Moderna Museet is a state museum for modern and

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, opened in 1958. In 2009, the museum opened Moderna Museet Malmö in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

History

The museum opened in Stockholm on 9May 1958, and opened a branch in Malmö in 2009, in a building that had housed the Rooseum centre for

Collection

The museum houses Swedish and international modern and contemporary art, including pieces by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

, and a model of Tatlin's Tower. The museum's collection also includes key works by artists such as

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

Louise Bourgeois Louise Joséphine Bourgeois (; 25 December 191131 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a varie ...

, Niki de Saint Phalle,

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

and

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954� ...

, as well as ongoing acquisitions by contemporary artists. On 8November 1993, six works by Picasso and two by

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( ; ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with ...

, totaling more than £40 million, were stolen from the museum in a coup in which the burglars came in through the roof by night, copying a method from the 1955 French film ''

Rififi ''Rififi'' () is a 1955 French crime film adaptation of Auguste Le Breton's novel of the same name. Directed by American blacklisted filmmaker Jules Dassin, the film stars Jean Servais as the aging gangster Tony "le Stéphanois", Carl Möhn ...

''. All six of the Picasso paintings and one of the Braque paintings have been recovered.

Pontus Hultén Collection

In 2005, former museum director Pontus Hultén bequeathed over 700 works of art to Moderna Museet, along with his archive and library. A few works of the collection are on display with the museum's permanent collection; many others are exhibited in the purpose-built Pontus Hultén Study Gallery.

Sculpture park

The museum has a sculpture park on the island with works by sculptors of diverse nationalities. *''The Four Elements'',

Alexander Calder Alexander "Sandy" Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobile (sculpture), mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, hi ...

, 1961 *''Le Paradis fantastique'',

Jean Tinguely Jean Tinguely (22 May 1925 – 30 August 1991) was a Swiss sculptor best known for his kinetic art sculptural machines (known officially as Métamatics) that extended the Dada tradition into the later part of the 20th century.Chilvers, Ian; Gl ...

and Niki de Saint Phalle, 1966 *''Déjeuner sur l'herbe'',

and Carl Nesjar, 1962 *''Monumentalfigur'', Christian Berg, 1927 *''Monument över den sista cigaretten'', Erik Dietman, 1975 *'' Lenin Monument April 13th 1917'', Björn Lövin, 1977 *''Mannen på templet'', Bjørn Nørgaard, 1980 *''Svart svensk granit'', Ulrich Rückriem, 1981 *''Pavilion Sculpture II'', Dan Graham, 1984 *''Louisa'', Thomas M. Woodruff, 1987 *''Freedom and Belief (their own affair)'', Joseph Kosuth, 1998 *''No title'',

Per Kirkeby Per Kirkeby (1 September 1938 – 9 May 2018) was a Danish Painting, painter, poet, film maker and sculptor. His works have been exhibited worldwide and are represented in many important public collections, including the Tate, Metropolitan Museum ...

, 1999–2000 *''Instabil'', Lars Englund, 2005 *''Närkontakt'', Gustav Kraitz, 2008

Architecture

The museum was initially housed in Exercishuset on Skeppsholmen. From 1994 to 1998, it was temporarily moved to another location, the ''Spårvägshallarna'', in Stockholm while the new building on Skeppsholmen, designed by the Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, was built. The Pontus Hultén Study Gallery was designed by Renzo Piano. The museum shares its premises with the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design.

Activity

The museum organizes and is a venue for temporary contemporary art exhibitions throughout the year. In 2005, the museum hosted the onedotzero festival with the intention of attracting a new, younger audience to the museum with screenings, installations, talks and live VJ audio-visual events.

Directors

* 1958–1973: Pontus Hultén * 1973–1977: Philip von Schantz * 1977–1979: Karin Lindegren * 1980–1989: Olle Granath * 1989–1995: Björn Springfeldt * 1996–2001: David Elliott * 2001–2010: Lars Nittve * 2010–2018: Daniel Birnbaum * 2018–2019: Ann-Sofi Noring (acting) * Since 2019: Gitte Ørskou

References

External links

* – in Swedish and English {{authority control Art museums and galleries in Stockholm Modern art museums Modernist architecture in Sweden Rafael Moneo buildings Art museums and galleries established in 1958 1958 establishments in Sweden 1950s establishments in Stockholm