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Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Coordinates: 55°58′10″N 12°32′35″E / 55.96944°N 12.54306°E / 55.96944; 12.54306
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the museum in Humlebæk, Denmark. For the museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, see Louisiana State Museum.
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
The green garden and the modernist façade of the Louisiana museum, which faces the Øresund sound.
The garden and façade of the building facing the sea of the Øresund sound.
Map
Established1958
LocationHumlebæk, Denmark
TypeArt museum
Collection size4,500
Visitors702,426 (2023)[1]
FounderKnud W. Jensen
DirectorPoul Erik Tøjner
ChairpersonLars Henrik Munch
Dorte Mandrup-Poulsen (vice)
ArchitectJørgen Bo
Wilhelm Wohlert
Claus Wohlert
Public transit accessHumlebæk Station
Nearest parkingOn site
Websitelouisiana.dk

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art,[a] also known as the Louisiana, is an art museum located north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Attracting over 700,000 guests each year, the Louisiana is Scandinavia's most visited museum for modern and contemporary art, and it is celebrated for its outstanding exhibitions and collections, including a Yayoi Kusama infinity mirror room called Gleaming Night of The Souls.[2][3] The museum is acknowledged as a milestone in modern Danish architecture, and is noted for its synthesis of art, architecture and landscape, boasting a stunning sculpture park with works by Alexander Calder, Henry Moore and Richard Serra.[4][5][6] In addition to its permanent and temporary exhibitions, the museum has a shop featuring carefully curated Danish design items, a restaurant with a view of the Øresund, and a three-storey Children's Wing hosting daily workshops.[7][8] The museum is included in Patricia Schultz's book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.

Location

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The museum is located by the Øresund coast in the North Zeeland region, some 30 km (19 mi) north of central Copenhagen and 10 km (6 mi) south of Elsinore. From the regional train station in Humlebæk, it takes 10–15 minutes to walk to the museum.[9]

History

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Building a museum of modern art

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A few times a year, we read in the newspapers that now some city or municipality wants to have its own Louisiana, and there's only one reply to that: Even if you can create a building, you cannot create a Knud W. Jensen.

— Jørgen Sthyr, New Carlsberg Foundation, 1968

The history of the museum goes back some 170 years. The name of the museum is derived from the first owner of the property, hofjægermester Alexander Brun, who named the estate after his three wives, all called Louise. Brun built the villa in which the part of the museum resides in 1855.[10] A hundred years later, in 1955, businessman and cheese wholesaler Knud W. Jensen purchased the by then abandoned villa and surrounding property after being snubbed of the opportunity to purchase land around Rungstedlund for his planned museum; this was reportedly due to the sellers objection on the grounds of modern art not being art. Jensen had been interested in art and literature since the 1940s, but after acquiring the publishing company Gyldendal in 1952, his interest in art materialized; Jensen founded the Art at the Workplace association, leasing artworks to companies for the enjoyment of their employees.[11] Meanwhile, he found conventional art museums at the time to be alienating and uninviting, citing the National Gallery of Denmark as a typical example.[12][13][14] As Jensen felt that these buildings' grandiose architecture didn't fit for modern art, he aimed to create a museum with an "appropriate atmosphere" wherein people "...feel obliged [...] to approach the works of art." He has further stated a great sense of inspiration from American museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art.[15]

I have not been able to learn much about Alexander Brun, the Master of the Royal Hunt who built Louisiana in 1855, but enough so that I can form a picture of him. He was married three times, and each time he found a girl named Louise, which was perhaps a fashionable name then. It's a good story, which has also been told many times. It was natural to preserve this lovely name. I could not very well call it Humlebæk Museum of Modern Art or Jensen Museum instead. People would die laughing. So, better to let them smile at the curious and poetic name “Louisiana”, which most people thought had something to do with the state of Louisiana in America.

