Beyond the Fair: An Essential Guide to Stockholm’s Must-See Exhibitions During Market Art Fair
For nearly two decades, Market Art Fair has been instrumental in establishing Stockholm as a thriving contemporary art hub – one where a dynamic commercial gallery scene flourishes alongside world-class museums and public institutions.
Fueled by Sweden’s visionary 1% rule (which, since 1937, mandates art investments in public spaces), creativity permeates every corner of the city, from metro stations (home to the world’s longest art exhibition) to power plants and parks. This spring, as collectors and art lovers descend on Liljevalchs for the fair, the city’s galleries and institutions are blooming with exceptional exhibitions as part of Stockholm Art Week.
Iria Leino, Colour Field & Buddhist Rain Series
Larsen Warner, 13 May–14 June
A rediscovery decades in the making, Finnish artist Iria Leino’s luminous abstractions – last shown in Sweden in 1977 – finally receive their due in this dual presentation (at both the fair and the gallery). Her Buddhist Rain and Colour Field series, created in solitude in her New York apartment, reveal a visionary talent whose work bridges spiritualism and modernist rigour.
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Leo Park, Edge. Courtesy of Gallery Steinsland Berliner
Leo Park, Edge
Gallery Steinsland Berliner, 11 April–18 May
Stockholm’s rising star Leo Park merges art history with pop culture in vibrant, chimerical paintings that warp the human form. Fresh from creating Viagra Boys’ viral album art, Park presents new works that contort Renaissance-inspired figures through a contemporary, subversive lens – proving why he’s Scandinavia’s most talked-about emerging painter.
BMW Art Cars: Calder, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Koons
Wetterling Gallery, 16–25 May
A must for design and art enthusiasts, this exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of BMW’s Art Car programme with four legendary vehicles transformed by Alexander Calder, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Jeff Koons.
Sabine Mirlesse, The Instruments
Andréhn-Schiptjenko, 3 May–28 June
Franco-American artist Sabine Mirlesse makes her Nordic debut with The Instruments, a meditation on time and measurement. The centerpiece is Ode to Measurement, an outdoor sculpture floating in Skeppsholmen’s waters, inspired by the mareographs used to track rising sea levels – a poetic nod to climate urgency.
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Mike Kelley, Ahh...Youth!, 1991 Photo: With Permission from Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts. © Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts
Lap See Lam & Mike Kelley
Moderna Museet, 10 May–12 October
Venice Biennale curator Lap See Lam headlines Sweden’s premier modern art museum alongside a retrospective of Mike Kelley’s provocative installations – a study in contrasts between Nordic cool and American grit.
Bonnard & The Nordics
Nationalmuseum, Until 18 May
Sun-drenched interiors meet Nordic modernism in this radiant exhibition that shows the French master of luminous colour alongside the Nordic artists he inspired. From lilac summers to azure seas, Bonnard’s canvases capture intimate idylls amid 20th-century turmoil. Discover over 100 works, including loans from Musée d’Orsay and the Met, plus rare pieces by Bonnard’s partner Marthe and Scandinavian modernists like Munch and the Gothenburg Colourists.
Theresa Traore Dahlberg
Carl Eldhs Ateljémuseum, 15 May–28 September
In the preserved studio of sculptor Carl Eldh, rising star Theresa Traoré Dahlberg reimagines archival narratives through film and installation – a dialogue across generations.
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Photo by: Urban Jörén
Together
Thiel Gallery, 15 February–24 August
Celebrate the Thiel Gallery’s centennial with an exhibition honoring its legacy as a meeting point for art and ideas. Discover how collectors Ernest and Signe Thiel, alongside the artists they championed, created one of Sweden’s most important art collections.
Toiletpaper
Fotografiska, 8 March–24 August
Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari’s surreal, saturated imagery takes over Fotografiska in a riotous showcase of their TOILETPAPER magazine universe.
Monika Sosnowska, Museum
Princess Estelle Sculpture Park, Opening 3 June
Polish artist Monika Sosnowska unveils a major new public work in Djurgården’s royal park, joining pieces by Elmgreen & Dragset and Yinka Shonibare in this open-air museum.
Stockholm Art Week
Citywide, 13–18 May
Coinciding with Market Art Fair, Stockholm Art Week offers a comprehensive guide to a rich cultural programme taking place across the city, from Stockholm’s top museums, galleries, and alternative art spaces to a curated selection of the city’s finest restaurants, bars, and art-inspired hotels.