A Disclosed Treasure: Göteborgs Konstmuseum

If you are an Erasmus student in Gothenburg, Avenyn has probably been introduced to you as the mecca of clubbing. Then you have probably been there many times, lining up in front of bars/clubs and added some fun but also blurry memories to your Erasmus experience. Avenyn is indeed the right place for a gastronomic tour and weekend night outs but it is actually more than that. It is the home of Gothenburg Art Museum, the Concert Hall and the Theatre. The square full of arts and culture on the top of the avenue is however mostly unnoticed by Erasmus students. When I say 'unnoticed' I do not mean that the students do not see it. On the contrary, many probably have a picture in front of Poseidonbrunnen, the bronze sculpture that looks glorious at night with light effects. But how many really follow the exhibitions in the museum? 

Last Tuesday, I asked myself the same question and wanted to turn that rainy, dull evening into an inspiring one. The museum is open until 8 pm on Tuesdays, so if you do not have much to do, you can go there in the evening. It is also nice to see Avenyn quite empty and peaceful contrary to its one-drunk-street-fest persona on Fridays and Saturdays. I preferred to go to the museum between 6-8pm, expecting to have peace and quiet, and there it was.

The museum has six floors. Six floors of expressions, thoughts, feelings so to speak… If you enjoy details and feeling the surrounding as I do, I recommend you to go there for 3 hours and so. Currently there is an exhibition called A Hidden Treasure- Art from the Werner Villa and it is going to be presented until November 17, 2013. It is a private art collection of Gustaf Werner whom owned 128 art pieces. In the exhibition we are able to see 50 of the art works on 5th and 6th floors of the museum. I found the exhibition quite educational for myself because of the dominance of the Swedish artists. Below there is one of the art works that I enjoyed. It is Svannar by Bruno Liljefors (1887). Liljefors himself was a hunter and that explains him portraying wildlife. Two interests (and talents) combined, Liljefors managed to capture the nature and wildlife not on camera but on canvas in the most naturalistic way. I especially like the darkness in his paintings and how he could express the camouflage patterns of the animals. 

The Nordic Art 19th Century section was impressive. Time was ticking, I and my friend were trying to see all the parts before the museum closes but we could not resist taking our time in front of Gustaf Cederström's King Karl XII:s Likfärd (1884). It is a gigantic painting, 265x371 cm and full of details. Cederström belonged to the Düsseldorf school of painting which advocated romantic-poetic historical painting (later became more realistic). Landscapes, even colours and details were the core of this école and Cederström's piece reflects such components at its best. So, we grabbed chairs and got lost in the painting for a while. I said, "I would love to have this painting!" My friend giggled, "You wouldn't even be able to get it out from here." 

Then we moved towards to another current exhibition that is Ştefan Constantinescu’s internationally acclaimed short films Troleibuzul 92 (2009), Family Dinner (2012) and Six Big Fish (2013). The films are supposed to discuss around the issues of relationships, ethnics, responsibility in 2010s (description taken from the Museum's). We watched Troleibuzul 92 and Family Dinner and decided not to waste our precious time. I am going to make a bald statement by saying some 'artworks' can be overrated. The first two films of course touch upon the issues of ethics, relationships and responsibility, in a quite raw way and it made me have some doubts about the quality of expressionism. I also had a little chat with my friend about it, starting with the questions, "How come some art can be presented in such respected museums and art venues while some others can't? Is it always the quality of art that matters?" We agreed that networks matter strongly. I am sure there are very gifted and creative artists out there that we do not know because they lack the network or let's say they aren't in the right place with the right people on the right moment yet. 

The Museum is a balanced mixture of old and new, so there were many modern pieces. Below, you see my reflection on Per Mårtensson's artwork. And under the picture you can read the description of this piece. 

After seeing many good examples of Swedish painting, I found myself in a part that I could be familiar with. It was the European Art Collection 15th-17th Century and the French Collection. There was an excessive section of Gauguin. Rembrandt, Rubens, Picasso and Van Gogh gave me a safe feeling. "Hey I know these, I know these!" Let me give you a Picasso, let's feel safe all together!

The picture below shows Hip, hip, hurra! Kunstnerfest på Skagen (1888) by the Danish-Norwegian painter, an oil painting on canvas portraying a party scene. This artsy crew from Skagen (a place in Denmark, same as Ystad being the inspirational coastal town for artists) were affected by French Impressionalism and Naturalism.  First and foremost I enjoyed this piece of artwork because of the colours and the midsommar feeling it gives. And secondly, it is almost as if it was taken with a camera; the shadow of the tree on the woman's back, the impressions on the characters' faces feel so real. And finally, it portrays a happy moment perhaps even a little tipsy. The women in the picture are cheering while sitting while men are standing and cheering as a group. It makes me think that the women are the wives of the male artists. "Let's make this moment immortal, I am going to paint this and hashtag hiphiphurra" 

While we were rushing between the floors, I came accross a video screening. A woman with burka was singing the Danish national anthem and it was discussed on the Danish news. I couldn't quite catch the story, I could only watch it for some minutes. It would be nice to learn whose video it was and what was the story behind it. 

At some point we saw a ping pong table and did some match. We didn't get if it was some interactive art but enjoyed it anyways. So now, you got into my museum world, but do not hesitate to go there and create your own, it is a good weekday activity!

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