Museum Jorn

About the museum

The painter Asger Jorn himself laid the foundation: from 1953 he handed over to the cultural-history museum in Silkeborg first ceramics from a working stay in nearby Sorring, later thousands of works by his own hand and by artist friends. By his death in 1973, around 5,500 works by about 150 artists had come together. The aim was an international art museum for a broad public, far from the capital.

The collection moved from a Jorn room in Silkeborg Hovedgård to a former school in the town center; in 1965 the independent institution Silkeborg Kunstmuseum was founded. Two designs for a new building by Jørn Utzon failed in the 1960s and 1970s. Only on March 3, 1982, Jorn's birthday, did the building by the architect Niels Frithiof Truelsen open on Gudenåvej, whose studio-style buildings with north light blend into the park; in 1998 a wing for special exhibitions followed.

Since 2010 the museum has been called Museum Jorn. Today the collection comprises more than 30,000 works by over 550 artists – including works by Max Ernst, Fernand Léger, Pablo Picasso and Georg Baselitz – and is considered the second-largest art collection in Denmark. A second focus is the Eksperimenterende Kunstskole of the 1960s, above all Per Kirkeby, of whom the museum owns over 3,500 works. In addition, Jorn's large-scale murals from a summer house on Læsø are on permanent display.

Highlights

• Comprehensive collection of Asger Jorn, presented chronologically
• Jorn's murals of almost 50 m² from a summer house on Læsø
• Over 3,500 works by Per Kirkeby
• Works by Picasso, Léger, Max Ernst, Baselitz and the Cobra group
• Hexagonal playing field for Jorn's "trialectic football" in front of the museum

Permanent exhibitions

• ASGER JORN & HIGHLIGHTS – Chronological tour through Jorn's work with paintings, prints, ceramics and archive material from the museum's own collection.
• ASGER JORN FRA GULV TIL LOFT – Room-filling installation of the murals that Jorn created for a summer house on Læsø.
• P. K. MASTERPIECES – Selection of central works by Per Kirkeby from the collection.

Founded

1965

Director

Christian Kortegaard Madsen

Visitors per year

approx. 56,556 (2025)

Admission & discounts

Free admission with an annual pass. Through the libraries in Silkeborg you can borrow an access card that grants two adults free admission.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

All exhibition areas are wheelchair-accessible. Wheelchairs can be borrowed (advance reservation recommended). Accessible restrooms next to the reception.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities

The museum explicitly aims its activities at families: an open workshop with ideas from the current exhibitions, an interactive print station for trying out printing and lithography, a hexagonal playing field for trialectic football in front of the building. Strollers are allowed in the permanent exhibition; small strollers and baby carriers can be borrowed. Baby changing table by the restrooms in the basement.

Getting there & parking

For GPS, enter "Sanatorievej" instead of Gudenåvej.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

Café Cobra with a terrace facing the park Indelukket (Tue–Sun 10:00–16:30, on the first Thursday of the month until 20:30). Museum shop and web shop. Free lockable lockers; backpacks, bags and umbrellas are not allowed in the exhibitions. Food brought from outside can be eaten at the covered tables in the park Indelukket.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Up to 96 guests.

Meeting rooms Cobra Salen and Cobra Forum with AV equipment for meetings and conferences of up to 96 people; catering by Café Cobra, on request with creative workshops.

Plan your visit