Wednesday 21 August 2024

The Nordic Watercolour Museum

A few years ago while on Tjörn visiting the sculpture park Pilane, we almost also stopped at the Nordic Watercolour Museum, but we ran out of time. So I was happy to get to visit it now.

The Nordic Watercolour Museum opened in 2000, it exhibits contemporary art, explore traditional watercolour, watercolour as a form of expression and as a concept.

We had lunch at my friend Linda’s beforehand, and she came with us to the museum. We had timed it for the bi-weekly tour, although I wasn’t aware that the tour was not of the permanent collection but the solo exhibition by Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck.

I knew nothing of this artist beforehand, so it was helpful to be guided through the exhibition. I also enjoy experiencing and studying other educators delivery..!

This solo exhibition was called Vanishing Point. It presented more than twenty black-and-white watercolour paintings, and a collection of recent sculptures, including this monumental work:

This is Dance Macabre (2021), a baroque, LIFE-SIZE, monochrome merry-go-round, which was taking up a whole room of the museum all by itself. 

Apparently Op de Beeck usually paints at night, alone in a silent studio. The images often showed night-time, and eery, alienating landscapes.

Sleeping Girl (2017), to sleep is a touchingly vulnerable state where one is present yet at the same time absent. This sculpture was made out of polyester, aluminum and coating.

We also had a look at some of the permanent works.







This museum really sits at a magnificent location. Built on pillars in the water opposite the museum are some guest studios which provide an inspiring place for work. They are used by people with scholarships, artists, lecturers and researches. 



We climbed the rocks behind the museum, to get a better view of Skärhamn and the surroundings of the museum.



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