— Knud W. Jensen, The Spirit of the Place (Stedets ånd), 1994

Wishing to instead create a museum on a "human scale" that was close to nature, he first approached Jørn Utzon to design the museum; however, Utzon was already commissioned to design the now iconic Sydney Opera House, and so he declined.[16][17] In lieu of this, he partnered up with architects Vilhelm Wohlert and Jørgen Bo, who spent a few months walking around the property before deciding how a new construction would best fit into the landscape. This study resulted in the first version of the museum consisting of three buildings connected by glass corridors, which opened in conjunction with the museum as a whole, in 1958.[14][17] The first exhibition had several faults according to Jensen himself, the building lacked climate control and the storage room was insufficient.[18] The museum received criticism, from among others, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, who referred to the newly opened museum as "Cirkusiana".[19] Jensen intended for the museum to be mixture between art, architecture, and nature; music, film, dance, and political debates would all take place at the Louisiana. Critics posited that the other forms of entertainment would ultimately distract from the art itself, though Jensen stated that art was not the entire focus of the venue.[12] The decision to have a café built into the museum was also controversial, Jensen stated in an interview that "good drinking and food is very important in connection with experiencing art."[12][15] His personal ideas and ambitions largely steered the development of the museum, despite the existence of a board of directors.[12] He has emphasized the idea of the Louisiana as a cultural center, "I believe much more in the idea of a cultural center than [that] of a museum."[15] Shortly after opening, the Louisiana became known in the international art world for its at times controversial exhibitions; the museum has used the self-coined "sauna-princippen" (lit. 'the sauna principle'), a combination of uncontroversial "warm" and transgressive "cold" exhibitions.[18][20] One such controversy was a Nam June Paik concert which ended chaotically and with largely negative reactions from the crowd. These controversies nonetheless garnered attention for the Louisiana; Jensen expected 40,000 visitors in the first year, the museum received 200,000.[16][19]

International outlook

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Up until 1959, the works featured at the Louisiana were primarily Danish in origin. During Jensen's visit to the art exhibition Documenta II in Kassel, Germany, he saw the works Alberto Giacometti, Alexander Calder, and Henry Moore. He described it as a "Documenta shock", and decided to try and persuade the board of directors to start featuring international art at the Louisiana. He eventually succeeded, despite the skepticism of the board; at the time there was no internationally inclined modern art museum in Denmark.[12] The art exhibition affected him to such an extent that he organized the exhibition Works from Documenta just weeks after the show was hosted.[21]

The decision to feature international art has later been hailed as "decisive" by art historian Kristian Handberg, and the exhibitions of international art have become a hallmark of the museum; it fostered a "new Louisiana", with new exhibition halls being constructed for the international exhibitions.[22] Among these were Vitality in Art and Movement in Art, composed by Willem Sandberg, along with Jean Tinguely's manifesto Sketch for the End of the World. These exhibitions brought together contemporary artists from both the United States and Europe. Handberg has stated that the achievement of bringing the Louisiana into the wider European circulation of international art exhibitions on the part of Jensen is a "remarkable" feat.[23] The Louisiana gained the status of state-authorized museum in 1968, and began to receive financial support from the Danish state. It had by this point begun to receive criticism from younger artists who considered the museum to be "old fashioned" and lacking the latest art. It has nevertheless continued to feature modern and contemporary art through its exhibitions, featuring the likes of Nouveau Réalisme, Pop art, and Minimalist art.[12][24]

The collection of the museum includes several pieces made specifically for it, Roy Lichtenstein's Figures in Landscape was painted in 1977 following a visit to the museum. Similarly, Sam Francis created a series of paintings for the museum during his visit in 1979, and Jim Dine's painting for a specific room in the museum.[12]

