Astrup Fearnley Museum

The Astrup Fearnley Museum was founded in 1993 as a private institution and moved in 2012 to a purpose-built home on Tjuvholmen, designed by Renzo Piano: three low pavilions split by a canal and united under a curved glass roof suspended on steel and timber, meant to read as a sail from the fjord. The collection is contemporary and international, strong on American art from the 1980s onward, with works by Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Cindy Sherman, Matthew Barney and Anselm Kiefer alongside Norwegian artists, shown in rotating displays with temporary exhibitions. Outside, a small sculpture park runs to the water's edge with works by Louise Bourgeois and others, and a city beach sits beyond it.

Highlights

• The Piano building - three pavilions under a curved suspended glass roof.
• The contemporary collection - international art from the 1980s onward.
• The sculpture park - works along the waterfront outside the museum.
• The Tjuvholmen setting - canals, galleries and a small beach around it.

When to go

Year-round; the museum is indoors and works in any weather, and the waterfront outside is best from May to September. It closes on Mondays and holds late openings on some evenings.

Practical notes

The collection is provocative by design and some works are explicitly sexual or confrontational, which surprises visitors expecting a general art museum. Tickets are expensive. The permanent collection rotates, so specific works may not be on show.

Nearby

Aker Brygge and the harbour promenade are alongside; the National Museum is a short walk east.