Nordic Noir

A curator from the Nordic Noir show at the British Museum kindly gave members and guests of the society a private tour. The show explored the macabre, melancholy, and sometimes provocative themes that run through Nordic art. The exhibition (now closed) featured over 150 works by 100 artists from the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden). It opened with two important prints by Edvard Munch (1863–1944), arguably the most famous artist to emerge from the Nordic region and explored how the graphic arts continued to flourish and evolve after his death. It included the charming prints of the Norwegian colour woodcut school of the 1940s; Danish prints tackling post-war angst and the threat of the Cold War; and political art from the 1970s in the form of vibrant screenprints by the Norwegian GRAS (Grass) group. We are grateful to the British Museum for providing this fascinating insight into their Nordic Noir exhibition.