Nigel Ip

Nordic Noir is the magnificent result of Jennifer Ramkalawon’s admirable efforts to collect works on paper from the Nordic region as part of the British Museum’s five-year project supported by AKO Foundation.

Featuring over 150 works, the free exhibition explores the diversity and scope of Nordic artists from Edvard Munch to Mamma Andersson and Olafur Eliasson; the latter created a large watercolour especially for the exhibition using glacial meltwater to highlight the effects of global warming.

There is so much to see and so many new names to discover (and quickly forget). I was personally very drawn to the Norwegian colour woodcut school, encompassing Henrik Finne and Vilhelm Tveteraas whose depictions of labourers like fishermen and lumberjacks appealed to my love of memorialising the working class.

This is a show that can surprise you at every turn. Whether it’s the haunting draughtsmanship of Sverre Malling’s Orvar-Odd (2022) or Lea Ignatius’ remarkably smooth application of gradated aquatint, this is a fine opportunity to fill in some gaps in our knowledge of the Nordic graphic arts.

Nordic noir: works on paper from Edvard Munch to Mamma Andersson (9 October 2025 – 22 March 2026) is at the British Museum, London, https://www.britishmuseum.org/