Henie Onstad Art Center
Henie Onstad Kunstsenter is one of Norway’s most distinctive destinations for modern and contemporary art, beautifully set on the shores of the Oslofjord. Founded in 1968 by Sonja Henie and Niels Onstad, the centre combines an exceptional art collection with an ambitious programme of exhibitions, architecture, music and cultural experiences.
Surrounded by sculpture gardens, woodland and water, Henie Onstad offers a rare meeting of art and landscape. Its bold modernist architecture and striking waterfront setting create an atmosphere that feels both intimate and visionary.
From pioneering works of Norwegian modernism to influential international contemporary artists, the centre invites visitors to encounter art in an environment designed to inspire curiosity, reflection and discovery.
A place where art, architecture and the landscape come together — and where every visit offers a new perspective.
About Henie Onstad
The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter at Høvikodden is a leading arena for national and international art with a changing exhibition program and a collection consisting of more than 8000 works.
The museum is situated on a peninsula, 15 minutes outside of the Norwegian capital, Oslo. It opened its doors for the first time in 1968 and is beautifully located on Høvikodden, surrounded by the fjord, beaches and a large sculpture park.
The Henie Onstad has always supported new commissions in addition to production of catalogues and research. As a visitor you can experience an extensive photography program, the avant-garde and live music-program in addition to presentations of the collection and exhibitions with contemporary art.
As a permanent installation the work Hymn of Life by the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama always on display in addition to the new extension Sal Merz, presenting the work of Kurt Schwitters, his contemporaries and followers.
EXHIBITIONS
11.06.2026 — 03.01.2027
LAP-SEE LAM: OMBRES
LISE WILHELMSEN ART AWARD EXHIBITION
Exhibition
Lap-See Lam – the fourth recipient of the Lise Wilhelmsen Art Award – is presented in a major solo exhibition. Working across a range of media, Lam explores history, myth and the contemporary through atmospheric narratives. The exhibition Ombres s showcases significant works from the artist’s career alongside new sculptures.
DatePlace
11.06.2026 — 03.01.2027Prisma Galleries
«Lap-See Lam er på betrakterens side.»
— Arve Rød, Kunstavisen
The work of Swedish artist Lap-See Lam interprets traditional storytelling forms such as Cantonese opera and shadow plays to grapple with the translation – and mistranslation – of cultural heritage. Lam’s practice, ranging from film to virtual reality, sculpture, and installation, addresses a process she describes as ‘generational loss’. Her work traces a line through histories of 18th Century Chinoiserie through to the decor of Chinese restaurants in modern-day Sweden, including the one established by her grandmother on her arrival to Stockholm from Hong Kong in the 1970s. Lam’s art also reflects her family's migration history.
Lam’s work explores the cultural affinities and disconnections at stake in the transformation of the Hong Kong Chinese diaspora in Europe. Titled Ombres in reference to Ombres Chinoises, the French name for the Chinese shadow play introduced to Europe in the 18th Century, the exhibition at Henie Onstad brings two major shadow play installations into dialogue for the first time as a single immersive installation, alongside new works created specifically for the exhibition. The new works are glass blown sculptures, results of the artist’s ongoing residency at CIRVA, The International Glass and Visual Arts Research Centre in Marseille, France.
↑ Lap-See Lam, Tales of the Altersea
Installation photo, Portikus, Frankfurt am Main, 2023. Reproduced with the permission of the artist and Galerie Nordenhake. Photo: Alwin Lay
↑ Lap-See Lam, Tales of the Altersea
Installation photo, Portikus, Frankfurt am Main, 2023. Reproduced with the permission of the artist and Galerie Nordenhake. Photo: Alwin Lay
An ongoing interest in the cultural specificity of bamboo is a conceptual thread, one that appears in the exhibition as a scaffold supporting the video Floating Sea Palace as a reference to the temporary stages that were an itinerant way of presenting early Cantonese opera and also the bamboo scaffolding technique used in construction for centuries in Southern China including Hong Kong. The installation at Henie Onstad is made in collaboration with Daisy Pak, a Hong Kong-based bamboo sifu who will bring that expertise to Norway.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication with contributions by Isabella Maidment, Xiaoyu Weng and Alvin Li and an interview with Lap-See Lam.
The exhibition is curated by Isabella Maidment and Xiaoyu Weng.
An artist’s talk will take place at Henie Onstad on Saturday, 13 June at 12 pm.
Read more about Lap-See Lam and the Lise Wilhelmsen Art Award 2025, including the jury's statement.
↑ Lap-See Lam, Floating Sea Palace, 2024
Installation view, Studio Voltaire, London, 2024. Co-commissioned by Studio Voltaire, The Vega Foundation and The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. Produced in partnership with Moderna Museet. Images courtesy the artist, Studio Voltaire, Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin/Stockholm/Mexico City. DoP: Lisabi Fridell. Music: Marlena Salonen & Linus Hillborg. Textile work Kholod Hawash. Images by Andy Keate.
↑ Lap-See Lam
Photo: Simen Øvergaard / Henie Onstad Kunstsenter
27.05.2025 —
YAYOI KUSAMA
HYMN OF LIFE
Exhibition
↑ Yayoi Kusama, Hymn of Life, 2015.
Installation shot: Martine Hoff Jensen / Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.
Henie Onstad Kunstsenter presents Yayoi Kusama's infinity room Hymn of Life (2015).
