Grafikgangen, Louisiana
Louisiana's Collection
Photo: Kim Hansen
International in its perspective as well as its scale, the Louisiana Collection comprises more than 4,000 artworks that include almost every genre. It is far too comprehensive to be displayed in its entirety, so selected works are shown in rotating exhibitions.
It has never been Louisiana’s objective to represent the entire chronological line of modern art. The collection instead focuses on concentrated groups of works and artists of which visitors can gain a deeper understanding.
Although the Louisiana Collection is in constant flux and development, it, of course, contains a number of features that are almost always on view.
You won’t want to miss the Giacometti Gallery, the Asger Jorn Gallery and the Kusama installation.
The Kusama Installation
Gleaming Lights of the Souls by Yayoi Kusama is one of the most beloved pieces in the museum collection and an absolutely lyrical experience.
You enter a room where the walls and ceilings are covered with mirrors; the floor itself is a reflecting pool, and you stand in the middle of the water on a platform. Hanging from the ceiling above are a hundred lamps that change colour in a way that transports the observer with a special rhythm and pulse, almost as though you become one with the universe of the installation.
Yayoi Kusama was born in Japan in 1929. The Gleaming Lights of the Souls exhibition dates from 2008.
The Giacometti Gallery
The museum’s major collection of Alberto Giacometti’s original sculptures is a pillar of the Louisiana Collection. The beautiful two-storey Gallery, with its magnificent window overlooking the park and the water, was not originally built for the purpose, but it feels as though it was. Bo Wohlert’s architecture and Giacometti’s tall, slender figures represent a magical interplay and a true highlight of any visit to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
Alberto Giacometti (1901-66) lived and created his art in Switzerland, Italy and France, and is considered to be one of the most significant and influential artists of the twentieth century. Although he has been linked to Surrealism, Formalism and Expressionism, Giacometti was unmistakably an individual unto himself.
The Asger Jorn Gallery
Asger Jorn was a giant of Danish and European post-war art. He was in every way a boundary-breaking artist that challenged and exploded accepted categorisations of visual art. His output was extensive, but in the context of Louisiana, the primary focus is on Jorn as a painter. The distinguished collection can be enjoyed in the permanent Asger Jorn Gallery.
Asger Jorn (1914-73) is one of the most important figures in twentieth-century Danish art.
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