PAST EXHIBITIONS
Tiina Laasonen: Engram
Sense Presence without Words series (2013-2014) intertwine around the thematic of silence experienced in the childhood. The artwork tells a story about tenderness, nursery and care - about those everyday moments when the presence can be felt without words. The pieces were made for an exhibition held at Galleria G in Helsinki in 2014.
The human need for happiness is the theme for the series Cascading Goodness (2015–2018). The inspiration of these works is derived from the Renaissance Hortus Conclusus, ”enclosed space”, where everything good falls down. The works of this series have been shown for example in Galleria Becker in Jyväskylä and in Rytmitaju 2017 art event in Hyvinkää.
The wooden sculptures of Shade of Memory series depict the meaning of memory, its nuances and its loss. The works of this series are previously unpublished.
A publication of Tiina Laasonen’s wooden sculptures will be published alongside the exhibition.
Tiina Laasonen (born in 1968, Kauhava) is a sculptor, environmental artist and an art teacher. During her artistic career she has actively worked in positions of responsibility in different art organizations. Laasonen lives and works in Seinäjoki, Finland. Her artwork has been showcased in several museums and galleries, both in Finland and abroad, and they can be found in public collections as well as in private collections. The Art Council of Ostrobothnia awarded Tiina Laasonen in 2017 for her extensive work as an artist.
Photo: Tiina Laasonen Nauha (detail), photographer Hannu Pettinen
9.6. - 2.9.2018, Nelimarkka Museum
The artwork of Tiina Laasonen is her language by which she reflects and considers humanity and her relationship with the environment. The important part of her work is the feeling of the material and the respect for its essence. The sensation and the visual perception are her instruments. The materials for installations and sculptures are selected depending on the idea and the location of the artwork. The working process is slow, silent and repeating the same work phase. Working with three-dimensional forms is an interaction of subject, material and space that she encounters. For her, sculpting is place for self-examination and introspection. The exhibition of Tiina Laasonen’s artwork in Nelimarkka Museum presents her latest wooden sculptures as well as her spatial and environmental works of art. The exhibition consists of three different series with the thematic of humanity. The series create a lifecycle from childhood memories trough finding a happiness to the importance of the memory in keeping and retaining own identity.Sense Presence without Words series (2013-2014) intertwine around the thematic of silence experienced in the childhood. The artwork tells a story about tenderness, nursery and care - about those everyday moments when the presence can be felt without words. The pieces were made for an exhibition held at Galleria G in Helsinki in 2014.
The human need for happiness is the theme for the series Cascading Goodness (2015–2018). The inspiration of these works is derived from the Renaissance Hortus Conclusus, ”enclosed space”, where everything good falls down. The works of this series have been shown for example in Galleria Becker in Jyväskylä and in Rytmitaju 2017 art event in Hyvinkää.
The wooden sculptures of Shade of Memory series depict the meaning of memory, its nuances and its loss. The works of this series are previously unpublished.
A publication of Tiina Laasonen’s wooden sculptures will be published alongside the exhibition.
Tiina Laasonen (born in 1968, Kauhava) is a sculptor, environmental artist and an art teacher. During her artistic career she has actively worked in positions of responsibility in different art organizations. Laasonen lives and works in Seinäjoki, Finland. Her artwork has been showcased in several museums and galleries, both in Finland and abroad, and they can be found in public collections as well as in private collections. The Art Council of Ostrobothnia awarded Tiina Laasonen in 2017 for her extensive work as an artist.
Photo: Tiina Laasonen Nauha (detail), photographer Hannu Pettinen
9/62018
Meri Pauniaho Prints
The works of the exhibition can be roughly divided into three types: interiors, landscapes and descriptions of nature. All of these works are combined with the fusion of experienced and imagined, many different perspectives, multi-colored appearance and the richness of the surface structure. However, they all continue to deal with the same thematic – the remembrance, memories and places of memory.
The works lean starkly on the events of Pauniaho’s personal life. Yet at the same time they can also be viewed as a general depictions, for example as a small ethnological studies of strangely familiar objects or trough the panda character – a kind of an alter-ego for the artist – as reference to the current topics about pandas in the zoos, for example in Ähtäri Wildlife or to the Finnish nature and its future.
Pauniaho makes small series that consist of 4 to 6 prints. The works are printed from a pvc-board either by using one or several different techniques. Pauniaho works with one board technique, and in one print there are usually four to six color layers, sometimes even from nine to ten.
