Pop-up exhibition: A Touch of Metal

Kode is proud to present the first pop-up exhibition of its kind. In A Touch of Metal, works from Kode’s collection enter into dialogue with metal lyrics.

"Each year, a passionate and enthusiastic audience comes to Bergen to experience dark music. Many of them also visit Kode to see art," says director Petter Snare.

"We’ve long wanted to highlight the connections between the metal genre and our art collection – because there are many. Now it’s finally happening with a dedicated pop-up exhibition," says Snare.

Rarely Seen Works

Artists such as Edvard Munch, Halfdan Egedius, Gerhard Munthe, and Theodor Kittelsen are featured in the exhibition, alongside bands like Abbath, King Diamond, Death SS, and Satyricon – to name just a few. All are bands that have played, or are playing, at Beyond the Gates in 2024 and 2025.

Several of the most delicate works on paper are rarely shown – and now only for a limited time, until August 10.

"Metal music can be a noisy and unsettling listening experience. Its themes are often steeped in darkness, destruction, good and evil," says the exhibition’s curator, Marie von Möller.

Von Möller is a senior advisor at Kode and says that she "found new life in death metal" later in adulthood. The music entered her life at a time when grief was heavy to bear.

"In the lyrics, one often finds a core of dynamic poetry that tells stories about how people confront and experience death," she says.

"By pairing images from our collection with lyrics from the music, I’ve tried to interpret the feeling of metal – the way I experience the genre. It’s a subjective reading, and without a doubt a personal project for me," she admits.

The curator also wanted to preserve some of the mystique of the music in the exhibition concept. Visitors will also be able to listen to tracks in the exhibition space.

"I hope to give the audience a chance to discover something new – perhaps a connection or association that surprises or moves them," says von Möller.