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Ole W. Høst – Remembering Ole

April 1st – October 21st 2023

In 2023, you will be able to experience a reinterpretation of the special exhibition “Ole W. Høst – On his way” (you can read more about the previous exhibition below). The exhibition, which was displayed last year, will be reinterpreted and presented again this year by the British art director and cultural mediator, Mandy Stacey.

“Remembering Ole” presents the story of Ole as an artist and the lost son. Stacey engages with the works of Ole W. Høst in order to create, based on his self-portrait, a color palette of photographic sections taken around Bornholm throughout the four seasons. At the same time, Stacey touches on the profound impact of the loss of the son, from the perspective of Ole W. Høst’s family.

Ole W. Høst – On his way (special exhibition in 2022)

The exhibition shows a selection by Oluf Høsts son, the artist Ole W. Høst’s (1915-1943) works.

They are exhibited in his former studio, which still stands in the garden of the Oluf Høst Museum.

As both a person and a painter Ole W. Høst was influenced by his upbringing. From childhood, it was already clear that he would follow the footsteps of his famous father Oluf Høst (1884-1966) and continue the proud Bornholm tradition of painting.

For Ole W. Høst this artistic heritage was heavy. He struggled to free himself from home and to find his own starting point both personally and artistically.

The exhibition will give visitors the opportunity to experience works by an artist who is closely connected to the site and its history, but who has not previously been exhibited at the museum.

As a person, Ole W. Høst is first and foremost known as the artist’s son who volunteered under the Nazi banners. He died on the Eastern Front in 1943, fighting as part of the notorious Waffen SS.

As a painter, Ole W. Høst is a relatively unknown artist.

He was active at a time when artistic conventions were disintegrating and avant-garde currents began. His oeuvre includes surrealist compositions, works with German-inspired expressionism, but also traditional motifs and approaches.

Ole W. Høst’s works point in many directions and show an artist who tried to navigate between the many currents of the time and find his own artistic standpoint.

Special exhibition in the villa

April 1st — October 21st, 2023

“HØST IN BERLIN — towards an international breakthrough?” attempts to recreate the iconic exhibition “Neuere Dänische Malerei”, which appeared at the Nationalgalerie in Berlin, 1932. This exhibition saw Danish arts represented internationally by Oluf Høst (1884-1966) and his contemporaries, such as Vilhelm Lundstrøm (1893-1950), Harald Giersing (1881-1927), Kræsten Iversen (1886-1955) and Jens Søndergaard (1895-1957).

In 2023, several of the same paintings exhibited in Berlin in 1932 will be reunited at the Oluf Høst Museum. This new curation will provide a contemporary look at the importance of international exposure for Høst and his colleagues.

Through the lens of art history, Høst is often considered to be “outside” any particular school or current. By juxtaposing the works of Høst with the artistic expressions of his contemporaries, we will attempt to examine and possibly challenge this notion. Is it possible to identify a common style of Danish art in the 1930s? This is a question which the exhibition and its associated publication will seek to answer.

“HØST IN BERLIN” also marks the 25th anniversary of Oluf Høst Museum. The exhibited works have been kindly lent to us by a handful of Danish museums.

The exhibition and publication have been generously supported by: the Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Foundation, the Augustinus Foundation, the Knud Højgaard Foundation, the Otto Bruun Foundation, and the William Demant Foundation.

Special exhibition in the summer studio

March 18th – October 19th, 2024

To our great pleasure we have prolonged the solo exhibition by the internationally acclaimed visual artist, Michael Kvium (1955), in the summer studio of the museum.

The exhibition is titled “The Noise of Silence”, and touches on topics such as overconsumption as well as the struggle between the individual and the collective — themes that are more prevailing now than ever before. Kvium has transformed Oluf Høst’s old summer studio into a complex installation, consisting of a great mural made on site as well as more recent sculptural works.

Michael Kvium recently went through a difficult time in his life, both personally and artistically, during which for the first time in his life, he lost his desire to paint. Fortunately, it has been restored, owing in part to a stay at Bornholm and the DR2 series “Kunstnerkolonien på Bornholm”, where Kvium delved into the artistic universe of Oluf Høst. It is therefore a great pleasure for both the Oluf Høst Museum and Michael Kvium to be able to work together in order to create this on-site installation in Oluf Høst’s old studio.

With its peculiar blend of irony, the aesthetic and the hideous, Kvium seeks to challenge the conformity of our lives, using Bornholm as a place dominated by vacation, merriment and consumption throughout the tourist season.

Photo: Michael Kvium: Socialkreds, 2019.

The exhibition has been generously supported by: the Arne V. Schlesch Foundation, the Grosserer L. F. Foght Foundation, the Overretssagfører L. Zeuthen Foundation, the Danish Arts Foundation and the Toyota Foundation.