Meri Pauniaho (b. 1972) is a printmaker that works and lives in Rauma but she has roots in South Ostrobotnia. She is a member of The Association of Finnish Printmakers and the Association of the printmakers in Rauma. She graduated as visual artist from the Institution of Design of Lahti University of Applied Sciences in 2014. Pauniaho has also a degree in textile art.
9.6. - 2.9.2018, Nelimarkka Museum
The printmaker Meri Pauniaho depicts in her work different kind of spaces, rooms and landscapes where the human presence can be sensed but the human is absent in the picture. The inspiration for these silent works striving for beauty is coming from important places of childhood, grandma’s place and the past homes. Trough her works Pauniaho deals with the human existence, the formation of identity and the justification of memory and memories.The works of the exhibition can be roughly divided into three types: interiors, landscapes and descriptions of nature. All of these works are combined with the fusion of experienced and imagined, many different perspectives, multi-colored appearance and the richness of the surface structure. However, they all continue to deal with the same thematic – the remembrance, memories and places of memory.
The works lean starkly on the events of Pauniaho’s personal life. Yet at the same time they can also be viewed as a general depictions, for example as a small ethnological studies of strangely familiar objects or trough the panda character – a kind of an alter-ego for the artist – as reference to the current topics about pandas in the zoos, for example in Ähtäri Wildlife or to the Finnish nature and its future.
Pauniaho makes small series that consist of 4 to 6 prints. The works are printed from a pvc-board either by using one or several different techniques. Pauniaho works with one board technique, and in one print there are usually four to six color layers, sometimes even from nine to ten.
Meri Pauniaho (b. 1972) is a printmaker that works and lives in Rauma but she has roots in South Ostrobotnia. She is a member of The Association of Finnish Printmakers and the Association of the printmakers in Rauma. She graduated as visual artist from the Institution of Design of Lahti University of Applied Sciences in 2014. Pauniaho has also a degree in textile art.
9/62018
Pearls and Rarities
The Pearls and Rarities exhibition presents small sculptures, graphic art prints and sketches from the Nelimarkka Foundation’s collections. The Foundation was established 1945 by Eero Nelimarkka. During that time Nelimarkka noticed that buying art was becoming popular among the people recovering from the wartimes.
The purpose of Nelimarkka Foundation was to support the Christian culture and take care of and broaden an art collection that can be shown to public. About half of the art works in the collection are painted by Eero Nelimarkka himself. Especially the graphics and drawings of the collections are remarkable. Part of the collection is now framed and will be shown to the audience for the first time. In the exhibition you can find drawings from wellknown artists such as Hugo Simberg, Albert Edelfelt, Magnus Enckell, Magnus von Wright and Juho Rissanen. There are also small sculptures from Essi Renvall, Wäinö Aaltonen and Viktor Jansson.
3.3.2018 - 27.5.2018, Nelimarkka Museum
Art prints, drawings and sculptures from Nelimarkka Foundation collections, Nelimarkka MuseumThe Pearls and Rarities exhibition presents small sculptures, graphic art prints and sketches from the Nelimarkka Foundation’s collections. The Foundation was established 1945 by Eero Nelimarkka. During that time Nelimarkka noticed that buying art was becoming popular among the people recovering from the wartimes.
The purpose of Nelimarkka Foundation was to support the Christian culture and take care of and broaden an art collection that can be shown to public. About half of the art works in the collection are painted by Eero Nelimarkka himself. Especially the graphics and drawings of the collections are remarkable. Part of the collection is now framed and will be shown to the audience for the first time. In the exhibition you can find drawings from wellknown artists such as Hugo Simberg, Albert Edelfelt, Magnus Enckell, Magnus von Wright and Juho Rissanen. There are also small sculptures from Essi Renvall, Wäinö Aaltonen and Viktor Jansson.
3/32018
Heidi Katajamäki, Restless Ground
Katajamäki’s artistic work is based on her mind and feelings. By painting and drawing she describes what happens in her head and how she feels on the inside. “I chop my thoughts and feelings in pieces. Then I take a scoop and add one piece of feeling into one work, on one surface or canvas. My art is serial, and as a whole, the series reflects my inner period. From these compositions, I create site-specific installations for different spaces. The installation depicts the past through a single work and the present as I gather and install everything together in that particular space. Time moves on, ages evolve, feelings change. As follows, my installations disappear after an exhibition ends. Only pieces, the series of works and photographs of the whole installation remain.”
As a medium, Katajamäki mostly uses charcoal and gesso. Charcoal is versatile and gives many alternatives for expression. Together with white gesso, it provides possibilities for different shades of grey. The line is the language of the work. Sometimes the line is figurative and sometimes it purely expresses feelings through abstraction. The line even spans the canvas: “My mind does not fit into one locker or between strict boundaries, but it takes over the whole space in my mind or in the installation.”
