A Nordic Encounter with Art: An Art Peninsula in Oslo
Apr 21, 2025If you're visiting Norway and want to experience Oslo’s best blend of contemporary art, architecture, and Nordic atmosphere, start with Tjuvholmen.
This bold, clean-lined peninsula stretches into the Oslo-fjord and has become one of the city’s most exciting cultural destinations. It’s where Scandinavian design meets urban ease—and where nature, architecture, and contemporary culture coexist in rare harmony.
Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, Norway. Architect: Renzo Piano. Photo credit: © The Art Trotter
A few decades ago, Tjuvholmen was an industrial pier. Today, it’s a modern waterfront neighbourhood with design-led hotels, stylish apartments, excellent restaurants, and a thriving art scene.
At its centre stands the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, founded by Hans Rasmus Astrup, and just beside it, the Tjuvholmen Sculpture Park, part of the Selvaag Art Collection.
Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, Norway. Architect: Renzo Piano. Photo credit: © The Art Trotter
The museum was designed by Renzo Piano, the architect behind The Shard in London, the Whitney Museum in New York, and Centre Pompidou in Paris.
For Oslo, Piano envisioned a structure that would nestle gently into the Nordic environment and reflect the rhythm of the fjord—its tides, light, and maritime traditions.
The result is a building shaped like a boat’s sail, with a curved glass roof, silver-grey timber cladding, and slender steel columns. A canal flows between its wings, crossed by footbridges that link the museum with the sea and surrounding park.
Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, Norway. Architect: Renzo Piano. Photo credit: © The Art Trotter
Inside, the museum houses a bold, international collection featuring works by Jeff Koons, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami, and many others. The spaces are open and filled with soft Nordic light—ideal for quiet, immersive encounters with contemporary art.
Inside the Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, Norway. Architect: Renzo Piano. Photo credit: © The Art Trotter. Art in the background by Leonard Rickhard. ©Artist/BONO
Renzo Piano designed not only the museum itself, but the entire surrounding area. Among other he created a small public beach directly below the museum.
In summer, it invites the locals to swim and sunbathe. In winter, it becomes a peaceful lookout point, best enjoyed from the museum café, where glass walls frame the fjord and sky. It’s the essence of hygge—calm, comfortable, and beautifully connected to the landscape.
Spalt, 2003, Franz West. Tjuvholmen Sculpture Park, Selvaag Art Collection / Beach outside of the Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, Norway © West / BONO. Photo credit: © The Art Trotter
Adjacent to the museum is the Tjuvholmen Sculpture Park, also part of Piano’s original master plan. While the artworks belong to the private Selvaag Art Collection, the design was developed as a seamless extension of the museum and surrounding architecture. Together, they form a cultural experience that feels open, generous, and unmistakably Nordic.
Untitled, 1997, Anish Kapoor and White Snow Cake, 2011, Paul McCarthy, Tjuvholmen Sculpture Park, Selvaag Art Collection, Oslo, Norway © Artists / BONO. Photo credit: © The Art Trotter
In the park you will spot monumental masterpieces by among other Anish Kapoor, Ellsworth Kelly, Franz West, Antony Gormley, Louise Bourgeois and Ugo Rondínone.
Tjuvholmen is more than a museum district—it’s a modern cultural village by the sea. Whether you're staying nearby or just visiting for the day, it offers a refreshing, thoughtful take on how art can shape and enhance a city.
Tjuvholmen, Oslo, Norway. Photo credit: © The Art Trotter
Want to know more about the artists and art works in Tjuvholmen Sculpture Park? Get a digital guided tour of the park in Norwegian here, for English - send us an e-email at [email protected]
Want to explore Nordic art and culture with a little extra, we’re here to make your experience unforgettable! From tailored itineraries combining art, architecture, gastronomy, and hidden gems, to guided tours with outstanding storytellers—we offer curated cultural experiences in Oslo and beyond. Contact us at [email protected] to start planning your visit.
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