No need to anyone remind how much I love visiting art museums and galleries. It is because a day spent in such places brings a portion of inspiration and enlightenment.
As I am currently in Copenhagen, I try to explore local venues. Fortunately, Denmark has a lot to offer. First of all, I was startled by the fact that small museums in suburbs of Copenhagen host some really exquisite exhibitions.
It was a nice surprise, previous autumn, to find an exhibition of French impressionism on the outskirts of Copenhagen.
While admiring magnificent pieces of my favourite French painter - Monet, I also discovered another unique impressionist. His brave use of bright colours and texture differed from those of Van Gogh or Monet and surprised with particular application of pastel tints. His name is Armand Guillaumin. (I know it is a shame that I have not seen or noticed his works in Paris, at L'Orangerie or at D'Orsay Museum). There was an impressive amount of his artworks, few pieces of Monet, Degas and Renoir. Ordrupgaard Museum has a nice feature of combining modern and old, and besides paintings it holds a stunning collection of contemporary sculptures outside, in a garden.Another great place where you can submerge into the world of modern art for a whole day is Louisiana museum of Modern Art.
It is situated near the sea and its territory expands on the slopes close to the water. Once you get there, you feel being transported from the real world to a magical place. Louisiana hosts exclusive exhibitions which go far beyond the typical expositions of both sculptural and fine art. In October 2014, for example, a whole riverbed had been constructed by Olafur Eliasson as a half of the museum premises. A tiny whirling stream had been flowing down the rocks and gravels and visitors wandered from one room to the next, following the water. Louisiana also attracts the Danish to spend their money in a museum shop, full of latest design and fashion gadgets. [1]Few weeks ago I discovered another place which houses Modern art - ARKEN.
I had made a short GoPro movie about the current exhibitions there. Though it is smaller than Louisiana, still it is honoured to expose world-famous British artist Damien Hirst and Ie Weiwei , an artist banned in his homeland. Animal themes are traced throughout all the rooms of the museum, from separated parts of body to golden heads of horoscope beasts. (Check the video below).If you do not have a full day for visiting any of the above mentioned places just pop into the architectural treasure in the centre of Copenhagen - Glyptotek.
Besides the fascinating hallway with 20 meter high palm trees that touch the glass dome, there is so much art to see. Here, you can find sculptures of all ages and origins, ancient world artefacts, paintings and a lot more. French impressionists occupy three floors of Glyptotek (I felt like it is Christmas again when I discovered a room full of Gaugen and Degas’ ballerinas).
I can proudly report that Denmark is an art-loving country.