More than 500 artworks, photographs and objects by contemporary and modern artists such as Olafur Eliasson, Pentti Kaskipuro and Edvard Munch are among the pieces revealed as part of New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place
Photography by Andreas Kleiberg featuring Bielke&Yang, visual identity for Food Studio, 2012
Words by Jessica-Christin Hametner
Oslo’s National Museum of Norway has opened a new art, design, architecture and craft exhibition, curated by Martin Braathen and Inger Helene Stemshaug. Entitled New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place, it features over 500 artworks, photographs and objects, including loans by contemporary artists such as Olafur Eliasson, Pentti Kaskipuro and Edvard Munch.
The cross-disciplinary exhibition explores how New Nordic Cuisine, a movement that started in the early 2000s, has evolved into an international phenomenon in dialogue with similar developments in architecture, design, craft, photography and art. Rooted in local materials and traditions, the movement has since grown to create a distinctive aesthetic that is globally recognised and celebrated.
‘The New Nordic Cuisine did not develop in a vacuum, but the movement has perhaps presented the clearest expression of a broader longing for nature and authenticity in our time,’ says Braathen, senior curator at the National Museum. ‘The movement’s opposition to industrial agriculture and food production, along with its promotion of local and small-scale producers, has had great appeal and brought consumers closer to the sources of food production.’
Photography by Lars Petter Pettersen featuring tableware made by Odd Standard for Oslo restaurant Kontrast
‘This attitude has spread into other disciplines as both an ethos and an aesthetic,’ continues Braathen of what inspired New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place. ‘The exhibition shows the strong interest in ecology, in foraging and urban agriculture, in authenticity, in natural materials and in experiences in nature that you find across many different fields,’ adds Braathen.
Alongside the museum’s notable collection, the curators have extended the exhibition with a commissioned pavilion outside, designed by London-based practice Dyvik Kahlen and Danish landscape architects SLA. Bringing the New Nordic ethos to life through a programme of events, visitors can participate in design workshops, foraging trips and meals prepared by the region’s most prominent cooks.
When a group of chefs published a 10-point manifesto back in 2004, advocating for a contextual, localised approach to cuisine, little did they know their principles, rooted in localism and seasonality, would inspire creatives and artists two decades later. Their vision sparked a global shift by emphasising the importance of local traditions and the use of natural ingredients shaped by the region’s climate, water and soil.
Photography courtesy of Olafur Eliasson and BONO featuring Olafur Eliasson, The Fault Series (detail), 2001
Utilising natural materials like untreated wood, unbleached fabrics, paper and plant-based decorations, the ideas were rooted in culinary practices, but it was a shared mindset that prioritised material honesty, hyper-locality and eco-consciousness that extended further into their engagement with culture, place and identity.
To the curators, each piece holds special significance. From hand-crafted objects and tableware from Michelin-starred Norwegian restaurants such as Kontrast, Maaemo and RE-NAA in Norway to Fäviken in Sweden, Kadeau in Bornholm and Koks on the Faroe Islands, the exhibition highlights how nature serves as both material and muse for chefs, ceramicists and designers across the Nordics.
There are other standout objects, too; a wooden langoustine press made by chef Magnus Ek of Oaxen Krog and architectural models and photographs by Norwegian firm Jensen & Skodvin. Contemporary artworks like Olafur Eliasson’s Fault Series (2001), which captures tectonic shifts in Icelandic landscapes, sit alongside Benjamin Alexander Huseby’s delicate still-life photographs.
Photography courtesy of National Museum / Ina Wesenberg featuring installation view of New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place
To further encourage dialogue among the public, the exhibition is accompanied by a beautifully curated publication from the National Museum. Entitled A New Nordic A to Z, it is themed around the movement and features entries on topics such as ‘Bread served as a separate course,’ ‘Bro dining,’ ‘Microregionalism’ and ‘Sour sausage’, plus so much more.
As New Nordic Cuisine evolved from a culinary movement into a broader cultural philosophy in recent years, New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place demonstrates how its emphasis on locality and seasonality has inspired a new generation of artists and designers to reimagine their relationships with materials, landscapes and traditions.
Celebrating the relationship between plate and object, the National Museum’s exhibition invites visitors to consider how the ethos and aesthetics of food culture can nourish creative practice tomorrow. Whether through regionally sourced textiles or natural pigments, New Nordic. Cuisine, Aesthetics and Place shows how shared values can spark new forms of creative expression.
A further iteration of the exhibition will travel to the National Nordic Museum in Seattle, opening in November 2025
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