1977 in Copenhagen), also known as Arthur Køpcke, was a German-born artist^[1] known for his contributions to the first generation of Fluxus. Köpcke’s work includes paintings, scrolls, literary works, objects, collages, assemblies and Fluxus boxes.^[2]

In 1962 he participated in the Festival of Misfits in London and organized the Fluxus Festival Festum Fluxorum in the Nicolai Church in Copenhagen. Up until the mid-60s, Köpcke participated in most of the main Fluxus festivals in Europe (Paris, Düsseldorf, Amsterdam, Scheveningen, Aachen etc.).^[3] He settled in Copenhagen at the end of 1957 where he founded Gallery Köpcke, with his Danish wife, Aase ("Tut"). The gallery became a contact point for the international avant-garde movements of Nouveau Realisme and Fluxus in Denmark.

Köpcke died in Copenhagen in 1977.

Further reading

• Arthur Köpcke. Bilder und Stücke. Cat. Texts by H. Christiansen, Joh. Cladders, Thomas Kellein, Per Kirkeby, Emmett Williams. Berlin 1988
• Arthur Köpcke. begreifen erleben. Gesammelte Schriften. Collected writings. Ed. by Barbara Wien. Berlin, Stuttgart/London, Köln 1994
• Arthur Köpcke. WAS IST DAS - piece No 2. CD (Köpcke lecture "Was ist das", recorded 1974) & booklet. Ed. of 500 num. copies. Berlin, Moen 1996
• Arthur Köpcke. Art is work is art. Cat. (German/Engl.) Kunsthalle Hamburg, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf & Kunsthalle Fridericianum Kassel. 2003
• Rennert, Susanne. Arthur Köpcke. Grenzgänger. Bilder, Objekte, Fluxusstücke. München 1996
• Erró, Fahlström, Köpcke, Lebel. PhönixArt 2003. Cat. (German/Engl.). Ed by Claus Mewes. Hamburg 2003

Notes and References

1. https://www.moma.org/artists/18701
2. http://www.artnet.com/artists/arthur-köpcke/biography
3. https://ocula.com/artists/arthur-kopcke/