Pierre et Gilles Exhibition at the Museum of Spirits

Yesterday, I visited the Museum of Spirits ("Spritmuseum") with a friend to see the newly opened Pierre et Gilles exhibition: "Troubled Waters" (showing until September 8th). I have always been a fan of the work of Pierre et Gilles and had been looking forward to the exhibition. It was the first time seeing their work on a grand scale and not in a book or magazine... they did not disappoint. In fact, I believe that this is the first time they have had an exhibition of their art in Sweden.

When talking with hotel guests, I usually have to explain the name of the museum refers to drinkable spirits and not the kind that rattle chains and say "boo". The museum has been open in their current location on Djurgården since 2012. And while one might not necessarily equate art with spirits, they actually quite often have art exhibitions including parts of the Absolut (vodka) Art Collection now and again (not being currently shown). The museum is well worth a visit, whether you are interested in seeing a temporary art exhibition or if you wish to take a deep dive into the colorful history of the relationship Swedes have had with alcohol. 

Pierre et Gilles are a French pop art duo. Their work has often been connected with fashion designers and pop stars... advertisements, record sleeves, music videos, etc. They work in tandem to create their artwork, with one taking photographs (Pierre) and the other painting on the photograph (Gilles) when it has been printed on canvas. Their work is always an explosion of color and often a mix of camp, light homoeroticism and religious/classic iconography. It should be noted that no photo-shopping is used in their artwork. An important distinction these days

While at the museum, we also visited another ongoing exhibition about Gin (until October 30th). Sweden, which has always been a nation of vodka and aquavit, has seen a huge upswing in craft gin over the past few years. It really has been quite the trend and hard to miss if you are out and about. They have even opened exclusive gin bars in Stockholm including Hernö Gin Bar just around the corner from Hotel Rival. With all this said, it was indeed fascinating to see the exhibition on gin.. covering the history of gin in Sweden, how it is made and taking a look at the recent trend of gin distilling and sales in the country.

As I mentioned earlier, the Museum of Spirits is located on the island of Djurgården, in the same area as many of Stockholm's most popular attractions like the Vasa Museum, Skansen, Gröna Lund and ABBA the Museum. In fact, they are located on the waterfront right next to a few other newer museums (Viking Museum, Museum of Wrecks as well as the aforementioned Vasa Museum) on a promenade that people are starting to call "museum row". This all means that you can easily combine a visit at the Museum of Spirits with other museums when visiting Stockholm. 

The easiest way to get to the museum from the Hotel Rival is by taking the cross harbor Djurgård Ferry which departs from nearby Gamla Stan every 15 minutes or so (the trip only takes 10 minutes). If you are in the downtown area, you can also take the Djurgård tram out to the island and museums.