Restless Ground is about being a young artist. “It is a story about me, how the life carries on, the always overflowing mind and time eternally going forward. Whatever life brings you, there will always, always be a better time.”
Heidi Katajamäki (1990) was born in Seinäjoki and is currently based in Lahti. She graduated from Lahti Art Institute in 2016. She has taken part in several solo and group exhibitions and has made work for public spaces.
Image: Heidi Katajamäki, Arkihiki ja hetken hilse, 2016.
16.12.2017 - 18.2.2018, Nelimarkka Museum
Restless Ground, the exhibition by the winner of the Young Artist of the Year in Southern Ostrobothnia 2017 competition, Heidi Katajamäki is in a way a review of her previous work and installations. The exhibition features works completed after Katajamäki’s graduation. Besides individual works, the exhibition expands literally to the Nelimarkka museum space.Katajamäki’s artistic work is based on her mind and feelings. By painting and drawing she describes what happens in her head and how she feels on the inside. “I chop my thoughts and feelings in pieces. Then I take a scoop and add one piece of feeling into one work, on one surface or canvas. My art is serial, and as a whole, the series reflects my inner period. From these compositions, I create site-specific installations for different spaces. The installation depicts the past through a single work and the present as I gather and install everything together in that particular space. Time moves on, ages evolve, feelings change. As follows, my installations disappear after an exhibition ends. Only pieces, the series of works and photographs of the whole installation remain.”
As a medium, Katajamäki mostly uses charcoal and gesso. Charcoal is versatile and gives many alternatives for expression. Together with white gesso, it provides possibilities for different shades of grey. The line is the language of the work. Sometimes the line is figurative and sometimes it purely expresses feelings through abstraction. The line even spans the canvas: “My mind does not fit into one locker or between strict boundaries, but it takes over the whole space in my mind or in the installation.”
Restless Ground is about being a young artist. “It is a story about me, how the life carries on, the always overflowing mind and time eternally going forward. Whatever life brings you, there will always, always be a better time.”
Heidi Katajamäki (1990) was born in Seinäjoki and is currently based in Lahti. She graduated from Lahti Art Institute in 2016. She has taken part in several solo and group exhibitions and has made work for public spaces.
Image: Heidi Katajamäki, Arkihiki ja hetken hilse, 2016.
16/122017
Ritva Lindberg: A Hundred Skies
”With aquarelle I have been able to create those feelings and atmospheres that I have been aiming for. My art has always been figurative in spite of prevailing movements and trends. The only way for me is to paint the feelings, events and perceptions that are important to me at the time.”
For a long time Lindberg’s paintings based on observations of nature and its small, quickly changing details. In 2002, a turn in Lindberg’s personal life changed the topic of her paintings completely. For ten years, starting from 2004, she painted the moments when emotion and consciousness come together. A series of over 30 works with the title Long Journey originated. The works are centered on a human figure that represents feelings, incidents and atmospheres. Some of the works are on display in the exhibition.
Combining teaching and other jobs takes time from painting. “As I drive from work place to other and finally back home, I see a diversity of skies depending on the seasons and time of the day. Clear, foggy, red, yellow, blue, gray, fierce and serene. I watch the darkness give way to light that brings forth colors. In winter afternoons the light diminishes and the dusk starts to crawl in. Each sky is different, and as the light changes the scenery, the colors of night fill up my mind. The skies I have seen in the past two years have gathered up in my mind and started gradually break away.”
Due to the thought process, Lindberg’s first sky paintings originated in 2016. The first one was called A Hundred Skies, which is also the title of the exhibition. Lindberg decided to use gouache along with water colors. Like aquarelle, gouache is water-soluble, but whereas aquarelle is translucent, gouache enables opaque layers, which enhances different impressions.
Ritva Lindberg was born 1957 in Möksy, Alajärvi. She lives and works in Lappajärvi. Besides her artistic work, she teaches art classes for children and adults. This exhibition was made possible by a grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation South Ostrobothnia Regional Fund.
Image: Ritva Lindberg, A Hundred Skies, 2016.
7.10. – 3.12.2017, Nelimarkka Museum
Ritva Lindberg is Alajärvi-born painter and art teacher. She graduated from Turku Art Academy in 1977. Back then, the teaching focused mostly on oil painting, and not even sketches were made with water colors. Despite that, aquarelle gradually became Lindberg’s favorite technique. It enables gentle, yet powerful expression at the same time.”With aquarelle I have been able to create those feelings and atmospheres that I have been aiming for. My art has always been figurative in spite of prevailing movements and trends. The only way for me is to paint the feelings, events and perceptions that are important to me at the time.”
