Norway, a Nordic Scandinavian County in Europe whose capital is Oslo, is adorned with colorful wooden houses and beautiful skies – the aurora borealis seen every year. Usually politically friendly for a county with a warrior lineage heritage, Norway is encompassed by beautiful mountains, lush forests, glaciers, and deep coastal waters. A country usually associated with cold climatic conditions with Viking Tribes and kingdoms, mythical creatures in folklore, tradition, and art – Norway has a rich history with a cinematic setting. Known as a country with open green cities and museums -where art from nature and humans have found a home.
The National Museum of Art.
The National Museum of Art and Architecture in Oslo, Norway is one of the oldest establishments. The museum has permanent pieces and temporary exhibitions mainly revolving around the theme of historic architecture and contemporary themes. The building itself is an architectural marvel derived from Christian Heinrich Grosch and Sverre Fehn – two revolutionary architects in Norwegian art history. The building itself is an integration of classicism and modernism.
The architecture collection and archive include various models, collectible drawings, and photographic documentation. It’s Norway’s largest architecture collection with over 300,000 pieces from all over the world – dating back from the 1830s up to this year. Works belonging to the finest Norwegian architects are preserved here. The museum put a lot of funding and effort into research and studies, and the curators they trained helped in exhibits around the world contributing their expertise to publications and journals as writers, editors, authors, and specialists in their fields. The National Museum of Art Norway has its own unique archived database – one of the first few established.
Munch Museum.
The Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway is a modern waterfront museum built in the 1950sTailor-made and curated for ‘art experiences’ the Munch Museum in Norway has tried to do many interactive art installations over the years. The Munch Museum in Norway has been no stranger to controversy in design and construction. The new and the old buildings were a controversial debate in Norway due to their location and archive pieces that contained Edward Munch’s collection of photographs, artwork, artifacts, letters, and personal equipment from all over the world and from across different cultures.
The design of the building was said to have made a political statement – according to a few opinions the curator approved designs that catered to an international ambiance and culture instead of the Nordic people and Norway’s locals. But people underestimated the global impact this museum would have and the need tourists had for Nordic art. Today thousands of people visit Norway to visit this museum with distinct art. But what’s mindboggling is the take and feature that Munch has managed to have with children and teenagers – programs and exhibits that involve them seem to have attracted a regular crowd from the younger generation.
Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art.
Founded in 1993, the Astrup Fearnley Museum is a museum mainly striving in a direction of modernism and contemporary art pieces and exhibits. The new building is designed by The Renzo Piano Building Workshop in Oslo, Norway. The museum has a large external open landscape as a part of the museum. This open space and the waterfront development make it like a large open viewpoint, enhanced with the use of light materials and glass in construction.
The glass roof of the museum allows natural light and water reflection inside the Museum in Norway. The canal of water passes through the museum and the water feels like a curated piece of the museum and opens up the space for public interaction. The use of timber is used for its dynamic use of flexibility, weather suitability, and strength.
The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History.
The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History or the Norse Folk museum in Norway is a museum with extensive artifacts of all classes of social groups and regions of the country. It is integrated by a large open space and 150 buildings across Norway. Part of the Norsk Folkemuseum foundation, the museum portrays day-to-day life from the 16th century to the present day. Among these buildings is a church, and house quarters from various city districts of “Old Town” Norway.
Most of the art, artifacts, objects, and sculptures this museum in Norway collects are a part of old church art and Sami culture. The archives and exhibits mostly consist of folk art and costumes. Lately, exhibits of current themes and culture are being showcased and have been attaining popularity with programs catering to children and families. The recurring theme in the museum is what it is to be Norwegian in changing times of society and Norway’s rich cultural history.
Vigeland Museum.
The Vigeland Museum dedicated to Gustav Vigeland in Oslo, Norway is situated right outside Frogner Park – the park that includes sculptures and installations by Gustav Vigeland. Gustav Vigeland was a famous sculptor in Norway and the museum used to be his residence. The building’s design started off in a Neo-Classical style – mostly prominent in the North Wing, but as it neared its completion the building took a more functionalist style. The museum is considered to be one of Norway’s most beautiful structures with light from the skylights brightening the space in soft tones and exquisite colors. The interior of Gustav’s apartment which is a part of the m was designed and decorated in great detail by him and his wife Ingerid, as part of the arts movement in Norway.
The Norway Resistance Museum.
Also called the Norwegian Home Front Museum it is built in Oslo, Norway. It was built as a symbol of Norway’s resistance to Nazis and German occupational influence on Norway. The museum mostly consists of war photographs and documents.
The Fram Museum.
The Fram Museum in Olso, Norway is dedicated solely dedicated to Norway’s polar exploration. It exhibits photographs and documentation of the ships, flora, and fauna. It has the life’s work of various explorers with their polar notes and observations.
Lofoten War Memorial Museum.
This memorial museum in northern Norway is dedicated to the soldiers in world war 2. The museum houses uniforms and smaller memorabilia from soldiers and civilians. The museum also has a rich collection of books, letters, printed pieces, and also a painting that may be painted by Hitler.
Kode Museum.
The Kode Museum in Norway is about 200 years old, ranging from cultural and natural histories with archive collections of art, metal, bone, wood, and drawings. The museum’s collection had modern and historic pieces and is one of the most well-known art galleries in Norway.
Henie Onstand Art Gallery.
This Art gallery in Norway boasts a collection of about 8000 pieces of international work. It is the proud permanent location for The Hymn of Life by the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and has various other permanent and temporary art exhibitions that attract a yearly crowd.
Gallery F15.
Built in Norway in 1966, Gallery F15 was the first of its kind. It’s the only museum that has no privately owned collection but instead caters to public equity and ownership. Local artists and curators showcase their pieces and hold exhibitions. Because of its public domain, it acts as a civic cultural art gallery.
West Norway Museum of Decorative Art.
Located in Bergen, Norway the West Norway Museum of Decorative Art is a permanent art exhibit built in the renaissance revival style. There is a unique collection of Chinese art, Norway textiles, and glass. A fire took out some parts of the façade in 1916 but the building was saved and later renovated and revived.
Mini Bottle Gallery.
From the classic and traditional art galleries and museums to the next new gen and quirky galleries – the Mini Bottle gallery, as mentioned in its namesake is a small, fun gallery of mini bottles. With over 50 installations the gallery is the heart of the city center of Oslo, Norway.
Kaviar Factory.
Located in Henningsvær, the Kaviar Factory is a contemporary art gallery that takes advantage of its off-grid presence with mountains and a lake as a backdrop. It offers experiences and exhibits controversial themes and confrontations.
The Twist.
The Twist in Norway was designed and executed by the BIG Group in 2019. It holds art and sculpture and the building in itself responds like art and sculpture amalgamated into the function of a bridge. Situated on the plane of a river with two forests on its bank, The Twist is a futuristic outlook smack in the middle of nature – a lot like the Norwegian way.
Citations:
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“Fram Museum.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Oct. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fram_Museum. Accessed 26 Dec. 2022.
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