Lunchvisning fredagar kl. 12.30

Guided Tour

When? Friday at 12:30 PM
Where? Ystad Art Museum
Duration: Approximately 30 minutes
Price: Included with admission

Exhibition: Borderlands
Overview: Skåne landscape painting from 1850–1950 meets contemporary works.

The exhibition Borderlands is a collaboration between Malmö Art Museum and Ystad Art Museum, showcasing an extensive collection of Skåne landscape paintings from 1850–1950. Both museums feature historical paintings in dialogue with contemporary works, making Borderlands a dual-location exhibition.

By examining landscape painting, the exhibition explores our relationship with nature and ourselves through time. The current political climate in Sweden has renewed discussions about national identity and cultural cohesion, which the exhibition addresses by analyzing the role of landscape painting in constructing notions of a culturally homogeneous and original past, and how artistic representations have been used to foster feelings of belonging.

At Ystad Art Museum, Borderlands focuses on early 20th-century landscape painters well-represented in the museum’s collection. Their works are displayed alongside contemporary pieces that explore themes of place and identity, revealing how cultural heritage influences our perception of landscapes and rural areas today.

Landscapes are not only depicted in art but also in advertising and marketing, with stereotypical images of Skåne used to attract tourists and investors. Landscape imagery is also employed in political campaigns to convey both hopes for a greener future and conservative nostalgia for the past. Today, views of nature are a significant component of Swedish national identity, particularly in the context of ongoing discussions about a Swedish cultural canon.

— “Our collections carry many stories shaped over time through the selection of artworks we make in acquisitions and presentations. Each image holds much more than its depicted subject. By presenting a selection of historical landscape paintings, placing them in a contemporary context, and initiating new dialogues across time and space, we raise new questions and perspectives that enrich our understanding of history and how it has shaped our present,” says Ýrr Jónasdóttir, Director of Ystad Art Museum.

Curators: Julia Björnberg, Anna Johansson, and Ellen Klintenberg.

Borderlands is on display at Malmö Art Museum and Ystad Art Museum from May 18 to November 3. The exhibition is part of Den platta jorden – a network for artistic exploration of Skåne.