Groninger Museum
Encyclopedia
The Groninger Museum is a museum of modern
and contemporary art
in Groningen, Netherlands
.
The radically modernist structures forming the Groninger Museum stand in a canal
opposite a railway station consist of three main pavilions: a silver cylindrical building designed by Philippe Starck
, a yellow tower by Alessandro Mendini
, and a pale blue deconstructivist space by Coop Himmelb(l)au
. A bridge that connects the museum to the train station is part of a cycling and walking path to the central city.
The architecture's futuristic and colourful style echos the Italian designs of the Memphis Group
. Mendini, a former member of the firm who is noted for his furniture and industrial designs, was asked by museum director Frans Haks in 1990 to design the new museum. Haks wanted something extravagant and insisted on non-architects to create the conceptual studies. American artist Frank Stella
was originally approached to design one of the pavilions, however, his plan turned-out to be too expensive because he wanted his structure completely built out of Teflon. The municipality then invited Coop Himmelb(l)au to replace him for the commission.
The museum was mainly paid for by Gasunie, the Dutch national natural gas utility. The company was celebrating its 25th anniversary and wanted to give the city of Groningen a present. Haks, wanting to move out his of the old and insufficient exhibition space, suggested a new museum building. Gasunie agreed to Hak's proposal and granted 25 million guilder
s for the project.
Alderman
Ypke Gietema, a strong proponent of the new museum, was responsible for siting the museum at its present location despite acrimonious objections. During site preparation, protesters managed to halt construction in high court for one year. Citizen's objections centered on the controversial design, fearing their homes would not sell with such a peculiar and eccentric structure nearby. Despite controversy, building resumed in 1992 and it was completed in 1994. Local residents had to get used to the shapes and colours of the building, but it soon became a popular success.
The Groninger Museum is the home to various expositions of local, national, and international works of art, most of them modern and abstract. Some have provoked controversy, like the photo exhibition of Andres Serrano
, but others are more main stream, such as the exhibition of the works by Ilya Repin, the "Russian Rembrandt".
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2002
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
and contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
in Groningen, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Background
Although not as well known as other Dutch institutions of fine art, the Groninger Museum was founded in 1894. The opening of its new building in 1994 caused a sensation and it has since established a reputation of being among the finest museums in the nation.The radically modernist structures forming the Groninger Museum stand in a canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
opposite a railway station consist of three main pavilions: a silver cylindrical building designed by Philippe Starck
Philippe Starck
Philippe Patrick Starck is a French product designer and probably the best known designer in the New Design style...
, a yellow tower by Alessandro Mendini
Alessandro Mendini
Alessandro Mendini is an Italian designer and architect. He played an important part in the development of Italian design. He also worked, aside from his artistic career, for Casabella, Modo and Domus magazines....
, and a pale blue deconstructivist space by Coop Himmelb(l)au
Coop Himmelb(l)au
Coop Himmelbau is a cooperative architectural design firm primarily located in Vienna, Austria and which now also maintains offices in Los Angeles, United States and Guadalajara, Mexico...
. A bridge that connects the museum to the train station is part of a cycling and walking path to the central city.
The architecture's futuristic and colourful style echos the Italian designs of the Memphis Group
Memphis Group
The Memphis Group was an Italian design and architecture group started by Ettore Sottsass that designed Post Modern furniture, fabrics, ceramics, glass and metal objects from 1981-1987.-Origins:...
. Mendini, a former member of the firm who is noted for his furniture and industrial designs, was asked by museum director Frans Haks in 1990 to design the new museum. Haks wanted something extravagant and insisted on non-architects to create the conceptual studies. American artist Frank Stella
Frank Stella
Frank Stella is an American painter and printmaker, significant within the art movements of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction.-Biography:...
was originally approached to design one of the pavilions, however, his plan turned-out to be too expensive because he wanted his structure completely built out of Teflon. The municipality then invited Coop Himmelb(l)au to replace him for the commission.
The museum was mainly paid for by Gasunie, the Dutch national natural gas utility. The company was celebrating its 25th anniversary and wanted to give the city of Groningen a present. Haks, wanting to move out his of the old and insufficient exhibition space, suggested a new museum building. Gasunie agreed to Hak's proposal and granted 25 million guilder
Guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...
s for the project.
Alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
Ypke Gietema, a strong proponent of the new museum, was responsible for siting the museum at its present location despite acrimonious objections. During site preparation, protesters managed to halt construction in high court for one year. Citizen's objections centered on the controversial design, fearing their homes would not sell with such a peculiar and eccentric structure nearby. Despite controversy, building resumed in 1992 and it was completed in 1994. Local residents had to get used to the shapes and colours of the building, but it soon became a popular success.
The Groninger Museum is the home to various expositions of local, national, and international works of art, most of them modern and abstract. Some have provoked controversy, like the photo exhibition of Andres Serrano
Andres Serrano
Andres Serrano is an American photographer and artist who has become notorious through his photos of corpses and his use of feces and bodily fluids in his work, notably his controversial work "Piss Christ", a red-tinged photograph of a crucifix submerged in a glass container of what was purported...
, but others are more main stream, such as the exhibition of the works by Ilya Repin, the "Russian Rembrandt".
Exhibitions
- The Unknown Russia
- Me, myself and I by Chi Peng
- Silver in Groningen
- The Firebird by Othilia Verdurmen
- Highlights From The Museum Collection
2010
- Now in the former Groninger Museum - 100 years of collecting (1894-1994)
- Bernhard Willhelm & Jutta Kraus
- Brücke, German Expressionism (1905-1913)
- Folkert de Jong
2009
- Asian Ceramics
- Cuba: Art and History from 1868 to the Present
- From Herman Collenius to Jeff KoonsJeff KoonsJeffrey "Jeff" Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces....
, courtesy of the Vereniging Rembrandt - J.W. WaterhouseJohn William WaterhouseJohn William Waterhouse was an English painter known for working in the Pre-Raphaelite style. He worked several decades after the breakup of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which had seen its heydey in the mid-nineteenth century, leading him to have gained the moniker of "the modern Pre-Raphaelite"...
(1849-1917), the Modern Pre-Raphaelite
2008
- Russian Legends, Folk Tales and Fairy Tales
- The circle around Kirchner. Expressionismus aus den Bergen
- Ancient Bronzes: Masterpieces from the Shanghai Museum
- Go China! Assen - Groningen
2007
- Akseli Gallen-KallelaAkseli Gallen-KallelaAkseli Gallen-Kallela was a Finnish painter who is best known for his illustrations of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic . His work was considered very important for the Finnish national identity...
(1865-1931), the Spirit of Finland - P. Struycken, Digital Paradise
2006
- Marc QuinnMarc QuinnMarc Quinn is a British artist and part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs . He is known for Alison Lapper Pregnant , Self , and Garden .He is one of the Young British...
, Recent Sculpture
2002
- Ilya Repin