Louisiana in the 21st century

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Since Poul Erik Tøjner became director in 2000, the Louisiana has seen uninterrupted growth and has firmly established itself on the global stage as a both artistically and economically successful institution.[25][26] Each year, the museum presents a dynamic program of 6 to 10 temporary exhibitions.[27] Moreover, a rich schedule of live events and several new initiatives have expanded the museum's reach.[28] Since 2010, the Louisiana Literature festival has hosted forty writers from around the world each year, performing on stages throughout the museum and in the sculpture park. In 2024, international writers such as Rachel Cusk, Mohsin Hamid, and Anne Carson attended the festival.[29] Another new initiative is the Louisiana Channel, a non-profit platform which, since 2012, has shared weekly videos on art and culture, aiming to engage new generations and foster cultural understanding in the 21st century.[30][31]

In 2023, the Louisiana finalised its 2050 sustainability strategy, which focuses on climate, circularity, biodiversity, and social responsibility, aligning with the museum’s global impact and guest experience. The museum aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across operations and its value chain, with verified reduction targets under the Science Based Targets initiative, aligning with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal. Recognized as a "Green Attraction," the Louisiana is lauded for its significant environmental efforts and leadership in modernizing sustainable practices within the cultural sector.[32][33]

Architecture

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Each work demands to be seen without too much competition from other works of art and without a restrictive landscape setting.

— Knud W. Jensen

The architecture of the Louisiana is considered to be an instrumental part of the museum experience, and has been used as a point of comparison to other buildings.[34] Architects Vilhelm Wohlert and Jørgen Bo were contacted by Knud W. Jensen to design the new museum building. At first Jensen had contacted Jørn Utzon to design the museum, who himself owned a house in nearby Hellebæk. However, as Utzon was busy with working on his later successful design for the Sydney Opera House, he declined the offer.[16] Wohlert and Bo's study of the property over the course of several months resulted in the first version of the museum consisting of three buildings connected by glass corridors, which opened in 1958 and is designated as the Nordfløj (North Wing).[35] A clear source of inspiration for this building was the Kings Road House by Rudolph Schindler in Los Angeles, along with Richard Neutra's Bailey House in Pacific Palisades.[16] The building was subsequently expanded with the addition of the Vestfløj (West Wing) in 1966 and again in 1971, collectively adding two more floors.[35] The change in architectural direction with the expansion of the Sydfløj (South Wing) in 1982, is largely the result of the increasing size and dimensions of the works of art in the exhibitions. According to Jensen, large portions of the permanent collection had to be stored away for most of the year, as to make room for the temporary exhibitions; the much larger spaces of the South Wing are in that sense "tailor-made for the international collection", in Jensen's own words.[16][18]

Concert hall of the Museum

Concert hall

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In 1976 the concert hall was inaugurated, connected to the North Wing.[36] Its acoustics make it especially suitable for chamber music, but it is also used for other musical genres as well as a wide array of others events and activities such as debates, lectures and symposiums. The chairs are designed by Poul Kjærholm.[37] The museum hosts an active concert programme featuring world-famous classical musicians such as Grigory Sokolov, Arcadi Volodos, Emmanuel Pahud and Midori Gotō.[38]

Collections

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A room in Louisiana with sculpture works from Alberto Giacometti

Modern art

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The museum has a wide range of modern art paintings, photographic works, sculptures and videos dating from World War II onwards, including works by artists such as Alberto Giacometti, Louise Bourgeois, Andy Warhol, Diane Arbus, Roy Lichtenstein, Anselm Kiefer, Francesca Woodman, Pablo Picasso, Philip Guston, Yves Klein, Susan Rothenberg, Robert Rauschenberg, Germaine Richier, David Hockney and Asger Jorn. Perched above the sea, there is a sculpture garden between the museum's two wings with works by artists including Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, and Jean Arp.[39]

