Astrup Fearnley Museum

The beautiful building in front of you, with a glass roof shaped like a sail, is Oslo’s contemporary art museum, the Astrup Fearnley Museum. This private art gallery was created in 1993 by two foundations of the Fearnley family’s descendants, prominent Norwegian shipping magnates from the 18th century. The museum moved into these two new buildings in 2012, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, one of the minds behind the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The Astrup Fearnley Museum houses one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary art in Northern Europe, along with a rotating program of temporary exhibitions. It caused quite a stir in the art world back in 2002 when it purchased Jeff Koons’ monumental golden porcelain sculpture, depicting Michael Jackson and his beloved chimpanzee Bubbles, for 5.1 million dollars. That’s just one of the many international pieces you can explore if you step into this wonderfully odd yet fascinating museum.