Interesting Art Exhibitions in Helsinki Region

26.8.2014 Irmeli Hautamäki

1. Together /Kimpassa & Alfredo Jaar, Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art. Open until September 7 2014.

Young Finnish artists and marimekko designers present their works together in the 2nd floor of Kiasma, the Museum of Contemporary art. The works are results of an experimental project in which designers were invited to produce artworks while artists reconsidered the familiar marimekko design products in their work. The exhibition includes paintings, photographs, sculptures, installations and ceramics.
See also Chilean born Alfredo Jaar’s extensive solo show. Conceptual, politically loaded works take on 4th and 5th floor.
Opening hours: Wed–Fri 10–20.30,
 Sat 10–18, Sun 10–17.
Kiasma

2. Hilma af Klint, A Pioneer of Abstract Art. Kunsthalle Helsinki. Open until September 28 2014.

This show presents a large collection of works of Hilma af Klint (1862–1944). af Klint painted abstract works in the early 1900’s but kept them secret. af Klint’s work, which got influences from theosophy and Christianity, has recently been a subject of controversy in the art world. This highly intriguing exhibition, which has been produced by Moderna Museet in Stockholm in 2013, is part of the annual Helsinki Festival. Opening hours: Tue, Thu, Fri 11–18
Wed 11-20
Sat-Sun 11-17.
Kunsthalle

3. #Snapshot. The Finnish Museum of Photography. Open until January 18 2015.

The exhibition attempts to answer how the technological advancement has changed our relationship to photographs today when the smart phones allow ordinary people to make and to share more photographs than ever before in the history. Are we prepared to the control, which we as users of the technology are necessarily submitted? The changing photography culture is made tangible in interactive installations and snapshots, as well as in contemporary artwork by Catherine Balet, Erik Kessels, Niklas Kullström, and Sisse Stroyer. Opening hours: Tue-Sun 11-18, Wed 11-20, Mon closed.
Finnish museum of photography

4. Monokini 2.0. The Finnish Museum of Photography. Open until September 7.

A group of Finnish fashion designers created bespoke swimsuits for women who have lost another breast due breast cancer. The creations were then photographed in a fashion shoot, with women who had undergone a mastectomy as models. The exhibition challenges the narrow ideas of our culture concerning “good” and “normal” looks when it comes to women. The art project curated by Katriina Haikala ja Vilma Metteri . The designers participating in the project were Tyra Therman, Sasu Kauppi, Mert Otsamo, Timo Rissanen, Outi Les Pyy, Vilma Riitijoki and KaksiTvå. Opening hours: Tue-Sun 11-18, Wed 11-20, Mon closed.

5. William Kentridge: The Refusal of Time and Other faces. Espoo Museum of Modern art EMMA. Open until September 9.

The works of a well-known South-African artist William Kentridge has roots in theatre and politically committed art. Kentridge, a brilliant draughtsman, uses his drawings to make animated films and video installations. The Refusal of Time is an installation of five projections with a primitive mechanical machine, which measures time. The work, which focuses on the question of the concept of time, derives in part from conversations between Kentridge and the physicist Peter Galison about the history of the control of time, the theory of relativity, black holes and string theory. The Refusal of Time is poised at the intersection of theatre, science and art, creating a profound artistic synthesis of different disciplines – music, drama and animation. The music is composed by Philip Miller and the choreography by a leading South African dancer Dada Masilo. Opening hours: Mon closed, Tue, Thu, Fri 11 am – 6 pm, Wed 11 am – 8 pm (admission free 6 pm – 8pm), Sat – Sun 11 am – 5 pm.
Emma