Moderna Museet — Attraction in Stockholm

See my review on substack too! Museum Moderne : Pink Sail exhibition ( Swedish modernism) an overlooked genius : Ingrid Hjerten Visit the Moderne museet in Stockholm currently to see the Swedish Modernist exhibition called Pink Sails. It’s a short walk from the National Museum, ( close to Kungsträdgården metro). Don’t miss the show at the National on there currently by Japanese designer Minagawa or the thought provoking Ai WeiWei sculpture free to the public near the gallery overlooking the water in front of the National Museum.. Walk over a delightful bridge to this island of Skeppsholmen. Head straight for the rooms of Swedish Modernists exhibition ( entitled Pink Sails) and in the initial side room there are the two noteworthy Ingrid Hjerten paintings. The striking large one : in her studio… shows the details of three figures (her being overlooked by her husband, talking to another man ) and the striking woman in the foreground. Is this her alter ego as the gallery blurb suggests or is it simply one of her husband’s lovers glaring menacingly out at you. This is a striking image - and perhaps sums up the artist’s difficult life in which she was overlooked in her time by her less talented ( my view) husband Isaac Grunewald. Sadly by the time she gained some fame in the 1930s she was in a mental asylum suffering from schizophrenia. Yes, this condition can strike later in life. It is sometimes preceded by some unusual beliefs and often an odd eccentric personality but many will have led reasonably normal lives before this condition strikes. So due to good early personality development and life experiences the prognosis can be better. Poor Ingrid, however, suffered a terrible fate and died from the complications of a lobotomy in 1945. Interestingly, I learnt at the Nobel Museum that the inventor of the lobotomy ( António Egas Moniz) received a prize for this treatment. The treatment is extremely rarely used now except for the most refractory psychiatric disorders (with much more refined neurosurgery used today to treat refractory conditions). The guide at the Nobel museum concluded it was a prize incorrectly bestowed (this is perhaps debatable).

photo 1 of 2 I have strayed in my thoughts and the second painting by Ingrid is also remarkable but quieter. She kept it for herself until her death, the curator blurb suggests, as it was so personal . Here she lies nude with her legs semi crossed and musing, near her bed (perhaps wondering about her unfaithful husband) .

Photo 2 of 2 There are other gems in the exhibition, not to be missed and a formidable set of Picasso sculpture in the garden near the cafe ( easily missed) unless you partake in the delicious but over priced food at the cafe ( sandwich and coffee cost more than the entrance fee to the whole gallery)....

A museum with many first-rate works on display when we visited. If you are to look at everything in detail, at least a full day would be needed. Five stars, because we saw great art and had a super day. However, I agree with some of the criticisms voiced in the reviews. There was much padding, wearisome and tedious. Labelling was poor insofar as the position of a label was often distant from the work; there were displays of works without labels but with a key- more hard and unnecessary work for the visitors. Worst of all, though, was the positioning of numerous pieces high, very high or too low on the wall. This prevents a proper enjoyment of most things, all for little or no benefit. The curation provides obstacles to the visitor’s pleasure. It may be said that many people take in an overall impression more easily by such a display, but the downside is much worse. A great highlight was downstairs, where Rauschenberg‘s goat (Monogram) was to be seen (sadly encased in a transparent box) and where one could see many more superb works by requesting boards from the archive. Memorable for me were a Klee, some Munchs, a couple of Mondrians and more great Rauschenbergs. But there is so much more of high quality, which begs the question why pad the main exhibition space so much? Never mind. Strongly recommended nonetheless. Oh, and a jolly good lunch is to be had in the restaurant. And there are lockers of a decent...

Moderna Museet is one of Europe’s leading museums for modern and contemporary art.

The museum opened in 1958, when was moved from the Nationalmuseum into a former navy drill hall on Skeppsholmen in Stockholm. The current building was completed in 1998, adjoining the old museum premises, and is designed by the Spanish architect Rafael Moneo. Moderna Museet also opened in Malmö in 2009. THE COLLECTION The Moderna Museet art collection comprises more than 130,000 works in various media. Originally dominated by three categories – Swedish and Nordic art, French-oriented modernism, and American art from the 1950s and 60s – the collection has been extended to include ground-breaking 20th and 21st century women artists and works from a globalised world. With some 100,000 items, Moderna Museet’s photography collection is incomparable. Only a fraction of the collection can be on display. But it allows you to explore and reformulate the standard art historical narrative through new insights and constant changes in the exhibition. This includes Moderna Museet Malmö, with its innovative angle on selecting and showing works from the collection since...