Contemporary art

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The Louisiana's collection is continually updated through acquisitions and donations. Recent acquisitions span a wide range of media and artistic expressions, featuring works by artists such as Roni Horn, Yayoi Kusama, Pipilotti Rist, William Kentridge, Marina Abramović, Cecily Brown, Dana Schutz, Sophie Calle, Alex da Corte, Malene Dumas, Nan Goldin, Shilpa Gupta, Ragnar Kjartansson, Mona Hatoum, Arthur Jafa, Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Ann Veronica Janssens, Amy Sillman, Jon Rafman, Tal R, Michel Majerus, Catherine Opie, Superflex, Rosemarie Trockel, Bouchra Khalili, Gauri Gill, Dora Budor, and Nina Beier.[40][41]

Exhibitions

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Since 1958, the Louisiana has presented high-quality international art and culture to a diverse Danish and international audience. The annual programme features 6-10 temporary exhibitions. Between 2020 and 2024, the museum hosted exhibitions by artists and architects including Roni Horn, Franz Gertsch, Chaïm Soutine, Firelei Báez, Pussy Riot, Cave_bureau, Ragnar Kjartansson, Nan Goldin, Niko Pirosmani, Andy Warhol, Dana Schutz, Gauri Gill, Richard Prince, August Sander, Alex Da Corte, Dorothy Iannone, Forensic Architecture, Diane Arbus, Sonia Delaunay, Peter Cook, Jens Adolf Jerichau, Mika Rottenberg, Pia Arke, Mamma Andersson, Arthur Jafa, Troels Wörsel, Taryn Simon, Anupama Kundoo, Tetsumi Kudo, Per Kirkeby, and Nancy Spero.[27]

Sculpture garden

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Part of the sculpture park of the museum, in the background the Øresund sound can be seen.

The grounds around the museum contain a landscaped sculpture garden. It consists of a plateau and ground that slopes towards the Øresund and is dominated by huge, ancient specimen trees and sweeping vistas of the sea. It contains works by such artists as Jean Arp, Max Ernst, Max Bill, Alexander Calder, Alicja Kwade, Henri Laurens, Joan Miró and Henry Moore. The sculptures are either placed so that they can be viewed from within, in special sculpture yards or independently around the gardens, forming a synthesis with the lawns, the trees and the sea.[42]

Louisiana Literature Festival

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Louisiana Literature festival is an annual festival that takes place at the Louisiana. Launched in 2010, the festival each year features about forty writers from across the world. They perform on stages around the museum and in the sculpture park, and attract more than 15,000 people each year.[43]

Directors

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Partners and sponsors

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The Louisiana is an independent institution receiving government grants. However, the vast majority of the museum's funding comes from its own revenue, bolstered significantly by support from partners, sponsors, and foundations such as the A.P. Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fond til almene Formaal, Augustinus Fonden, C.L. Davids Fond og Samling, Realdania, and Ny Carlsbergfondet. External support enables the museum to maintain its distinguished status achieved over the years, both in terms of its collection and the quality of its exhibitions.[45]

