Exhibitions in Copenhagen
December 2026
Nothing big opens in December, so this is a month for catching up. The Glyptotek's Gauguin & Kihara closes on the 6th and Fire & Ice leaves Copenhagen Contemporary on the 30th. Out of town, Louisiana has Remedios Varo and Ordrupgaard a room of Pekka Halonen's snow, the kind Copenhagen rarely delivers. Seven picks.
Closing in December
Gauguin & Kihara – First Impressions6 DecNy Carlsberg Glyptotek
The Glyptotek's world-class Gauguin collection in dialogue with Yuki Kihara's video, where Samoan and Tahitian voices respond to his paintings.
The Cabinetmakers' Autumn Exhibition: Light & Form13 DecOrdrupgaard
88 designers, architects and manufacturers push the boundaries of furniture design, this year exploring how light meets material and form.
Camille Henrot, Paper Planes31 DecCopenhagen Contemporary
Camille Henrot's largest Scandinavian solo show spans film, sculpture, painting and installation, led by the Scandinavian premiere of her film In the Veins.
Fire & Ice: On Belonging and Becoming in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)31 DecCopenhagen Contemporary
Eight contemporary artists connected to Greenland, including Jessie Kleemann and Inuk Silis Høegh, explore identity, heritage and belonging in new commissions and established works.
Also on through December
Come Hell Or High Water – SUPERFLEXto 3 Jan 2027ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art
SUPERFLEX stage ARKEN as a sunken ark in blue light, with 30 years of work in crates and a working factory building an artificial reef for rising seas.
Sending all my love — Vintage Postcards from the Middle Eastto 3 Jan 2027The David CollectionFree
160 original postcards from North Africa, Egypt, Turkey and the Levant (1900-1940), the social media of their day, and the dreams of the 'Orient' they spread.
Pekka Halonen: The Call of Finlandto 10 Jan 2027Ordrupgaard
Major retrospective of Finland's "Snow Painter" Pekka Halonen (1865-1933): hushed winter landscapes and Nordic symbolism from the Tuusula artists' colony.
Remedios Varoto 10 Jan 2027Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Europe's first major museum show of the Spanish-Mexican surrealist: fantastical interiors and dreamlike landscapes peopled by musicians, scientists and travellers.
What the BLOXto 10 Jan 2027Danish Architecture Center
How Bryghuspladsen became BLOX: OMA's strategies, a large sectional model and the compromises behind the harbourside building that still divides Copenhagen.
Couples Therapy – Society on the couchto 24 Jan 2027SMK – National Gallery of Denmark
Four Danish artist duos (Bank & Rau, Hesselholdt & Mejlvang, J&K and Randi & Katrine) put society on the couch in sculpture, installation, video and performance.
The Funen Painters. Art Above All!to 24 Jan 2027The Hirschsprung Collection
Three artist couples from the Funen colony, including Fritz and Anna Syberg and Alhed and Johannes Larsen, and the struggle to share both a life and an artistic practice.
The Modern Breakthrough: Masterpieces from the Museum's Collectionto 24 Jan 2027The Hirschsprung Collection
A rehang of 116 Danish masterpieces of the Modern Breakthrough, pairing stored works with icons by Hammershøi, Krøyer, the Anchers, L.A. Ring and Bertha Wegmann.
Henrik Vibskov: The Exhibitionto 21 Feb 2027Designmuseum Danmark
Immersive major show on designer Henrik Vibskov's playful process: installation models, 44 cases of studio objects and prototypes, and walk-through installations.
CCreate: Kengo Kuma/KKAA, Earth | Treeto 21 Feb 2027Copenhagen Contemporary
Architect Kengo Kuma's sensory installation built around komorebi, sunlight filtering through leaves, with hands-on making for visitors of all ages.
Som Supaparinya: Reroute:to 21 Feb 2027Kunsthal Charlottenborg
Thai artist Som Supaparinya's first Scandinavian solo show: two video installations tracing how roads, dams and wartime alliances shaped Thailand's collective memory.
Jochen Lempert: Flora Incognitato 21 Feb 2027Kunsthal Charlottenborg
First Danish solo show for German biologist-turned-photographer Jochen Lempert: unframed black-and-white photographs of wings, insects, light and wind on water.
Amalie Smith: Levendeto 21 Feb 2027Kunsthal Charlottenborg
Danish artist-author Amalie Smith's largest solo show yet: hybrid sculptures in display cases and an immersive sound work exploring how life emerges and leaves its traces.
