The fragile and ruinous models show a modernism that was not white and abstract, but colourful, eclectic and full of detail. The model collection is unique in an international context, and there are very few similar examples of modernism's exhibition culture being preserved in this way. Den permanente samling thus represents a significant contribution to the understanding of architectural modernism, nationally and internationally. The collection clearly shows that modernism was much more than white cubes and flat roofs. The selection of models, drawings and photographs now displayed at Kunstnernes Hus shows some of the most central works of Norwegian modernism, several of them designed by architects who have come to be overshadowed by the heroes who normally dominate the representation of this period.

Kunstnernes Hus invests both in the future through new projects and by examining its own history, as is the case with Model as Ruin. The exhibition takes a closer look at the model as a ruin, set in contrast to a thinking about the future, the possible and the utopian that lies in the models themselves. In the exhibition, Kunstnernes Hus wishes to discuss different forms of cultural value understanding and how, through the reconstruction of the ideals of the past, one can create a different understanding of political and economic processes, in the current situation and in a future perspective.

The exhibition is the result of collaboration between Oslo City Archives, the National Museum, the Oslo Academy of Architecture and Design (AHO) and Kunstnernes hus. All exhibition objects belong to Oslo municipality.

The exhibition is curated in collaboration with Mari Lending, Mari Hvattum and master's students at AHO.