Merz! Flux! Pop!
Henie Onstad Kunstsenter
03.06.21—29.05.22
Curator: Caroline Ugelstad
Exhibition design: Luca Lee Frei
Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen

The exhibition Merz! Flux! Pop! starts on the ground floor with a presentation of Kurt Schwitters' life in Norway between 1937 and 1940. This section includes a geometric mural, paintings by Schwitters, and biographical texts about his life and work in Norway. Another mural leading to the second floor reproduces the architectural section of Haus am Bakken, Schwitters' studio outside Oslo, which burned down in 1951.

On the second floor, the exhibition presents Schwitters in dialogue with his contemporaries and later artists. Shaped walls hanging from the ceiling and suspended from the floor opens various paths and perspectives, while creating focus clusters. Four inbuilt niches, cabinets, and libraries with coloured wallpapers present specific collections. The display uses concrete blocks and metal glass from the renovation works as plinths and shelves.

The new 430-square-meter Merz Gallery at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter was designed by Snøhetta as an integral part of the art center's original 1968 design.