Happy birthday, Kunsten!

24.3.22 - 24.4.22

Max Ernst, Bonjour Satanas, 1928. Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg Anna og Kresten Krestensens samling 1967. Gave fra Kirsten og Palle Diges Fond

One of Denmark’s best art museums, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, is turning 50 this year. Highlighting our close partnership, we celebrate this singular and exquisite museum, designed by the legendary Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.

In this exhibition, we present a selection of works from Kunsten’s splendid collection.

Wilhelm Freddie: Meditation over den antinazistiske kærlighed, 1936. Kunsten, Aalborg. Donation: Ny Carlsbergfondet.

A powerful narrative

On the back of spectacular acquisitions from Danish private collections during its first decades, Kunsten articulated a powerful narrative about 20th-century Danish modernism, complemented by prime examples of international art from the years before and after World War II.

The works here are representative of Kunsten’s collection. They do not comprise a comprehensive, distinct story.

Wilhelm Freddie, Sex-paralyseappeal, 1936. Kunsten, Aalborg. Erhvervet med tilskud fra flere fonde og bidrag fra museets gæster.

Instead, as collections tend to do, they indicate a number of possibilities or points that can be connected every which way, depending on the story you want to tell. They are pearls without a string.

Kunsten 50 years

The museum was built between 1969-72 and is an architectural masterpiece of Scandinavian Modernism. The overall idea was to create a museum with a generous floor plan and a natural flow that was easy to navigate.