Färgfabriken – Art Museum
In the landmarked industrial building dating from the turn of the last century, there are imprints of different eras. It can be compared to an archive – layers of time. The building has served as an ammunition factory, paint factory and presently an art museum for contemporary art and architecture.
The museum lies in an area with dense, obsolete industrial buildings, more or less derelict. This is a landscape that has been left, that is waiting to be demolished and integrated with the surrounding city. Until then, this place lives on its own terms.
The visitor is lead through a narrow alley - a slot, with the light from above - down towards the water. The walk keeps you close to the kunsthalle as it passes the entire building, to then invite you via the dark stairway into the vast pillar hall.
The art space is dense, introvert but with light from the sky cutting down through the darkness. Here, art can be integrated with the light, act more independently or turn inwards.
Contrasting the heavy pillar hall, the top floor is flooded with light. Here the light is sharp from above and openings perforate the walls. If the pillar hall turns inwards, the floor above opens towards the vista - extending out over the water and the city. Here the body/art is able to integrate with the city, the surroundings and the light.
Underneath the beautiful arches in the halls further down towards the water lies Färgfabriken Kafé, where intimate meetings as well as grand parties take place.
To the archive, another layer is added, that of our own time, in the shape of three structures – the cube, the wall and the hearth. These volumes stand in dialogue with the older building and the contemporary art. They express themselves through the surrounding industrial landscape, which has been worn by time.
