Exhibition film by Agnes Trier, 2025.
The film is included in the exhibition On Whose Shoulders – Lars von Trier curates
© isaac production. Photographer: Emil Aagaard
"The exhibition may, at heart, be conceived as something that in truth has more to do with the curator than with the – mostly – sublime works it contains. One might see the exhibition’s selection and method as a kind of unveiling of the curator’s leech-like artistic relationship to the ‘family’ he has himself largely defined and lived off.
Lars von Trier on his curatorial work with the exhibition
Edvard Munch. The Sick Child, 1907. Oil on canvas. Thiel Gallery, Stockholm
Willumsens Museum's first special exhibition in 2026 is curated by film director Lars von Trier. For the exhibition, Trier has selected works by the visual artists who have meant the most to him. Since his youth, the works have shaped the image bank he has drawn on in his cinematic work. These include Edvard Munch, Vilhelm Hammershøi, August Strindberg, Per Kirkeby, Ejnar Nielsen, Rudolph Tegner, Gustav Vigeland, Paul Gauguin, J.F Willumsen and Carl Fredrik Hill.
The exhibition will be shown at Willumsens Museum from June 6 to September 20, 2026, and at The Thiel Gallery in Stockholm10 October 2026 to 24 January 2027.
Trier celebrated with personal art exhibition
Celebrating his 70th birthday in 2026, Lars von Trier is one of the leading directors of our age. His films have had a major impact on international audiences since his breakthrough in the 1980's, and the exhibition will be a celebration shedding light on the sources of inspiration for his cinematic art.
"a collage of images which, together, represent my youthful –naive, if you like – love for primarily Nordic artists and their followers. A kind of interwoven tapestry of images which can be viewed both as a whole and in detail by following one or several threads in order to, ideally, grasp its ‘story’: that is, the curator’s, or Trier’s, story and the tapestry’s impact on it."
Lars von Trier on his curatorial work with the exhibition
About Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier (b. 1956) has spent more than 40 years radically revitalising cinematic art. With The Element of Crime (1984), Breaking the Waves (1996), The Idiots (1998), Dancer in the Dark (2000), Dogville (2003), Antichrist (2009), Melancholia (2011), Nymphomaniac (2014), The House that Jack Built (2018) and the TV series The Kingdom (1994, 1997) and The Kingdom Exodus (2022) Trier has challenged conventions and genres to unite artistic experimentation and broad appeal. Trier’s film oeuvre is dominated by pathos and existential narratives. His films rise above the present to address ethical issues that have occupied humankind throughout history: What are good and evil? Who is the victim and who is the villain? What is justice? Trier’s films provide no easy answers. They embrace the demoniacal and supernatural, and as viewers we are often witness to unbearable events. The films show the dark side of human nature and blur any clear lines of demarcation we rely on in our view of the world.
Cinematic breakthrough
Trier studied film at the Danish Film School and with his very first feature, THE ELEMENT OF CRIME (1984), he immediately attracted international attention. Since then, he has worked with some of the best actors and actresses from all over the world – including Willem Dafoe, Uma Thurman, Stellan Skarsgaard, and Kirsten Dunst – and won several distinguished awards, including the “Palme d'Or” in Cannes for DANCER IN THE DARK (2000). Trier’s oeuvre is impressive and diverse, with his latest feature being the critically acclaimed THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT (2018).
His contributions to the world of cinema does, however, extend beyond the films he made. To name a few achievements, he wrote the famous DOGMA95 manifesto, and founded the production company Zentropa which today is one of the most prolific, notorious, and acclaimed production companies in Scandinavia and Europe. In 1996, Lars von Trier, at the request of the Kunstforeningen ved Gammel Strand, created the highly unusual exhibition project Psychomobile #1: The World Clock, which crossed film, theater and visual arts in an original way.
Lars von Trier during preparations for the exhibition
Descendant.
Photo: Emil Aagaard, 2025.
Selected works from the exhibition
Despair
Edvard Munch. The Sick Child, 1892. Oil on canvas. Thiel Gallery, Stockholm.
A mountaineer
J.F. Willumsen. A Mountaineer, 1904. Oil on canvas. Hagemanns Kollegium, Copenhagen
Storm in the Skerries. "The Flying Dutchman"
August Strindberg. Storm in the Skerries. "The Flying Dutchman", 1892. Wax on cardboard. SMK, Copenhagen
Fear of Nature. After the Storm no. 2
JF Willumsen, 1916. Willumsen's Museum.
The Blossoming Fruit Tree in the Cave
Carl Fredrik Hill. The Blossoming Fruit Tree in the Cave, efter 1878. Charcoal on paper. National Museum, Stockholm.
Five Portraits
Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1901-1902, oil on canvas. Thielska Gallery.
Birch I (Autumn)
August Strindberg. The Birch Tree I (Autumn), 1902. Oil on wood panel. Private collection.
The Sick Child
Edvard Munch. The Sick Child, 1907. Oil on canvas. Thiel Gallery, Stockholm.
The Author August Strindberg
Edvard Munch, 1892, oil on canvas. Moderna Museet.
The Avenue
August Strindberg. The Avenue, 1903. Oil on canvas. Thiel Gallery, Stockholm
The Road to Zarathustra
Lars von Trier, 1975, oil on canvas. Deposited at Frederiksborg Castle, Hillerød.
The Blind
Ejnar Nielsen, 1896 and 1898, oil and gold on canvas. The Hirschsprung Collection.
Weltundergang
Per Kirkeby. Weltundergang, 2001. Oil on canvas. Louisiana, Humlebæk
Descendant. Lars von Trier and Nordic Art.The book unfolds a wide range of works by artists such as August Strindberg, Edvard Munch, J.F. Willumsen, Paul Gauguin, Per Kirkeby, Rudolph Tegner, Carl Th. Dreyer and Vilhelm Hammershøi.
The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated book.
Authors: Lars von Trier, Karl Ove Knausgård, Lilian Munk Rösing, Anne Gregersen, Annette Rosenvold Hvidt and Erik Steffensen.
Hardcover
Graphic design: Troels Faber, NR2154
Publisher: Willumsens Museum in collaboration with Strandberg Publishing [Gyldendal].
Release date: June 2026.
ISBN: 978-87-02455-09-0
Number of pages: 240.
Approximate price: 350,- kroner.
Thank you for generous support to:
15. Juni Fonden
Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond
Ny Carlsbergfondet
Augustinus Fonden
Beckett-Fonden
Knud Højgaards Fond
Konsul George Jorck og Hustru Emma Jorck’s Fond
Ernst B. Sund Foundation
Axel Muusfeldt Foundation
Hoffmann and Husman's Foundation
Press: Thea Flint Rydahl, tfryd@willumsensmuseum.dk, 21810334