For a long time Lindberg’s paintings based on observations of nature and its small, quickly changing details. In 2002, a turn in Lindberg’s personal life changed the topic of her paintings completely. For ten years, starting from 2004, she painted the moments when emotion and consciousness come together. A series of over 30 works with the title Long Journey originated. The works are centered on a human figure that represents feelings, incidents and atmospheres. Some of the works are on display in the exhibition.
Combining teaching and other jobs takes time from painting. “As I drive from work place to other and finally back home, I see a diversity of skies depending on the seasons and time of the day. Clear, foggy, red, yellow, blue, gray, fierce and serene. I watch the darkness give way to light that brings forth colors. In winter afternoons the light diminishes and the dusk starts to crawl in. Each sky is different, and as the light changes the scenery, the colors of night fill up my mind. The skies I have seen in the past two years have gathered up in my mind and started gradually break away.”
Due to the thought process, Lindberg’s first sky paintings originated in 2016. The first one was called A Hundred Skies, which is also the title of the exhibition. Lindberg decided to use gouache along with water colors. Like aquarelle, gouache is water-soluble, but whereas aquarelle is translucent, gouache enables opaque layers, which enhances different impressions.
Ritva Lindberg was born 1957 in Möksy, Alajärvi. She lives and works in Lappajärvi. Besides her artistic work, she teaches art classes for children and adults. This exhibition was made possible by a grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation South Ostrobothnia Regional Fund.
Image: Ritva Lindberg, A Hundred Skies, 2016.
7/102017
Collection from the Cache
One of the first regional artist associations, The Ostrobothnian Artist Association was founded in 1943. The Association has been supporting and promoting Ostrobothnian art ever since by arranging exhibitions, offering advisory services and maintaining an art collection.
In the beginning the membership fee was paid by donating an artwork to the collection. The collection has around 80 artworks with different techniques and materials. There are works, for example, from artists Matti Annala, Oscar Bengts, Eva Bremer, Yngve Bäck, Frans Hiivanainen, Iivari Honkola, Lea Ignatius, Einari Junttila, Kaarlo Lamminheimo, Aini Lähdesmäki, Tanu Manninen, Nandor Mikola, Arvi Mäenpää, Eero Nelimarkka, Oiva Polari, Tellervo Töyry, Einari Uusikylä, Pentti Uusikylä and Veikko Vionoja.
Over the course of time, the collection has been stored first in Vaasa, then in Seinäjoki and Lapua. In 2016, the collection was deposited at the Nelimarkka Museum, where the archives of the The Ostrobothnian Artist Association are also kept. Previously, the collection has been on display in Vaasa, Seinäjoki and Alajärvi but never in this magnitude. The exhibition has been curated by the vice president of the association, Markku-Tapani Hakala.
The Ostrobothnian Artist Association was founded in 1943. The first chairman of the board was Professor Eero Nelimarkka. Today, there are 111 members at the Association.
Image: Frans Hiivanainen, Istuva nainen, 1910's.
4.3. – 4.6.2017 – Nelimarkka Museum
The Art Collection of Ostrobothnian Artist Association at the Nelimarkka Museum 4.3. – 4.6.2017One of the first regional artist associations, The Ostrobothnian Artist Association was founded in 1943. The Association has been supporting and promoting Ostrobothnian art ever since by arranging exhibitions, offering advisory services and maintaining an art collection.
In the beginning the membership fee was paid by donating an artwork to the collection. The collection has around 80 artworks with different techniques and materials. There are works, for example, from artists Matti Annala, Oscar Bengts, Eva Bremer, Yngve Bäck, Frans Hiivanainen, Iivari Honkola, Lea Ignatius, Einari Junttila, Kaarlo Lamminheimo, Aini Lähdesmäki, Tanu Manninen, Nandor Mikola, Arvi Mäenpää, Eero Nelimarkka, Oiva Polari, Tellervo Töyry, Einari Uusikylä, Pentti Uusikylä and Veikko Vionoja.
Over the course of time, the collection has been stored first in Vaasa, then in Seinäjoki and Lapua. In 2016, the collection was deposited at the Nelimarkka Museum, where the archives of the The Ostrobothnian Artist Association are also kept. Previously, the collection has been on display in Vaasa, Seinäjoki and Alajärvi but never in this magnitude. The exhibition has been curated by the vice president of the association, Markku-Tapani Hakala.
The Ostrobothnian Artist Association was founded in 1943. The first chairman of the board was Professor Eero Nelimarkka. Today, there are 111 members at the Association.
