ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum
Encyclopedia
ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum is an art museum in Aarhus
. ARoS is one of the largest art museums in northern Europe, 10 storeys tall with a total of 17,000 m². The museum opened on 8 April 2004 after a construction process that started with Danish architects schmidt hammer lassen
winning the design competition in 1997.
ARoS features a shop, café and restaurant. The architectural vision of the museum was completed in 2011 with the addition of the circular skywalk "Your rainbow panorama" by Ólafur Elíasson
.
But it also includes The 9 Spaces, a so-called "gallery in progress" of installation art, where 1 or 2 rooms are done each year. The number 9 refers to Dante Alighieri
's The Divine Comedy
and the 9 circles of hell. The rooms are painted black to contrast with the bright white exterior. The roof terrace substitutes for the divine light your enter from hell. This way the whole museum is part of the travel from hell to heaven. This movement emphasised by the grand spiral staircase in the main 'museum streetscape'.
ARoS have featured some prominent changing exhibitions inspired, currated or made by the likes of Ólafur Elíasson
, Bjørn Nørgaard
, Ingvar Cronhammar, architect Frank Gehry
, Paul McCarthy
, Robert Rauschenberg
, Michael Kvium, H.C. Andersen
, Bill Viola
and Wim Wenders
. The first of these exhibitions presented a series of main works by pop artists like Andy Warhol
and Roy Lichtenstein
. As many other modern art galleries and museums ARoS also plays great tribute to architects and their works having hosted several architecture themed exhibitions.
The museum roof is decorated with the installation "Your rainbow panorama" by Ólafur Elíasson
. This circular skywalk has windows in the colors of the rainbow thereby showing the panorama of Aarhus
in different colors depending on location of the viewer. The installation was sponsored by the Realdania foundation and inaugurated on May 28 2011.
name of the city Aarhus
, while the capitalized letters of the name hint at the Latin
word for art, namely ars.
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
. ARoS is one of the largest art museums in northern Europe, 10 storeys tall with a total of 17,000 m². The museum opened on 8 April 2004 after a construction process that started with Danish architects schmidt hammer lassen
Schmidt hammer lassen
Schmidt hammer lassen architects is an international architectural practice founded in 1986 in Aarhus, Denmark. It currently has four offices in Aarhus, Copenhagen, Oslo and London....
winning the design competition in 1997.
ARoS features a shop, café and restaurant. The architectural vision of the museum was completed in 2011 with the addition of the circular skywalk "Your rainbow panorama" by Ólafur Elíasson
Ólafur Elíasson
Olafur Eliasson is a Danish-Icelandic artist known for sculptures and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer’s experience. In 1995 he established Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin, a laboratory for spatial research...
.
Exhibitions
The museum is divided into three different permanent collections: The Danish "golden age" 1770–1900, Danish modernism 1900–1960 and contemporary art.But it also includes The 9 Spaces, a so-called "gallery in progress" of installation art, where 1 or 2 rooms are done each year. The number 9 refers to Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
's The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature...
and the 9 circles of hell. The rooms are painted black to contrast with the bright white exterior. The roof terrace substitutes for the divine light your enter from hell. This way the whole museum is part of the travel from hell to heaven. This movement emphasised by the grand spiral staircase in the main 'museum streetscape'.
ARoS have featured some prominent changing exhibitions inspired, currated or made by the likes of Ólafur Elíasson
Ólafur Elíasson
Olafur Eliasson is a Danish-Icelandic artist known for sculptures and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer’s experience. In 1995 he established Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin, a laboratory for spatial research...
, Bjørn Nørgaard
Bjørn Nørgaard
Bjørn Nørgaard is a Danish artist who has been active in a variety of fields. He has significantly influenced the art scene in Denmark both through his "happenings" and his sculptures in Danish cities...
, Ingvar Cronhammar, architect Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
, Paul McCarthy
Paul McCarthy
Paul McCarthy , is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California.-Life:McCarthy was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and studied art at the University of Utah in 1969. He went on to study at the San Francisco Art Institute receiving a BFA in painting...
, Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
, Michael Kvium, H.C. Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
, Bill Viola
Bill Viola
Bill Viola is a contemporary video artist. He is considered a leading figure in the generation of artists whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in New Media...
and Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
. The first of these exhibitions presented a series of main works by pop artists like Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
and Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
. As many other modern art galleries and museums ARoS also plays great tribute to architects and their works having hosted several architecture themed exhibitions.
The museum roof is decorated with the installation "Your rainbow panorama" by Ólafur Elíasson
Ólafur Elíasson
Olafur Eliasson is a Danish-Icelandic artist known for sculptures and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer’s experience. In 1995 he established Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin, a laboratory for spatial research...
. This circular skywalk has windows in the colors of the rainbow thereby showing the panorama of Aarhus
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
in different colors depending on location of the viewer. The installation was sponsored by the Realdania foundation and inaugurated on May 28 2011.
Future
Besides finishing The 9 Spaces, and many future exhibits ARoS also plans to add a spherical structure with prisms to "Your rainbow panorama".Name
The name ARoS is the Old DanishOld Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
name of the city Aarhus
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
, while the capitalized letters of the name hint at the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word for art, namely ars.