Art can reflect the world as it is—but it can also give form to inner lives, dreams, and imagination. Between Dreams and Reality brings these two perspectives together in an exhibition centred on two key movements in the history of modernism: Expressionism and Surrealism.
Both movements emerged in the first half of the twentieth century and had a profound impact in the Nordic countries as well. Expressionist artists sought to convey intense emotions and subjective experiences through vivid colours, bold brushstrokes, and simplified forms. Surrealists, by contrast, turned their gaze inward, toward the subconscious, where dreams, desire, and the unexpected became driving forces in artistic expression.
The exhibition also includes related artistic approaches—from the CoBrA group’s interest in spontaneity and so-called “primitive” expression, to works created at the intersection of art and psychological vulnerability, as well as works with a strong social and political edge.
Nordic artists were closely connected to international art scenes, particularly in Berlin and Paris, and developed their own interpretations of Expressionism and Surrealism. The exhibition features works by artists including Sigrid Hjertén, Isaac Grünewald, Rolf Nesch, Sigurd Winge, Rita Kernn-Larsen, Vilhelm Freddie, Asger Jorn, and Bendik Riis.
Between Dreams and Reality shows how artists drew on both inner and outer worlds to create new visual languages—and how these expressions continue to resonate today.
About Stories from The Tangen Collection
Between Dreams and Reality. Stories from The Tangen Collection is part of a larger collaborative project between Kunstsilo and art historian and external curator Steinar Gjessing. Since the 1990s, Gjessing has played a central role as advisor in the development of The Tangen Collection, which today comprises nearly 7,000 works of art. This will also be the first time Kunstsilo presents recent acquisitions from the art collection of business leader Stein Erik Hagen, the Canica Art Collection, for which Gjessing previously served as artistic advisor. These acquisitions—consisting of Nordic modernist art from the period 1910–1970—are now being brought together at Kunstsilo as part of The Tangen Collection. This important expansion adds significant works by key Nordic artists, contributing new dimensions and perspectives to the collection. The broad representation of artistic practices from this period strengthens the collection’s unique position as an unparalleled source of insight into modern Nordic art history.
The three exhibitions included in the collaborative project between Kunstsilo and Gjessing form parts of a larger whole. Together, they present different developmental trajectories within Nordic art throughout the twentieth century, offering a truly grand unveiling of a remarkable contribution to the history of the long-overlooked Nordic modernism.