The ARoS Aarhus Art Museum is an art museum in the Danish city of Aarhus designed by local architects Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen with a focus on contemporary art. It is one of the largest art museums in Northern Europe. Its roof installation makes it a striking eye-catcher for the city.
The name is derived from Aros, the old name of the city, which is capitalized to create an association with the old Latin word Ars, art.
ARoS is the first Danish art museum to be opened outside Copenhagen. Since its foundation in 1859, it has moved several times within the city.
The cube-shaped building with a floor area of 52 by 52 meters and a height of 43 meters has a total area of 17,700 square meters spread over nine floors. These can be reached via a spiral stair tower or the glazed elevator. In addition to exhibition space, the building also houses an auditorium, a library, a café and a restaurant. The Your rainbow panorama by Olafur Eliasson is located on the roof terrace and can be seen from afar.
ARoS Aarhus Art Museum, stair tower © ARoS Aarhus Art Museum
The museum's collections include 1100 paintings, 400 sculptures and installations, 200 videos and over 7000 drawings, photographs and prints. The permanent exhibition includes the themes of the Golden Age and Modernism by Danish artists from 1770 to 1930 and international contemporary art from 1980 onwards. Among the exhibits are characteristic works by Vilhelm Hammershøi, as well as works by Svend Wiig Hansen, Carsten Höller, Robert Jacobsen, Per Kirkeby, Arthur Køpcke, Peder Severin Krøyer and Bill Viola. The five-meter-high colossal sculpture Boy by Ron Mueck is also well known.
The sculpture Boy by Ron Mueck has become one of the landmarks of the ARoS Aarhus Art Museum
A junior museum integrated as an experimental zone is intended to bring art closer to children in particular and - literally - make it tangible.
