Buying with his girlfriend Stine Bech, Risvig has amassed one of the most important collections of the work of emerging artists in Denmark, with a focus on paintings and works on paper and sculpture.
What does collecting mean to you?
There is so much humanity in art – moods, feelings, decisions, reflections, impressions, and expressions – both for artist and observer. Art arrived relatively late in my life, but today it is an essential part of my everyday life. My family life, my work life, and my network revolves around art, and to me it is like a magnet with an immense force of attraction. I feel drawn towards it, and I cannot imagine not being guided by it. It has got under my skin.
Since when do you collect art?
My fiance and I began collecting in around 2009/10, we just wanted to decorate our small apartment with something nice. But because of the influence from my parents-in-law and their interest in art we didn’t just want to buy some posters, so we went to a local gallery and bought our first pieces by a well known Danish street artist.
And over time these first purchases have evolved into a collection of around 350 pieces by artists from all over the world.
Francesco De Prezzo, Untitled, 2022 
Valerian Goalec, I – 006 (From Their Desk), 2021
Is there a special focus in your collection?
No not really, we collect emerging artists from our own generation and younger, but there are no limitations when it comes to medium, figurative/abstract and so on.
Do you know about the Austrian art market?
To be honest I don’t know that much, I of course know some galleries and artists and I know some Danish artists who have studied in Vienna, but that’s also it sadly.
PLOP Residency – sounds interesting. Can you tell us more about it?
PLOP residency is an artist-run residency in Central London, one of the cultural hubs of the world. At PLOP we offer ‘one month’ residencies for three artists per month to come and make work. This year, the artists will share a studio space of 35m2 located at Cob Gallery’s newly-renovated studios in Camden, London. We provide studio visits for the artists from industry professionals to help the artists in residence along the way – whether that be career advice, help writing about their work, constructive critiques or simply suggesting artists they should meet here in London.
How do you spend your free time? Do you have a special hobby?
Besides visiting galleries and museum shows, I really do like reading, both novels and non-fiction especially about art. When it comes to novels I tend to read everything from fantasy to Tolstoy.
Claus Busch Risvig – www.instagram.com/buschrisvig/
