The ocean: art and science

The Earth is also known as the »blue planet«, but the characteristic feature of our planet, the sea, has not yet been extensively researched. For centuries, the unpredictable blue has frightened people, and the sea is an integral part of countless myths and stories. Artistic depictions thematize adventure and destruction, and from the 18th century onwards, for example, healing through salt water as part of a newly emerging bathing culture. People have always had a divided relationship with the ocean, which can be dangerous but also vital for survival. Depictions of fishermen captured this ambivalence. Today, the sea is above all the dustbin of humanity. The Louisiana Museum of Art in Humblebæk, Denmark, is dedicating a comprehensive exhibition to the sea, bringing together artistic and scientific viewpoints from the past centuries to the present day. OCEAN runs from October 11, 2024 to April 27, 2025.

The exhibition features numerous works of art by renowned artists from many generations and art movements that illustrate the omnipresent presence of the sea. Visitors can look forward to works by John Akomfrah, El Anatsui, Nina Beier, Caspar David Friedrich, Ellen Gallagher, Susan Hiller, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Georgia O'Keeffe, Wolfgang Tillmans and Francesca Woodman. Paintings by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg will also be on display, which were met with incomprehension during his lifetime due to their rough, »unfinished« appearance. It was not until the middle of the 20th century that the reputation of his painting slowly began to rise.