The Cobra Museum of Modern Art in Amstelveen celebrates 75 years of Cobra (1948-1951) with an extensive programme in 2023 featuring many international loans. The museum’s programming is based on the ideas of the Cobra movement and focuses on experimentation, free thinking and polyphony.
We Kiss the Earth
Danish modern art 1934-1948
Exhibition
27 January – 14 May 2023
The anniversary year of Cobra 75 kicks off with a triptych of Danish modern art. The Danish artists who founded Cobra in 1948 had a great influence on the much younger Dutch and Belgian Cobra members. Developments in Danish modern art from the 1930s and 1940s take centre stage with themes such as sexual freedom, politics, provocation, experimentation and spontaneity. These developments would later have such a profound influence on Cobra. This is the first large survey outside Denmark that presents around 100 masterpieces by more than 25 artists.
Je est un autre
Ernest Mancoba & Sonja Ferlov
Exhibition
27 January – 14 May 2023
A presentation on the artist couple Sonja Ferlov (Denmark) and Ernest Mancoba (South Africa) complements this retrospective. Both were involved in founding the Cobra movement in Denmark. Their interracial relationship was unique at the time. They each had their own international artistic practice. In 2019, Centre Pompidou presented two major retrospectives of their oeuvre; a selection will be exhibited in Amstelveen.
Becoming Ovartaci
Exhibition
27 January – 14 May 2023
Ovartaci’s intriguing work forms the final part of the Danish triptych. Ovartaci – born Louis Marcussen – spent most of her life in a psychiatric hospital. Transformation is the central theme in her life and work. The exhibition of paintings, drawings and sculptures is an ode to the imagination and inspiration of this Danish artist who died in 1985 at the age of 91.
Freedom without Borders
From Appel to Picasso
Exhibition
2 June – 8 October 2023
In 2023, the Cobra Museum in Amstelveen will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the international Cobra movement (1948 – 1951) by bringing together the work of Appel, Constant, Corneille and Jorn with that of Picasso, Beckmann, Basquiat, Munch and contemporary artists such as Jonathan Meese and Cecily Brown.
It shows the universal character of Cobra and its close kinship with the free, expressive working methods of artists throughout the years. With around 150 paintings, sculptures, works on paper, photographs and ceramics, the public is invited to compare the work of a large number of Cobra artists and find connections with related earlier, contemporaneous or later artists.
The Other Picasso
Back to the Origin
Exhibition
2 June – 17 September 2023
The year 2023 also marks the 50th anniversary of the death of one of the most famous artists of the 20th century and this will be widely commemorated in France and Spain. The Cobra Museum is also dedicating a special exhibition to Picasso. In his career, Picasso always returned to his childhood and his cultural background, in which dance and theatre played a major role. Moreover, he was a source of inspiration for many Cobra artists. “Every child is an artist” is one of his most famous statements. This careful selection of drawings, ceramics and etchings shows the hand of the master who was never afraid to experiment.
Special thanks to
The anniversary programme Cobra 75 was made possible by our partners and generous donors. We would particularly like to thank the City of Amstelveen, VriendenLoterij, Trebbe, BPD, Rabobank and the Cobra Business Club.