Looking for the Northern Lights or How the Fondation Beyeler (did not) find them.

Booklet for the Exhibition Northern Lights

As early as 1900, numerous artists were aware of the fascinating beauty of the north. The developing travel euphoria at the turn of the century drew many of them to remote places in the far north. The Scandinavian countries in particular had a particularly strong appeal. So people traveled from the metropolises to lonely coastal towns somewhere in the dunes and took arduous journeys to experience unadulterated nature in remote isolation.

And what’s the point of all this? They hoped to be able to find something original far away from the rampant industrialization. A genuine impression of everyday life. Something natural. In people and in nature. And they found it.

Edvard Munch, Starry Night, 1922-1924, Munchmuseet, Oslo

The people in the motif worlds created go about their everyday tasks. They bluntly show the harsh reality of life for the fishing families, testify to strong religiosity and a simple existence in isolation. The remote and often difficult to reach places were also able to impress with a seemingly unchanged and overwhelming landscape. Characteristic dune foothills extend gently undulating over picturesque scenes. Tangled forests surround the view. Curved coastlines open up views of foreign waters.

Hilma af Klint, Sunrise, 1907, Courtesy of the Hilma af Klint Foundation

These monumental natural impressions were overlooked by the unmistakable light of the north. The northern lights waft across the sky in fascinating light phenomena. The northern lights - also called the aurora borealis - and its lesser-known counterpart, the southern lights - the aurora australis - exerted a haunting fascination. But the northern lights are not the only northern lights. Rather, this term describes the atmospheric light in Scandinavia. The strange brightness on a warm summer day, the flickering of light over the uncultivated fields and the mysterious atmosphere within shady forests. And the northern lights also refer to the special light of the blue hour, the mystical time of twilight, which has been taken up as a motif by many painters.

An exhibition entitled Northern Lights promises exactly this: works that deal with the haunting and unmistakable light of the north. The Fondation Beyeler's exhibition poster advertises with the title Northern Lights and attracts the audience with the well-known names of the Norwegian Edvard Munch and the Swede Hilma af Klint, which places the visitors' expectations in Scandinavia.

However, a stroll through the nine-room exhibition reveals another aspect of the works on display. It is less the Northern Lights in all their facets that unites the works thematically. Rather, it is the depictions of landscapes, mostly forest scenes, that run like a common thread through the presentation. The northern lights in the sky want to be found and even the peculiar light of the north cannot convince in this compilation. However, I was surprisingly impressed by the placement of the work details - these are no longer on the wall, but on the floor in front of the respective work. This allows the work to receive undivided attention on the wall surface, a wonderful handling. A note from my own experience at this point: However, the black writing on the wooden floor is difficult to read for people with visual impairments. This could still be improved.

Artists in the Exhibition

Harald Sohlberg, Denmark

Edvard Munch, Norway

Hilma af Klint, Sweden

Anna Boberg, Sweden

Prinz Eugen, Sweden

Gustaf Fjæstad, Sweden

Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Finland

Helmi Biese, Finland

Emily Carr, Canada

Lawren S. Harris, Canada

J. E. H. MacDonald, Great Britain / Canada

Tom Thomson, Canada

Iwan Schischkin, Russia

Harald Sohlberg, A House on the Coast (Fisher Hut), 1906, The Art Institute of Chicago, USA

The introductory exhibition text explains: The exhibition “shows landscape paintings that were created in the boreal zone between 1880 and 1930. The boreal (“northern”) coniferous forest, also known as taiga, is the largest virgin forest on earth... Characteristic of this landscape are the clear light of the never-ending days in summer, the dark and long winter nights and the northern lights.

And another note is a prerequisite for understanding the exhibition. This compilation is by no means a new idea, but is based on a historical exhibition by Scandinavian artists in Buffalo, USA in 1913.

Knowing this, it is less surprising why Canadian works suddenly appear among the Scandinavian works of art, since Canada is also part of the boreal zone.

The curated hanging of the 74 works makes it difficult to understand these connections, as Scandinavian and Canadian works are presented in separate rooms. A direct comparison between the natural impressions captured by the 13 artists is hardly possible. And as impressive as Munch's works are, filling an entire room with them prevents the recognition of mutual artistic influences and the perception of different perspectives and points of view.

Perhaps the focus on the shared historical history of Scandinavia and Canada could have opened up a far more interesting angle. This background opens a bridge for understanding the exhibition and in this respect would have established a different expectation, which would have been satisfied by the choice of works on display.

The question remains why such a predefined term was chosen as the exhibition title for this compilation, which, in combination with the collected works, cannot show a clear connection.

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Northern Lights

Fondation Beyeler

26. January – 25. May 2025

“Northern Lights” is an exhibition by the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen / Basel and the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo/New York.
The exhibition was curated by Ulf Küster, Fondation Beyeler in collaboration with Helga Christoffersen, Buffalo AKG Art Museum.

This is an unpaid, independent contribution and represents my personal opinion.