Museum Jorn, Silkeborg

Asger Jorn’s Vision on the Riverbank

Museum Jorn occupies a green bend of the Gudenå River on the edge of Silkeborg, a fittingly fluid setting for an institution created by the Danish painter Asger Jorn. He founded the museum to house not only his own work but also the experimental, socially engaged art he admired, and to keep it accessible rather than hidden in private collections. The building itself is low and discreet from the outside, with large windows that draw in soft Danish light and frame glimpses of water, trees and sculptures. Step inside and you immediately sense Jorn’s belief that art should be playful, challenging and alive. Colour bursts from the walls in sweeping, gestural canvases; corridors lead not just to galleries but to studios and hands‑on spaces. Even the approach through the riverside grounds feels like a transition from ordinary town life into a self‑contained creative universe.

A Monumental Modern Art Collection

The core collection is built around Jorn’s paintings, ceramics, drawings and graphic works, tracing his journey from early experiments through his role in the CoBrA movement and on to restless late pieces full of energy and satire. Alongside him you encounter fellow CoBrA artists and a roll‑call of 20th‑century innovators: surreal, rough‑textured works, expressive sculptures and graphic art that blurs the boundary between drawing and writing. What makes the museum remarkable is its breadth. The holdings run to tens of thousands of works by hundreds of artists, Danish and international, from bold abstract canvases to intimate sketches and artist books. Temporary exhibitions bring in themed shows that might focus on a single painter, a movement, or a dialogue between Jorn and global contemporaries, so even repeat visits feel different.

Spaces for Families, Play and Making

Jorn was adamant that art should not be distant or intimidating, and large parts of the museum are devoted to exactly that idea. Throughout the galleries, interactive stations invite you to try techniques such as light drawing or experimental printmaking, often closely linked to works on the walls. Downstairs, workshops host changing programmes where children and adults can paint, collage, build or play with materials under gentle guidance. Families will notice thoughtful details: buggy‑friendly circulation, cloakrooms and lockers, accessible toilets and baby‑changing facilities, and spaces where younger visitors can sit on the floor to sketch or simply absorb the colours. The informal atmosphere encourages slow wandering, questions and discovery rather than hushed reverence.

Architecture, Landscape and Everyday Life

The museum’s architecture opens repeatedly toward the surrounding landscape. Large windows look directly onto the Gudenå, where the light shifts with passing clouds and seasons, giving some rooms an almost riverside‑studio feel. Outside, small paths and sculpture placements knit the building into the park‑like Indelukket area, so a visit can easily combine gallery time with a quiet stroll under trees. Everyday comforts are woven into the experience. Café Cobra, with its glass frontage over the river, serves lunch, coffee, cakes and snacks that extend your stay without breaking the reflective mood. The shop offers art books, posters and design objects, many connected to current exhibitions or Jorn’s own imagery, making it easy to take a piece of the museum’s visual world home.

Rhythms, Seasons and Special Events

Museum Jorn follows a clear weekly rhythm, opening from morning to late afternoon most days, with one evening each week when exhibitions stay open later. Throughout the year, the calendar is punctuated by artist talks, family days and themed events that animate both the galleries and workshops. In late autumn the riverside grounds sometimes transform into a cosy Christmas market, with stalls, lights and seasonal treats wrapping around the museum’s entrance. Inside, winter exhibitions take on a different atmosphere as darkness falls early outside, while in summer the long northern light keeps the galleries bright and the riverfront inviting. Whether you come for a deep dive into Jorn’s universe or a brief, colour‑saturated pause in your travels, the museum offers an unusually complete encounter with modern art and the ideas behind it.