What's the Big Rush?to 28 Feb 2027Museum of Copenhagen
67 photographs by Christopher Egeberg "Flip" following graffiti artist SPYO's paint-roller slogans across a Copenhagen reshaped by a building boom.
Cities for Peopleto 29 Mar 2027Danish Architecture Center
The city at human scale, drawing on Jan Gehl's ideas: how streets, squares and bike lanes in Copenhagen, New York, Buenos Aires and Shanghai shape health and community.
ANIMOID – Ann Lislegaardto 29 Mar 2027ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art
First major Danish survey of Ann Lislegaard, pioneer of feminist futurism: 30+ years of sci-fi animations, sculpture and immersive sound and light works.
The Power of Fashion in the Roman Empireto 29 Mar 2027Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
The Glyptotek's largest-ever antiquity show: how Romans used clothing, jewellery and perfume to signal identity, status and power, read through marble and bronze.
All Things Begin with a Songto 29 Mar 2027The Workers Museum (Arbejdermuseet)
Marks 100 years of the red Workers' Songbook, showing how singing mobilised Danish workers, from union meetings and parades to factory floors and song clubs.
Tracey Emin: A Second Lifeto 18 Apr 2027Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Confessional, raw and tender: Tracey Emin uses the female body to explore passion, trauma, pain and healing. Organised by Tate Modern, London.
The Art of Desire – an Ottoman Sex Manual and its Context (Begærets Kunst)to 2 May 2027The David CollectionFree
A rare Ottoman manuscript with explicit illustrations of desire, power and sexuality, set against older traditions from Iran, Central Asia and India, and contemporary Japan and Europe.
LABORATORIUM: Kim Buckto 9 May 2027Designmuseum Danmark
Goldsmith Kim Buck's decades of questioning what jewellery can be, shown through key works and new pieces made for the exhibition.
Opening in February 2027
Image credits
29
- Gauguin & Kihara – First ImpressionsCourtesy of Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
- The Cabinetmakers' Autumn Exhibition: Light & FormThomas Ibsen
- Camille Henrot, Paper PlanesPhoto: David Stjernholm / Copenhagen Contemporary
- Fire & Ice: On Belonging and Becoming in Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)Photo: David Stjernholm / Copenhagen Contemporary
- Come Hell Or High Water – SUPERFLEXPhoto: Anders Sune Berg / ARKEN
- Sending all my love — Vintage Postcards from the Middle EastCourtesy of The David Collection
- Pekka Halonen: The Call of FinlandCourtesy of Ordrupgaard
- Remedios VaroQuinn Comendant / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
- What the BLOXPhoto : Claus Troelsgaard
- Couples Therapy – Society on the couchCourtesy of SMK – National Gallery of Denmark
- The Funen Painters. Art Above All!Fritz Syberg / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- The Modern Breakthrough: Masterpieces from the Museum's CollectionVilhelm Hammershøi / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- Henrik Vibskov: The ExhibitionPhoto: Josefina Eikenaar / Designmuseum Danmark
- CCreate: Kengo Kuma/KKAA, Earth | TreePhoto: Jacopo La Forgia
- Som Supaparinya: Reroute:© Som Supaparinya
- Jochen Lempert: Flora IncognitaCourtesy of Kunsthal Charlottenborg
- Amalie Smith: LevendePhoto: David Stjernholm
- What's the Big Rush?Christopher Egeberg Flip / Museum of Copenhagen
- Cities for PeopleCourtesy of Danish Architecture Center
- ANIMOID – Ann LislegaardPhoto: Anders Sune Berg / ARKEN
- The Power of Fashion in the Roman EmpireCourtesy of Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
- All Things Begin with a SongCourtesy of The Workers Museum (Arbejdermuseet)
- Tracey Emin: A Second LifePiers Allardyce / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
- The Art of Desire – an Ottoman Sex Manual and its Context (Begærets Kunst)Courtesy of The David Collection
- LABORATORIUM: Kim BuckDesignmuseum Danmark
- Vilhelm Hammershøi: With the Future as HorizonFinnish National Gallery / Hannu Pakarinen
- Martin KippenbergerStephan Kambor-Wiesenberg / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
- Sylvie FleuryCourtesy the artist / Kunstmuseum Winterthur. Photo: Annik Wetter
- Lene Adler PetersenCourtesy of SMK – National Gallery of Denmark
Stay in the loop on Copenhagen
A short note now and then when something new opens worth your time.