The Sculpture Park
Like the actual Museum, Kunsten’s Sculpture Park was designed by Alvar Aalto. As you will soon discover, there is a common thread uniting Aalto’s architecture and interior design and the Sculpture Park outside. The Sculpture Park features sculptures and installations by the likes of Bjørn Nørgaard, Mogens Møller, Jeppe Hein and Gunnar Aagaard Andersen.
Previously the sculpture park was more something to look at. It was usually fancy ladies who visited the Museum in the past. They would stand outside and admire the park and its works from a distance. What would they gain by walking on the grass in their high-heeled shoes!
Part of a Holistic Concept
What they could see, and what you can still see today is the architectural interaction with the surroundings. The Museum, the amphitheatre and the sculpture terrace merge with the nature around them. Building and nature are one. Alvar Aalto designed and created Kunsten on the basis of a holistic approach, which was all about allowing contrasts to encounter and supplement each other.
You can see a prime example of this when you stand in the Sculpture Park and look up at the Museum building. It is as if the building’s clean, sharp lines are emerging from the depths of the landscape like a natural extension of the park. But even when standing inside the Museum, you get the sense that the park is part of the building. The extensive, fertile, green area outside ‘rolls in’ through the large windows in the foyer.
Nature Underpins the Works
The nature that surrounds the works in the Sculpture Park is designed to make the works in the park look their very best. The huge lawn in front of the Museum is disturbed by very few trees, meaning that you get the very best experience of the work of art in front of you.
Extensive Restoration
Like the rest of the Museum, in 2014-2016 the Sculpture Park was restored and revitalised. The park needed ‘tidying up’, so the original, controlled view of the woods from the building was recreated, and the park was given a new, simpler life. The surrounding white wall was repaired and a number of sculptures were put into storage or replaced.
Access to the Park
The Sculpture Park is open to the public throughout the year and 24 hours a day. During the Museum’s opening hours there is access to the park through the Museum for the price of a ticket. You enter the Sculpture Park from the lower floor next to Café Aalto. After opening hours and on Mondays, when the Museum is usually closed, there is access to the Sculpture Park via the steps down from Kong Christians Allé.