Art, advertising and cultural history
Spritmuseum is home to the Absolut Art Collection, comprising more than 850 works by around 550 Swedish and international artists, created between 1985 and 2004.
The collection grew out of Absolut Vodka’s collaborations with artists, designers and photographers. Every work features or interprets the iconic Absolut bottle, resulting in a collection that spans painting, photography, graphic art, fashion, furniture and design.
Together, the works reflect almost two decades of art, advertising and popular culture – from New York street art and the AIDS crisis to the fall of the Soviet Union, the Young British Artists and changing ideas about identity, politics and representation.
FROM ANDY WARHOL TO LOUISE BOURGEOIS
Andy Warhol created the first artwork for Absolut in 1986. His Absolut Warhol became the starting point for collaborations with artists including Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf.
Over the following years, the collection expanded to include works by artists and designers such as Damien Hirst, Louise Bourgeois, Tom Ford, Ola Billgren, Dan Wolgers and Linn Fernström.
What began as advertising became a cultural archive of its time – documenting artistic movements, social change and the relationship between art and commercial culture.
A COLLECTION OF CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL VALUE
When the Swedish state sold Absolut Vodka to Pernod Ricard in 2008, the Absolut Art Collection was considered to be of particular cultural and historical value and remained in Swedish state ownership.
The collection was placed at Spritmuseum, where selections from it have since been presented in exhibitions exploring everything from photography and politics to identity, celebrity and contemporary art.
FROM THE ARCHIVE
Follow curator Mia Sundberg into the Absolut Art Collection archives.