At the tip of Tjuvholmen, right on the waterfront, stands the Astrup Fearnley Museum of modern art. It is a privately owned museum, funded by two philanthropic foundations established by descendants of the Fearnley shipping family. The museum was originally founded in 1993 at a different location, then moved to its current home in 2012.
The building was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, famous for the Centre Pompidou in Paris. It consists of two pavilions bisected by a narrow canal, all covered by a sweeping glass and steel roof that extends out over the water. The construction cost around 90 million euros. The design lets natural light flood in from the fjord side, and the outdoor spaces between and around the buildings serve as a sculpture park that is free to enter.
The collection dates back to the 1960s and is one of Europe's most comprehensive collections of international contemporary art. Its core focus is American appropriation art from the 1980s, with major works by Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince and Damien Hirst. The museum made international headlines in 2002 when it purchased Koons's gilded porcelain sculpture of Michael Jackson with his chimpanzee Bubbles for 5.1 million dollars. Hirst's Mother and Child Divided, a bisected cow and calf preserved in formaldehyde, is another headline piece. The museum also holds works by Norwegian and Scandinavian contemporary artists.
The museum is not particularly large, and the permanent collection is supplemented by around six temporary exhibitions per year. It is primarily interesting for visitors who are genuinely into contemporary art; if modern art is not your thing, the building and the outdoor sculptures are still worth a look on a walk through Tjuvholmen.
The building was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, famous for the Centre Pompidou in Paris. It consists of two pavilions bisected by a narrow canal, all covered by a sweeping glass and steel roof that extends out over the water. The construction cost around 90 million euros. The design lets natural light flood in from the fjord side, and the outdoor spaces between and around the buildings serve as a sculpture park that is free to enter.
The collection dates back to the 1960s and is one of Europe's most comprehensive collections of international contemporary art. Its core focus is American appropriation art from the 1980s, with major works by Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince and Damien Hirst. The museum made international headlines in 2002 when it purchased Koons's gilded porcelain sculpture of Michael Jackson with his chimpanzee Bubbles for 5.1 million dollars. Hirst's Mother and Child Divided, a bisected cow and calf preserved in formaldehyde, is another headline piece. The museum also holds works by Norwegian and Scandinavian contemporary artists.
The museum is not particularly large, and the permanent collection is supplemented by around six temporary exhibitions per year. It is primarily interesting for visitors who are genuinely into contemporary art; if modern art is not your thing, the building and the outdoor sculptures are still worth a look on a walk through Tjuvholmen.