The event is included in the entrance ticket to the museum. Free for members. 

A keynote lecture exploring the perceptual and social dimensions of built environments.

Founded in 1996 in Stavanger by Siv Helene Stangeland and Reinhard Kropf, Helen & Hard has developed an internationally recognized practice grounded in a deep engagement with place, ecology, and the lived experience of architecture. Working across scales—from private dwellings to large public and cultural buildings—the studio approaches architecture not as an isolated object, but as something inseparable from its social, cultural, and environmental context.  

Kropf’s lecture is resonant within the context of Grammars of Light, an exhibition that considers light not as a purely optical phenomenon, but as something that draws visitors into affecting scenarios that open space for the unknown and blurs the distinctions between interior and exterior. The exhibition brings together works by Cerith Wyn Evans, Ann Lislegaard, and P. Staff, whose immersive environments, architecturally scaled video projections, and luminous sculptures transform the museum’s galleries and stimulate the senses. Lislegaard’s Crystal Worlds (after J.G. Ballard) (2006) explicitly incorporates architectural references from 20thcentury Latin America, including Lina Bo Bardi and Oscar Niemeyer, conveying visions of the future through the built form. Throughout the exhibition, works are choreographed in dialogue with the distinct architecture of Astrup Fearnley Museet: each installation occupies a dedicated space, yet rather than isolating practices, works overlap each other, encouraging encounters between and among practices and ideas—an approach that closely parallels Kropf’s own architectural thinking. 

Rather than addressing the exhibition directly, Kropf will reflect on his own architectural practice, discussing how space is formed through material choices, structural systems, and atmospheric conditions. His contribution opens a conversation between architecture and art, highlighting shared concerns with perception, movement, and the ways environments are sensed and inhabited. 

Reinhard Kropf’s lecture takes place in the collection building and will be in English. This event is part of the public program for Grammars of Light, on view until 10 May 2026. 

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