Copenhagen · Ishøj
ARKEN Museum of Modern Art
A deconstructivist ship run aground on a beach twenty minutes south of the city
The Art Axis, a 150-metre curved spine that the whole building hangs off
Designed by a 25-year-old architecture student who won the competition in 1988, ARKEN sits on a beach south of Copenhagen looking like a wrecked vessel, all steel, white concrete and angles that do not meet where you expect them to. It opened in 1996 and the building is at least half the reason to go.
The collection concentrates on contemporary art from 1990 onwards with strong Nordic holdings, and the temporary exhibitions are consistently more adventurous than the city-centre institutions.
The detail
Good to know
- Opened
- 1996
- Architect
- Søren Robert Lund, competition won as a student
- Focus
- Contemporary art since 1990
- Getting there
- S-train to Ishøj, then bus or 20-minute walk
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