Out of the Darkness

The exhibition OUT OF THE DARKNESS presents works from ARoS' art collection carefully selected by museum director Erlend Høyersten. In staging the works, Høyersten draws on the classical narrative structures of beginning, point of no return, conflict and ending. With Out of the darkness, the audience is led through an atmospheric narrative that is also a striking expression of the new director's approach to art exhibitions in 2014.

The works for the exhibition have been chosen based on an overall exhibition approach where Høyersten's starting point is the structure found in any narrative.

The exhibition features almost a couple of hundred works, including a number of major works such as Ingvar Cronhammar's Seventh Pillar, Bill Viola's Five Angels for the Millinnium, which is usually housed in the 9 Rooms, and the crowd-pleaser Your atmospheric colour atlas by the artist behind Your rainbow panorama Olafur Eliasson. The latter artwork was last shown at a presentation of Eliasson works in 2011 in connection with the opening of Your rainbow on the roof of ARoS. The smoke room, as Your atmospheric colour atlas is popularly known, was purchased by ARoS along with two other significant Olafur Eliasson works following the presentation.

OUT OF THE DARKNESS also invites guests into a so-called Wunderkammer, where Høyersten presents a large number of smaller artworks.

"Based on my overall idea for the exhibition, it has been super interesting to involve the other art professionals in the development of the idea. This is probably also indicative of my management style: Utilising all resources to ensure that the best idea is always considered. The best way to ensure this is to map the entire capacity of your staff," says Erlend Høyersten.

The works in the exhibition are staged in a special sequence based on Høyersten's desire to create a sequence inspired by the structure of the narrative. The visitor is led through a coherent sequence of corridors and six larger rooms, each of which is linked to a theme. Throughout the exhibition, the visitor is taken on a predetermined journey through different atmospheres. A journey that ultimately leads the visitor out of the darkness like a crescendo.