A brief history

In the summer of 1986, lying on a backyard lawn in Montauk, New York, David Neuman and Robert Weil discussed the excitement and energy of the Soho art scene. Great art created by great contemporary artists exhibited in dilapidated buildings consisting of former warehouses and factories. Could this be replicated, or even pushed towards a further manifestation in Stockholm, where a new audience would benefit from exposure to art that had never been shown in Sweden previously, in an environment that was far from their usual expectations? The challenge was set.

Magasin III opened in Stockholm’s former Free Port in 1988 with Five American Artists. The exhibition included sculptures by Lynda Benglis, John Chamberlain, Joel Fisher, Robert Therrien, and Mel Kendrick. With 100 exhibitions, 135 artworks produced, 1,200 works consisting of more than 18,000 objects, the following 36 years not only fulfilled the original mandate, but went on to create an essential dynamic between fantastic artworks, curatorial excellence, unforgettable exhibitions, an example of creating a collection that exposes the curiosity and soul of an institution, and a public that benefitted from it all.

To bring James Turrell’s magical works, and Dawning permanently installed for the next three decades (where many relationships were loved and lost), was a constant reminder of the power and metamorphosis art and we have as individuals. To have experienced Santiago Sierra’s performance piece of 18 wheelers slowly rolling through a deserted parking lot only to be met head-on by a young woman, gave a new meaning to what art could be. And who could forget Gilbert & George, being Gilbert & George, by deciding their Shit & Piss exhibition would be perfect to shake up a staid Sweden. There was Pipilotti Rist, a visual, audio and tactile experience that gave everything to all the senses.

Christian Boltanski, who filled the spaces with “ghosts” of past and present, began his “heart archive” in Stockholm, later to find its forever home on an island in Japan. Tom Friedman’s work Up in the Air, hanging from the ceiling of the entire lower floor,strained the neck in search of familiarity and hilarity while repeatedly enforcing the premise, “this is wonderful art”. There was Georg Baselitz’s evocative exhibition in conjunction with the historical work of Carl Fredrik Hill, and Chris Burden’s beloved bridges and B-car remain in the collection along with works by Katharina Grosse, Tony Oursler and Alfredo Jaar.

Interspersed with solo presentations were a number of thematic group exhibitions. Allowing different attitudes, voices, and expressions to interact on the same platform. A vast number of historical and contemporary works could be seen during the The Drawing Room, Like A Prayer, I’m Still Here, Otherworldly…

The invitation to a group of international curators to be a part of Magasin III’s ongoing process of exploration created memorable exhibitions:  Here Comes the Sun by Daniel Birnbaum, Rosa Martínez, Jérôme Sans, and Sarit Shapira; Fleeing away from what bothers you most with Israeli and Palestinian artists by Sarit Shapira, Paul Chan by Daniel Birnbaum, amongst others.

To foster Scandinavian art and artists became a simultaneous goal during these years. Introductions to and career launching exhibitions was constantly on the radar; Leonard Forslund, Per Kirkeby, Tal R, Lars Nilsson, Gunnel Wåhlstrand, Matts Leiderstam, and Annika Elisabeth von Hausswolff, the list goes on.

All the above are just to name a very few of the provocative, consoling and consuming exhibitions Magasin III has produced over the years.

Magasin III’s vast collection has had the privilege to loan works to institutions in Scandinavia as well as major exhibitions staged by some of the leading global art institutions and international biennales. As a resource, the collection has also provided research material for academic institutions on a regular basis, creating a standard for curatorial and art historical practice. Magasin III recognized early on the importance of archival records, texts by art historians, critics, writers, and illustrated catalogues to document the many exhibitions held in the Freeport.

In 2002, Magasin III created the experimental satellite Magasin 3 Projekt Djurgårdsbrunn in the Royal National City Park with a combination of art, nature, design, technology, and food. The project was active for the four following summer seasons.

In 2018, Magasin III Jaffa, municipality Tel Aviv, Israel, was inaugurated. Centrally located near the Flea market, the exhibition space has the luxury of being available to the public 24/7, by its front and back glass walls, and exhibitions are curated with this aspect as additional factor, allowing in inexperienced or inhibited local public to understand and benefit from the power of art over an extended period. There international and local artists have exhibited in specifically curated shows; Haim Steinbach, Sheila Hicks, Cosima von Bonin, Polly Apfelbaum, Maya Attoun, David Adika… Magasin III Jaffa Books has joined the exhibition space in a collaboration of smaller exhibitions and as a showplace for artists’ books. Both spaces continue their operations today.

Magasin III has played a major role in the establishment of the Master’s educational degree at Stockholm University’s Curating Art, established in 2003. Thereafter David Neuman along with Margaretha Thomson have been the major initiators of the exhibition space Accelerator, an integral part of the university’s cultural programming.

In 2017 Magasin III embraced an intermission period where serious analysis regarding future programming was assessed. This inevitably led to an increased focus on higher education art students and giving them access to the inner workings of the institution. Please read further under our archive page.

Throughout the years Magasin III has been generously and solely supported by Robert Weil and Proventus AB. The Robert Weil Family Foundation is a major supporter of Accelerator, and acts as an umbrella for the distribution of financial support to many cultural and political endeavors.