DatePlace
27.05.2025 —Lille Grafikk
In art history Yayoi Kusama's (1929-2026) work are truly original contributions to post-war, and neo avant-garde art. Since her time in the center of New York's avant-garde, her art has circled around the same basic themes: fantasies of infinity, dizzying psychological space one can disappear in, and the desire to be extinguished by the world. In Kusama's art, infinity is both a cosmic space, a spiritual idea and a bottomless psychological depth.
The attraction to this great nothing is characterized by both lust and anxiety. The Hymn of Life installation was designed specifically for the exhibition tour with Yayoi Kusama, and was shown for the first time at Høvikodden at the Kusama exhibition in 2016.
27.04.2023 —
MERZ! FLUX! POP!
NEW MOUNTING
Exhibition
Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen / Henie Onstad Kunstsenter
This exhibition is dedicated to the German avant-garde artist Kurt Schwitters (1887–1948) and his colleagues and successors.
DatePlace
27.04.2023 —Gallery Merz
Adults190,-
Students90,-
School classes/below 18Free
MembersFree + 1
Kurt Schwitters was one of the most distinctive and versatile artists in the first half of the 1900th century. The artistic tactics and strategies he developed have had a significant influence on later generations. The exhibition showcases Schwitters in conjunction with his contemporaries and artists he later inspired in the avant-garde tradition.
The French term "avant-garde" means vanguard. The term is used for experimental artists or movements that oppose or change tradition, and for artists working across art forms with innovative strategies such as manifestos, artist books, and "mail-art." Historically, the avant-garde denotes important movements such as Dada, Futurism, and Surrealism, which emerged at the end of the 1800th century and culminated in the 1920s and 1930s, followed by the radical innovation in art, literature, and fashion in the late 1950s and 1960s, known as the neo-avant-garde. For the avant-garde, social and political radicalism is closely linked to artistic innovation. More than being stylistic movements or "schools," the avant-garde is about different attitudes toward life.
Since 2009, Sparebankstiftelsen DnB has developed a collection of Schwitters and his artistic colleagues in close collaboration with Henie Onstad. The collection is still evolving. Since the museum's creation in 1968, Henie Onstad has been a place for the avant-garde and for interdisciplinary artistic projects. The institution holds a unique position in this field in Norway. The exhibition presents Sparebankstiftelsen DnB's collection alongside material from Henie Onstad's own collections and archives.
The exhibition is permanently displayed in Henie Onstad's Gallery Merz, which is a brand new exhibition hall at the museum. The hall covers 430 square meters and is created as an integrated part of the original building from 1968. The space which previously was used as storage, have been transformed into public areas for art and span two floors. The exhibition space is designed by Snøhetta, and the exhibition design is developed by the artist Luca Frei in collaboration with Henie Onstad.
Merz! Flux! Pop!
19.11.2021 —
SONJA HENIE
OBJECTS, PRIZES AND HISTORY
Exhibition
Photo: Øystein Thorvaldsen / Henie Onstad Kunstsenter
What is left after Sonja Henie today, how do we relate to her and what significance has she had? Sonja Henie (1912-1969) is presented in a newly renovated room at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter.
DatePlace
19.11.2021 —Sonja Henie Room
With various careers as an athlete, businesswoman, actress, art collector and patron, Sonja Henie laid the foundation for Henie Onstad Art Center at Høvikodden in Norway. In a newly renovated room, her prizes and objects from a spectacular life are presented.
I want light!
— Sonja Henie
While she was alive, Sonja Henie's name was a best-selling international brand, she made ice skating popular in the USA and was one of Norway's first and largest female art collectors. Her story is told through the photo book Images Performed - Sonja Henie 1912–1969, which is published by Press forlag.
Thanks to NRK, Nasjonalbibliotekets videoarkiv and Disney for video material.
How to get there
Bus
Bus 160 direct to Høvikodden. A few minutes walk from the bus stop to the art centre.
Time table at ruter.no. Departures up to every 15 minutes from Oslo and Sandvika.
Note: Route change for bus 160. Between 8:00 PM on September 11 and 11:00 AM on September 13, the bus will not stop on the stretch between Strand and Sandvika. We recommend taking the train to Blommenholm or cycling.Train
Take train L1 in the direction of Asker or Spikkestad to Blommenholm station. A few minutes walk from the train stop to the art centre.
Check ruter.no for time table.Bike
The cycle path from Aker Brygge to Høvikodden lies idyllically along the fjord and is 12 km. Feel free to stop along the way for a coffee or ice cream!
Car
Høvikodden is about 15 minutes by car from the center of Oslo. The exit to Henie Onstad Kunstsenter from the E18 is well signposted.
Samkjøring fra Ruter
This summer, you can carpool to Henie Onstad. If you're driving here, you can post your journey in the TRIPS app, bring along someone heading the same way, and get paid for it. Your passenger pays a small fee and avoids changing buses several times along the way.
If you carpool with a confirmed passenger, both driver and passenger also receive 30% off admission (whether purchased online or at the museum) and 10% off at the café upon showing a TRIPS carpool journey to or from Henie Onstad on the day of your visit.
If you post a journey in TRIPS, you'll receive 10% off at the café and 10% off membership when you show a journey to or from Henie Onstad on the day of your visit, valid until 23 July.
Here's how to get started: download TRIPS (free on the App Store and Google Play), log in with Vipps, and post your journey. You decide yourself who gets to join.Read more about carpooling at ruter.no/samkjoring.
Opening hours
Tuesday — Wednesday11:00 — 17:00
Thursday11:00 — 20:00
Friday — Sunday11:00 — 17:00
MondayClosed
Exceptions and Public Holidays