An iron
Ingrid Orfali, Moby Dick repasse, 1987 © Ingrid Orfali Repro photo: Albin Dahlström/Moderna Museet. (The image is slightly cropped.)
Silver dye bleach print (Cibachrome), ink on paper

Sleepless Nights

The 1980s in the Moderna Museet Collection

Stockholm, 28.2 2023 – 14.1 2024

In the contradictory 1980s, several remarkable women artists emerged in Sweden and the Nordic region. “Sleepless Nights” revolves around them. The name of this exhibition was inspired by Teresa Wennberg’s large video installation “Nuit Blanche” (1983), incorporating 25 TV screens, a work that epitomises how artists were exploring new media and materials.

The art market was red-hot, the alternative art scene rebelled, the fear of HIV and AIDS was rampant, and the Cold War was coming to an end. This pivotal point between the politicised 1970s and the artistically terser 1990s left its mark on the Moderna Museet collection.

An iron
Ingrid Orfali, Moby Dick repasse, 1987 © Ingrid Orfali Repro photo: Albin Dahlström/Moderna Museet. (The image is slightly cropped.)
Silver dye bleach print (Cibachrome), ink on paper
Lipstick and tampon combined
Ingrid Orfali, La Chute d'Ariane, Challenge for bloody bastards, 1986 © Ingrid Orfali Repro photo: Albin Dahlström/Moderna Museet. (The image is slightly cropped.)
Silver dye bleach print (Cibachrome), ink on paper
A room with striped surfaces
Daniel Buren, Cabane éclatée no 9, 1985 © Daniel Buren Photo: Åsa Lundén/Moderna Museet.
Awning fabric mounted on wooden frames, studs
Multiple TV-screens
Teresa Wennberg & Pierre Lobstein, Nuit Blanche, 1983 © Teresa Wennberg Photo: Moderna Museet. Video installation
Hand and groin
Tuija Lindström, The Hand, 1983 © Tuija Lindström. Gelatin silver print, diffused. Repro photo: Moderna Museet
Cabinet with love theme
Kristina Abelli Elander, Love Paradise, 1984 © Kristina Abelli Elander. Photo: Prallan Allsten/Moderna Museet. Painted plywood, wood, light bulbs
Table-like with three legs
Eva Löfdahl, Untitled, 1989 © Eva Löfdahl Photo: Albin Dahlström/Moderna Museet.
Dental stone, oil and acrylic on MDF and wood
Books and guns on a window shelf
Andy Warhol, Books and Guns, 1982‒87 © 2023 Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Repro photo: Albin Dahlström/Moderna Museet .
Gelatin silver prints and thread
Marika Mäkelä, Soon the Wind Died Down, 1985 © Marika Mäkelä Photo: Albin Dahlström/Moderna Museet.
Painting: Oil, pigment and gold leaves on canvas.
Stones
Gunnar Smoliansky, From the series Promenade Pictures, 1986 © Gunnar Smoliansky Foundation Gelatin silver print, contact printing process, toned. Repro photo: Maria Winsö/Moderna Museet
Eight photography works on a wall
Installation view, Sleepless Nights Photo: Åsa Lundén/Moderna Museet
Robert Mapplethorpe's works
Three art works in a room
Installation view, Sleepless Nights Photo: Åsa Lundén/Moderna Museet On the floor: Barbro Bäckström, Circus JRR, 1988. Left: Stig Sjölund, No title, 1988. Center: Marika Mäkelä, Soon the Wind Died Down, 1985.
Installation view, Sleepless Nights Photo: Åsa Lundén/Moderna Museet
Installation view, Sleepless Nights Photo: Åsa Lundén/Moderna Museet
A room with striped surfaces
Daniel Buren, Cabane éclatée no 9, 1985 © Daniel Buren Photo: Dustin Montazer/Moderna Museet.
Awning fabric mounted on wooden frames, studs
Photograph of the artwork hung on a dark blue wall
Cecilia Edefalk, Another Movement, 1990 Photo: Mattias Lindbäck/Moderna Museet © Cecilia Edelfalk Bildupphovsrätt 2023
Installation view over the exhibition. Sculptures are placed on a white podium, with two artworks hanging on a white wall in the background.
Installation view Photo: Dustin Montazer/Moderna Museet. In the middle:
Untitled (1989), sculpture, Eva Löfdahl © Eva Löfdahl
Photograph of the artwork The Hand, hung on a dark blue wall
Tuija Lindström, The Hand, 1983 © Tuija Lindström Photo: Mattias Lindbäck/Moderna Museet
Image of a red canvas placed on wooden stands. In he background: chairs, artworks hung on white walls.
Matts Leiderstam, Reconstruction, 1989-2016 Photo: Mattias Lindbäck/Moderna Museet © Matts Leiderstam / Bildupphovsrätt 2023
Photograph of the two artworks hung on a dark blue wall
Ingrid Orfali, La Chute d'Ariane, Challenge for bloody bastards (1986) and Moby Dick repasse, Stryk Moby Dick (1987) Photo: Mattias Lindbäck/Moderna Museet © Ingrid Orfali / Bildupphovsrätt 2023