Art exhibitions to see in Copenhagen summer 2026

Copenhagen’s summer 2026 exhibition season brings together major museum and gallery presentations across the city, ranging from contemporary installations and film works to textile-based practice and large-scale retrospectives. At Møstings, Oscar Eriksson Furunes revisits fragmented queer archival material through layered and partially obscured photographic works that question how histories are recorded and withheld. At Copenhagen Contemporary, the largest solo exhibition in Scandinavia by French artist Camille Henrot, is on view, while beneath the city at Cisternerne, Marina Abramović’s Seven Deaths stages seven operatic deaths as a continuous cinematic sequence set within the dark subterranean space. Here is our guide to the shows not to miss in Copenhagen right now.

Oscar Eriksson Furunes: GLITRA

Oscar Eriksson Furunes, GLITRA at Møstings. Image credit Helene Toresdotter

#FLODown: GLITRA is a solo exhibition by Norwegian-Swedish artist and architect Oscar Eriksson Furunes on show at Møstings, which is part of the Frederiksberg Museums network. The exhibition focuses on queer histories and uses fragmented archival material to explore how stories about queer lives are recorded, hidden, or transformed over time. Furunes works with photographic and historical fragments, layering and altering them so that images feel partially revealed and partially obscured, which reflects ideas of vulnerability, protection, and how identity is shaped through both visibility and invisibility.

Date: 19 June – 13 September 2026. Location: Møstings, Andebakkesti 5, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark. Price: Free frederiksbergmuseerne.dk

Alison Knowles: Retrospective 1960–2022

Alison Knowles, Retrospective 1960–2022, exhibition view. Courtesy of Nikolaj Kunsthal

#FLODown: The first major retrospective of pioneering American artist Alison Knowles brings together more than six decades of work by one of the founding figures of the Fluxus movement. Presented at Nikolaj Kunsthal, a venue closely linked to Fluxus history, the exhibition traces Knowles’ practice from the 1960s to 2022 through performance, sculpture, poetry, installations and participatory works. Alongside iconic pieces such as The House of Dust and The Boat Book, on display are re-enactments of her influential performances, including Proposition #2: Make a Salad. Celebrating an artist who transformed everyday materials and ordinary actions into poetic, communal experiences, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to explore Knowles’ influence on contemporary art.

Date: 25 April  - 26 July 2026. Location: Nikolaj Kunsthal, Nikolaj Plads 10, 1067 København K, Denmark. Price: Adult 110 DKK; Under 18 free. Book now

Camille Henrot: Paper Planes

Camille Henrot, Paper Planes, 2026. Installation view at Copenhagen Contemporary, 2026. Image credit David Stjernholm

#FLODown: Paper Planes by Camille Henrot is currently on show at Copenhagen Contemporary. It is the artist’s largest solo exhibition in Scandinavia, bringing together installations, sculptures, paintings, drawings and film to explore imagination, care and alternative ways of understanding contemporary life. The exhibition includes the premiere of In the Veins (2026), a film addressing biodiversity loss and climate grief through everyday acts of care, alongside works that question systems of communication, behaviour and perception. The exhibition is also the first in Copenhagen Contemporary’s Contemporary Icons series, which invites leading artists to create major site-specific exhibitions for its industrial halls.

Date: 5 June – 31 December 2026. Location:  Copenhagen Contemporary, Refshalevej 173A, 1432 Copenhagen K, Denmark. Price: From 140 DKK. Book now

Marina Abramović, Seven deaths, exhibition view. Courtesy of Cisternerne

#FLODown: Marina Abramović’s Seven Deaths is a cinematic opera installation currently on show at Cisternerne in Copenhagen. The work presents seven iconic female deaths from opera history as a sequence of films, each shown consecutively as one continuous narrative from beginning to end. Set to arias performed by the legendary Maria Callas, with Abramović appearing alongside actor Willem Dafoe, the installation brings together themes of love, loss, identity, longing, and mortality in a sustained cinematic experience shaped by the dark subterranean setting.

Date: 14 March - 30 November 2026. Location: Søndermarken opposite Zoo
2000 Frederiksberg. Price: from DKK 120 for adults. Book now

Anna Thommesen: Weavings

Anna Thommesen, Weavings, SMK – The National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen.

#FLODown: Weavings is a major retrospective that brings together more than five decades of Anna Thommesen’s textile practice, focusing on her abstract tapestries inspired by nature. The exhibition presents over 40 handwoven works alongside sketches, colour studies, and design materials, offering a detailed look at how she developed her patterns and natural dye techniques. It traces her path from painting to weaving, showing how she built a distinctive position between craft and fine art while working independently from dominant modernist trends. The show also highlights her role in bringing weaving into modern art history and reflects on the renewed interest in textiles today.

Date: 7 February – 16 August 2026. Location: SMK – The National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen (travelling to Holstebro Kunstmuseum after). Price: 95 DKK. Book now

Japan Modern Poster

JAPAN MODERN POSTER, Designmuseum Danmark. Image credit Andrea Sonne

#FLODown: Japan Modern Poster is a major exhibition at Designmuseum Danmark presenting 110 iconic Japanese posters from the 1950s to the present. The show traces the development of modern Japanese graphic design, from the pioneering post-war generation to internationally celebrated designers of the 1960s, and on to today’s innovative digital-age creators. The posters are engaging, often humorous, and thought-provoking, reflecting Japan’s cultural transformations and social concerns, including calls for peace and commentary on contemporary issues. The exhibition also highlights the dialogue between Western modernist design and traditional Japanese aesthetics. A specially commissioned poster by acclaimed designer Shin Matsunaga draws a visual connection between the Danish and Japanese flags, emphasising their shared simplicity and symbolism.

Date: 6 February – 9 August 2026. Location: Designmuseum Danmark, Bredgade 68, 1260 København K, Denmark. Price: Adult 140 DKK; Students/under 27s 90 DKK; Under 18 free. Book now