Galleri Nicolai Wallner is pleased to present Showing Holes – a solo exhibition by Rasmus Myrup.

In Showing Holes, Myrup’s sculptures transform ethereal self-protection into visceral, tangible objects—embodiments of the non-dichotomous nature of exposure and protection.

Through his sculptures, Rasmus Myrup fleshes out how vulnerabilities and defences intersect, highlighting the inescapable fact that even when we are most protected, we are still baring ourselves. In our moments of utmost vulnerability, remnants of protection from our past remain, shaping our future.

Central to the exhibition are three pieces in the shape of a Torus; a doughnut-shaped geometry which is the most reduced topological incarnation of a hole. Like a sphincter they are cycling between openness and closure, allowing for both connection and withdrawal. Simultaneously a point of exposure and a site of control, our eyes, mouths and anuses let the world enter our bodies. Myrup wishes to challenge our sense of impenetrable individualism in this way. Even our inner, most private lives are comprised of elements from the outside world, and vice versa.

Furthering this exploration, Myrup presents Wary but Willing and Protected but Penetrable; two wooden stump sculptures, the scarred remains of sycamore trees that have been hacked and slashed, many times over. These works evoke the ability to scar over after damage, with some of the cut stubs wearing patches of armor. This speaks to the way an open wound instinctively is covered in both organic and crafted systems to reinforce a hurt area – yet, this aggressively bespoke protection comes too late, and arguably causes more hindrance than help—underscoring the fallible nature of shielding against pain.

Through the process of hammer-forming aluminium, Myrup mirrors the arduous, painful effort involved in constructing haute couture protection, like the underwear armor for Armor Stand. These aluminium pieces are shaped through repetitive hammer hits, leaving visible traces of the artist’s hand. The resulting works, marked by the artist’s labour, become tangible representations of the struggle to shield oneself from harm, constructing it with literal blows from “within”. Yet the aluminium, fragile and easily pierced by a sword or social interaction, offers only an illusion of safety, reminding us that our defenses are rarely as strong as we imagine. This, and all armor, is permeable. Myrup’s sculptures echo our coexisting longing to fully encase ourselves and the human need to still be showing holes.

Drawing on his own interpretation of the existential philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard, Rasmus Myrup refuses to offer a simplistic solution to the question of how one should navigate a potentially harmful world. Rather than presenting a binary choice between A or B, sarcastic protection or naive vulnerability, Myrup sees the human experience as constantly performing between these states, and the spectrum inbetween, around and beyond. His work suggests that personhood is not a static notion to be arrived at, but one born and lived in flux—capable of opening up and closing off, but never fully achieving one or the other.

Accompanying the exhibition is the text More Holes Than Most Men by Luka Homegaard.

Rasmus Myrup (b. 1991, Denmark) currently lives and works in Copenhagen. In August 2023, he opened a solo show at Overgaden (Copenhagen) and in September was included in the Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art. His project for the Biennial has later toured to 1646 (the Hague), Kunsthalle Münster (Münster) and then La Criée (Rennes). Additionally, he has shown at Copenhagen Contemporary (Copenhagen), Hordaland Kunstsenter (Bergen), Den Frie Udstillingsbygning (Copenhagen), Kunsthal Charlottenborg (Copenhagen), and Tranen Space for Contemporary Art (Hellerup). Myrup’s works are included in the permanent collection of ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art (Ishøj), Brandts (Odense) and the National Gallery of Denmark (Copenhagen) among others.