Lunchvisning fredagar kl. 12.30

Tour on Friday at 12:30 of the exhibition Borderlands at Ystad Art Museum.
The tour is included in the entrance fee and lasts approximately 30 minutes.

Skåne landscape painting from 1850–1950 meets contemporary works as the art museums in Malmö and Ystad open a joint exhibition.

The exhibition Borderlands draws from Malmö Art Museum's and Ystad Art Museum's extensive collections of Skåne landscape paintings from 1850–1950. At both museums, older paintings are shown in dialogue with contemporary works. Thus, Borderlands is an exhibition displayed in two locations.

Using landscape painting as a lens, the exhibition explores our relationship with nature and ourselves through time. Today, issues of national identity and belonging in relation to art and culture have resurfaced in Swedish politics. Borderlands examines the role of landscape painting in relation to ideas of a culturally homogeneous and original place in the past and how artistic representations have been used to create feelings of belonging.

At Ystad Art Museum, Borderlands focuses on the first half of the 20th century and five landscape painters who are well represented in the collections. Their paintings are paired with contemporary works that explore questions of place and identity. This interaction reveals how cultural heritage influences our perception of the landscape and countryside today.

Images of the landscape appear not only in art but also in contexts such as advertising and marketing. Stereotypical images of Skåne are used to attract both tourists and investors. Landscape images are also used in political campaigns to convey hopes for a greener future or conservative notions of a better past. Today, the view of nature is one of the strongest elements in Swedish national consciousness. Issues of national belonging in relation to art and culture are highly relevant, especially with the ongoing work to develop a Swedish cultural canon.