Following a five-month construction project, the Bruce Museum is set to reopen its newly expanded main art gallery Saturday, Feb. 1, with a major international exhibition, “On the Edge of the World: Masterworks by Laurits Andersen Ring From SMK – the National Gallery of Denmark.” Initiated by the American Friends of Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK), the exhibit will run through May 24.
L.A. Ring (1854-1933), a Realist and Symbolist painter, ranks among the most significant figures in Danish art. The national gallery of Denmark holds the largest collection of Ring’s paintings and drawings. “On the Edge of the World” showcases 25 of his most important paintings, which represent the key themes, sheer variety and complexity of his work. The exhibition will be on view at two U.S. venues. The Bruce Museum is the only one on the East Coast.
Speaking about this first exhibition outside Scandinavia to be solely devoted to L.A. Ring, Mikkel Bogh, director of SMK, says: “It is part of our mission at SMK to inspire and spark creative thinking by making the art of our collection known to a wider audience, which includes audiences outside the Nordic region. L.A. Ring was a sensitive and profound interpreter of the changing conditions of human existence at the threshold of modernity, in Denmark and elsewhere. We believe his painting has an appeal to U.S. audiences and that his works, while embedded within specific geographic and historical circumstances, speak to us today in a powerful artistic language that matters as never before.”
“On the Edge of the World” will be accompanied by a series of lectures and special programs, beginning with a “Conservator’s Talk: Aspects of L.A. Ring’s Working Methods” on Sunday, Feb. 2, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Jørgen Wadum, former director of Conservation at SMK and current director of the Centre for Art Technological Studies and Conservation in Denmark, will discuss how an examination of the complex structure of materials and techniques beneath the visible “skin” of Ring’s paintings reveals fascinating details of the artist’s intent.
This talk is free to museum members and visitors with paid admission. Reservations are required. Visit this page at brucemuseum.org or call 203-869-0376.
And for more about the Bruce Museum’s renovation and expansion project, including updates about the renovation under way and a virtual tour of the building addition, visit NewBruce.org.
– edited by Georgette Gouveia
