COPENHAGEN (dpa) – A visit to Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art begins at the little suburban train station in Humlebaek, 40 kilometres up the coastal railway line north of Copenhagen.
There, as if to mock the ornate station building beside which it stands, is the minimalist “Untitled” brick sculpture by Danish artist Per Kirkeby.It is one of several such brick structures Kirkeby, one of Denmark’s highest-priced artists, has had erected in public spaces around the country.From the station it’s a 10-minute walk through leafy lanes of Humlebaek to the 150-year-old patrician house which forms the nucleus of the sprawling seaside complex.Set on a bluff overlooking the Oeresund strait, Louisiana’s glassed-in cafe and terraces offer a view of the art of Georgia O’Keeffe, a feat only a few museums in Europe have managed, opened on February 8.O’Keeffe, known as the “hermit” of New Mexico, is famous for her sensual paintings of flowers and other natural objects.Long glass corridors connect the main house with the exhibition areas in the west, north and south wings which have been added during the 40 years of Louisiana’s existence as Denmark’s leading modern art museum.On both sides visitors pass ancient trees, such as a huge nine- trunked beech, or view works by the likes of Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet, Joan Miro and Jean Arp placed around the sculpture park.The museum’s development came full circle in 1991 with the opening of the underground, white marble-floored graphics wing, built into the seaside slope and covered over again with vegetation.The complex also contains a concert hall with a busy schedule of both international and Danish performances, which also serves as a conference centre for cultural gatherings.A special multimedia children’s wing overlooking a tiny lake inhabited by ducks and swans contains a cinema, reading and computer rooms workshop and playgrounds.Louisiana founder Knud W. Jensen, who purchased the late classicist country house in 1954, originally wanted to build an exhibition pavilion on the slope facing the water.But he and the architects Joergen Bo and Vilhelm Wohlert finally opted for the concept of connected buildings, using the original house as a common entrance to the various exhibition areas.The idea of enclosed paths through the park with views of nature and the sea became the dominant theme of the overall design.Apart from the international shows, such as the just closed David Hockney exhibition, Louisiana boasts one of the world’s most eclectic collections of European and American modern art, ranging from Pop to neo-Dada to Nouveau Realisme, Minimalism, Constructivism, concrete art and the Cobra movement.
