ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art
Ship-like deconstructivist art museum on the Køge Bay shore south of Copenhagen.
ARKEN opened in March 1996 on reclaimed land beside Køge Bay, about twenty kilometres south-west of central Copenhagen. The building came from an open competition won by Søren Robert Lund while he was still an architecture student; his deconstructivist design uses white concrete, steel and glass in angled, overlapping volumes often likened to a beached ship. A long, curving spine called the Art Axis runs the length of the building and links the main galleries, with a later extension of 2008 adding further exhibition space.
The museum concentrates on art made since 1990, alongside older modern works, and shows Danish, Nordic and international artists in changing exhibitions. Holdings include pieces by Damien Hirst, Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson and Grayson Perry. Outside, a sculpture park spreads across the surrounding dune landscape and beach meadows, and the site adjoins the artificial Køge Bay Beach Park. ARKEN also runs an art laboratory for schools and families and a programme of talks, concerts and guided tours.
Highlights
- Deconstructivist building by Søren Robert Lund, opened 1996
- The Art Axis, a curving spine linking the main galleries
- Sculpture park set in dunes beside Køge Bay Beach Park
- Collection of international art made since 1990
