Modern art Oslo

Where Tjuvholmen meets the fjord, you'll find one of Oslo's main attractions: the privately-owned Astrup Fearnley Museum, designed by the great architect Renzo Piano, creator of the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Parco della Musica and the New York Times building, among others. The Astrup Fearnley Museum of Contemporary Art is certainly in one of the most advantageous positions, planted at the end of the new Tjuvholmen district with a view over the fjord and the feeling of being on a boat. This is the new district built as an extension to Aker Brygge. And what a district it is! Sleek, classy and grandiose. Tjuvholmen is nicknamed the arts district. The architecture of the peninsula and the Astrup Fearnley Museum, inspired by its maritime surroundings and composed of three pavilions under a glass roof in the shape of a sail, evokes the city's capacity for constant innovation. Inside the museum, one of Northern Europe's most important collections of modern and contemporary art complements the National Gallery. Today, it includes works by major American talents, as well as those from Europe, Brazil, Japan, China and India, with big names such as Bacon, Koons, Hirst and Kiefer. Permanent exhibitions are complemented by temporary exhibitions, workshops and the Tjuvholmen sculpture park outside the museum. The Astrup Fearnley Museum celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2023.

New premises for the Munch Museum, now located in Bjørvika (near the Opera House) since October 2021.

A building much maligned for its architecture (not without reason... just look at the sad recycled aluminum sheet cladding), designed by Spanish architect Juan Herreros, the new Munch Museum has the advantage of being able to present, in addition to the works in the old museum, some lesser-known pieces, such as photographs and sculptures, as well as a film and monumental paintings(The Sun, The Searchers). For the record, they are so large that they had to be brought in through a special opening provided for the purpose during the construction work, which was subsequently closed again. The new museum is five times larger than the old one, and now houses over 26,000 works, including 18,000 prints by the Norwegian artist. An entire room features versions of the famous Scream, but the painting is housed in the Nasjonal Galleriet.

It should be remembered that the famous Scream, as well as La Madonna, disappeared in a surprising manner in August 2004 (a theft in broad daylight) and were found in "fairly good condition" two years later. Countless other equally powerful and impressive paintings make a visit to this museum an invaluable experience. Edvard Munch (1863-1944), one of the pioneers of Expressionism, was born in Løten, but the following year his family moved to Kristiania (Oslo). Four years later, his mother died of tuberculosis. At the age of 15, her favorite sister succumbed to the same disease, the scourge of the age. She is depicted in his painting The Sick Child. Munch worked extensively in Germany, exhibiting in Berlin, the birthplace of Expressionism. After a serious depression in Copenhagen in 1908, he returned to Norway. Among the paintings exhibited Dances on the Beach at Midnight, Kiss on the Hair of a Woman, Jealousy, The Lonely Ones, The Harpy, The Vampire, Melancholy, The Kiss of Death, Winter at Kragerø. In short, all Munch's anxieties in one museum.

Take your time, return several times and stop for lunch in the surrounding area. All the more reason not to spend 6 hours in a row: this visit is included in the Oslo Pass!

Disabled access, free Internet connection. RestaurantTolvte on the ^12th floor (!) overlooking the fjord. Café MUNCH deli & café on the first floor with terrace and cocktail bar on the top floor.