Northern Lights: Nordic Avant-Garde at Fondation Beyeler

Fondation Beyeler in Riehen, Basel, presents 'Northern Lights', an exhibition of 70 paintings by 13 artists from Scandinavia, Finland, and Canada, created between 1880 and 1930. The show, produced in collaboration with the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, highlights how the rise of Nordic avant-garde painting was tied to nation-building after the dissolution of empires. Artists like Edvard Munch, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, and Hilma af Klint are internationally known, while others like Helmi Biese, Anna Boberg, and Gustaf Fjæstad are celebrated in their home countries. The exhibition is organized around themes of the boreal forest, snow, water, and northern light, with a room dedicated to 11 works by Munch. A notable inclusion is a large canvas by Russian Ivan Shishkin. The show also addresses the dark side of industrialization: curator Ulf Küster's catalogue includes a photographic section documenting mining and logging in the taiga, which displaced indigenous peoples. Danish artist Jakob Kudsk Steensen created a digital installation, 'Boreal Dreams', in the garden, using scientific data and gaming technology to address climate change impacts on the boreal ecosystem. The exhibition runs until May 25.