Fredriksen Collection

Narrator:  

The room you are now entering is filled with art collected by Kathrine and Cecilie Fredriksen in memory of their mother, Inger Astrup Fredriksen. It is a living collection – a collection to which new works are added all the time.  

Ingvild Krogvig:  

All around you are ground-breaking international works. The oldest works were created almost ninety years ago. The very newest were transported with great care from artists’ studios in recent years.  

Narrator: 

You’re listening to Ingvild Krogvig, a curator at the museum. Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and figurative painting charged with a burning political engagement are just some of the artistic directions you will encounter in the Fredriksen Family Collection.  

Ingvild Krogvig:  

Several of these artists struggled to get their work seen and to be recognized. Sometimes because their gender, sexual orientation or skin colour was ‘wrong’. But just as often because the radical, innovative works they created deviated from established norms.  

Narrator:  

At the National Museum, this collection gives us the opportunity for a wider historical narrative: a narrative that includes styles, viewpoints and geographies that were not previously a part of the museum’s DNA. The character of the room you are standing in will change over the years. Debates, performances and workshops will fill it with vibrant social interaction.  

The interior is based on the concept of a flexible gallery space with many possible functions. 

Ingvild Krogvig:  

Ever since the predecessor to the National Museum was founded back in 1842, this interaction with private collectors has been absolutely crucial for the museum’s development and growth. In our collaboration with Kathrine and Cecilie Fredriksen – as manifested in this room – we are continuing these traditions.