Upcoming special exhibitions

Jens Erik Carl Rasmussen (1841–1893) was the first academically trained Danish artist to travel to Greenland – Kalaallit Nunaat – to paint its landscapes and people. He first travelled to Greenland in 1870 and continued to paint Greenlandic subjects until his death in 1893, while returning from his second expedition to Greenland. The painting In Wintertime in Greenland (1875) was acquired in its day by Johannes Hage, founder of The Nivaagaard Collection. We look forward to raising awareness of this overlooked artist through the museum’s permanent collection. By exploring Rasmussen’s works from different perspectives and bringing multiple voices into the conversation, the exhibition seeks to create space for dialogue about how visual representations shape our understanding of places, people and history.

Circleen originally emerged from the doodles of illustrator Hanne Hastrup in 1957. The years have been kind to the smiling elf in the red dress with black dots, because in 2027, Circleen celebrates her 70th birthday! The Nivaagaard Collection is celebrating the occasion with Circleen’s Birthday, an exhibition for children and adults alike, running from 10 April to 22 August throughout the summer. The exhibition invites visitors into Circleen’s world of poetry, nature, and adventure, with a generous selection of Hanne Hastrup’s original drawings, a creative summer workshop integrated within the exhibition, activities in the park, and a cozy reading corner.

In the museum’s major autumn exhibition, we explore a classic genre in art history: still life. A genre that encompasses both powerful emotions and quiet moments, extravagant lifestyles and decadence. The exhibition spans 400 years of art, from the symbol-rich still-life compositions of the 17th century to experimental interpretations by contemporary artists. In the still-life genre, artists paint a wide variety of subjects: fruit, dining scenes, jewellery, flowers, insects – as well as skulls, recently extinguished candles and glistening fish on the verge of decay. The genre explores our relationship with the objects around us and the meaning they hold for us, while also reminding us of the fleeting nature of life and beauty. This exhibition has been created in collaboration with Art Museum Brandts in Odense, where it opened in autumn 2026.