“The Four Winds” sculpture

Background

Danish artist Henrik Starcke  created his sculpture “The Four Winds” in connection with the 1964 construction of Terminal 2. The sculpture was located in front of Terminal 2 until a multi-storey car park was built in 1991, when it was moved further east. Later on, it was stored for a time when the western forecourt at Terminal 3 was set up.

Many people since asked about the fate of the sculpture, which had become a well-known landmark of the airport over the years. A series of popular Danish films about bumbling bandits “the Olsen Gang” made the sculpture even more famous, with “The Four Winds” employed in the popular films to show that the Gang was at the airport.

Not until 1999, however, was the best location for the sculpture found: a green area in front of the multi-storey car park by Terminal 2. Today “The Four Winds” can be seen by everyone arriving at the airport from the motorway or from Terminal 1.

Space for dancing

In the 1960s, there was also a festive local tradition centred around “The Four Winds”, with students from nearby Taarnby high school celebrating their graduation by dancing around it. This tradition came to an end for a time when the sculpture was moved, but it was resumed in 1999, when the airport decided to lay a narrow band of paving around “The Four Winds” to give the students room to dance around the sculpture.

About Henrik Starche

Danish artist Henrik Starcke (1899-1973) trained as a painter but found his personal idiom in imaginative sculpture art. He had a preference for untraditional and startling paintings.