References

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  1. ^ The official name of the museum is also "Louisiana Museum of Modern Art" in Danish, it is not translated into Danish.
  1. ^ "The 100 most popular art museums in the world—blockbusters, bots and bounce-backs". theartnewspaper.com. The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  2. ^ "7 unmissable museums in Copenhagen". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  3. ^ "The art museums and galleries of the Nordics". Vogue Scandinavia. 2024-10-23. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  4. ^ O’Neill, Mark (2021). Revisiting Museums of Influence: Four Decades of Innovation and Public Quality in European Museums (1st ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 34–35. ISBN 9780367435417.
  5. ^ "About Louisiana". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  6. ^ "3 design gems north of Copenhagen". Wonderful Copenhagen. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  7. ^ "7 unmissable museums in Copenhagen". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  8. ^ "Children's Wing". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  9. ^ Priya (2020-04-03). "Museum Walk: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark". Outside Suburbia Family. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  10. ^ "The Louisiana History". Louisiana. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  11. ^ "Knud W. Jensen - Forretningsmand og museumsdirektør - lex.dk". Den Store Danske (in Danish). 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "LOUISIANA AS A PLACE | KUNSTEDER.DK". www.kunsteder.dk. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  13. ^ Weschler, Lawrence (1982-08-22). "LOUISIANA IN DENMARK". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  14. ^ a b "Louisiana Museum of Modern Art » Historien om kunstmuseet". KAUFMANN (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  15. ^ a b c "Knud W. Jensen discusses the Louisiana Museum ; part 1". The WFMT Studs Terkel Radio Archive. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  16. ^ a b c d e "Boganmeldelse: Louisiana – Arkitektur og landskab". arkitektforeningen.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  17. ^ a b "Louisiana", Journal (in Danish), no. 3/08, Post Danmark Frimærker, pp. 2–5, May 2008
  18. ^ a b c Skjøth, Lise (1989). "Denmark's Louisiana Museum, age: thirty; status: work-in-progress - interview with Knud W. Jensen". Museum. 41 (XLI) (3): 160–164. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0033.1989.tb00793.x – via UNESCO (UNESCDOC Digital library).
  19. ^ a b "Louisiana – ett älskat museum". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). 2008-05-24. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  20. ^ "Han bytte ostarna mot konst". DN.se (in Swedish). 1992-01-25. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  21. ^ Handberg, Kristian (June 2017). "The Shock of the Contemporary: documenta II and the Louisiana Museum" (PDF). On Curating (33): 34–41.
  22. ^ Strøm, Anya (2005-03-30). "Staff". artsandculturalstudies.ku.dk. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  23. ^ Handberg, Kristian (26 October 2018). "Pejlinger 66: Louisianas pejling af samtiden og 1960'erne". Periskop - Forum for Kunsthistorisk Debat (in Danish). 2018 (20): 72–89 – via Tidsskrift.dk.
  24. ^ "Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen, Denmark - Museum Review". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  25. ^ Journalist, Daniel Øhrstrøm. "Fra Løgstrup til Louisiana". Kristeligt Dagblad (in Danish). Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  26. ^ Sonne, Birgitte (2021-07-10). "Kunsten og Louisiana: En milliontilførsel til museer er et billigt skridt imod et Danmark i balance". www.nordjyske.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  27. ^ a b "Past Exhibitions". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  28. ^ "Louisiana Live". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  29. ^ "Publikum buhede og klappede ad Suzanne Brøgger ved litterært stjernetræf". Politiken - Den levende avis (in Danish). Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  30. ^ "About us". Louisiana Channel. 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  31. ^ "Louisiana Channel". YouTube. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  32. ^ Dalgaard, Laila; Bendix, Thomas. "Et ansvarligt museum". Louisiana Magasin (59): 68.
  33. ^ "Et bæredygtigt Louisiana". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (in Danish). Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  34. ^ april 2022, Af Kristina Raderschad-27 (2022-04-27). "Peter og Mette var usædvanligt heldige, da de fik fingre i denne perle, der går under navnet "Ønskehuset"". BO BEDRE (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-03-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  35. ^ a b "Architecture & History". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  36. ^ "Map (sculpture park) | Louisiana Guide". Louisiana Guide. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  37. ^ "Arkitekturen" (in Danish). AOK. Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  38. ^ "Concerts & Louisiana Music". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  39. ^ Tøjner, Poul Erik (2012). Louisiana abc (in Danish). Gyldendal. ISBN 9788702132090.
  40. ^ "Fokuspunkter i samlingen". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (in Danish). Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  41. ^ "New acquisitions". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  42. ^ "Louisiana". AOK. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  43. ^ "Louisiana | Museum of Modern Art | fokus på nyere tids billedkunst". KunstDK (in Danish). Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  44. ^ "Knud W. Jensen". Gyldendal Den Store Danske (in Danish). Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  45. ^ "Partnere & sponsorer". Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (in Danish). Retrieved 2025-01-21.
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55°58′10″N 12°32′35″E / 55.96944°N 12.54306°E / 55.96944; 12.54306

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