Image: Frans Hiivanainen, Istuva nainen, 1910's.
4/32017
Permanent exhibition - Paris is Sesam
Artist professor Eero Nelimarkka (1891-1977) is widely known for his landscapes portraying the vastness of Southern Ostrobothnia. Besides the landscapes, his life and art have plenty of other influences.
Nelimarkka Museum’s permanent exhibition shows Eero Nelimarkka’s work, inspired by his travels to Paris, from 1912 to 1974.
Artist professor Eero Nelimarkka (1891-1977) is widely known for his landscapes portraying the vastness of Southern Ostrobothnia. Besides the landscapes, his life and art have plenty of other influences.
1/52015
Verónica Gómez - Water Statues
- Fleur Jaeggy, The water statues.
In February 2017, Verónica Gómez, an argentinian artist worked in Nelimarkka Residency. She develops her work in diverse media: painting, drawing and installation. The exhibition contains both older drawings and the work made in Alajärvi during her residency time. In the Water Statues exhibition there are portraits of imaginary people and abstract landscapes.
“I see each piece I produce as chapters of a large imaginary book that is spread out in space. The information that goes into my work is often complex and with a rather artisanal character; I imagine a baroque mise en scène is the best environment for it to be expressed in order to appeal to the recipients’ cathartic emotions: humor, drama, empathy and recognition. Several clues are intertwined on stage in each of my installations, suggesting a narrative around a latent protagonist. Of all the literary forms, Fable—in which animals and spectrums are always the main characters—is a frequent tool for fiction. I am currently interested in exploring the psychic content of atmospheric states through portraits and abstract landscapes.”
Gómez currently lives and works in Buenos Aires.
www.veronica-gomez.com.ar
Image: Verónica Gómez, 2016.
23.2. – 16.4.2017 – Nelimarkka Museum
"Places I do not know become for me a kind of property; there's one up there at the top of the cliff, where the calcareous humps decrease ceremonious and lethargic towards the water; and it almost seems to me that a dark reminiscence tells me that I lived up there, or in the water, in distant times, whose exact imprint has been erased.”- Fleur Jaeggy, The water statues.
In February 2017, Verónica Gómez, an argentinian artist worked in Nelimarkka Residency. She develops her work in diverse media: painting, drawing and installation. The exhibition contains both older drawings and the work made in Alajärvi during her residency time. In the Water Statues exhibition there are portraits of imaginary people and abstract landscapes.
“I see each piece I produce as chapters of a large imaginary book that is spread out in space. The information that goes into my work is often complex and with a rather artisanal character; I imagine a baroque mise en scène is the best environment for it to be expressed in order to appeal to the recipients’ cathartic emotions: humor, drama, empathy and recognition. Several clues are intertwined on stage in each of my installations, suggesting a narrative around a latent protagonist. Of all the literary forms, Fable—in which animals and spectrums are always the main characters—is a frequent tool for fiction. I am currently interested in exploring the psychic content of atmospheric states through portraits and abstract landscapes.”
Gómez currently lives and works in Buenos Aires.
www.veronica-gomez.com.ar
Image: Verónica Gómez, 2016.
23/22017
Katri Yli-Erkkilä – Young Artist of the Year in Southern Ostrobothnia 2016
Yli-Erkkilä’s work is serial. Lately she has worked with two parallel series. Her subject matter is social alienation, separation from nature and the respect of all living, along with the restrictions and constrains that affect our minds.
Yli-Erkkilä’s work process is closely tied to collecting. She uses recycling material, dolls, garnishes, fur etc. The artist modifies her objects by sewing and painting or by creating a whole new setup with different pulps and craft material.
In the images examining alienation, the artist depicts urban dwelling, growth of cities, social indifference within communities, separation from nature and animals, as well as harshness of human nature. In her images people and animals present themselves in unexpected ways.
Apartment buildings can be compared to communities. Communities evolve into cities. Cities grow, borders relocate. Rootlessness is ever present. As cities grow, nature retreats. When people no longer consider themselves as part of nature, the nature is left distant and lifeless. A person estranged from nature lacks respect of it and, ultimately, does not respect life.
The second series depicts factors that influence and inhibit our minds, mental states. Yli-Erkkilä approaches the subject matter through a fashion doll. Dolls intrigue the artist not only as an object but also as depiction of a human. A doll is sufficiently close but yet far enough. With dolls Yli-Erkkilä mirrors the world around. She considers her works as portraits of the psyche. The plastic and artificial in the images interests the artist; there is liveliness in the still images.
The winner of the second Young Artist of the Year in Southern Ostrobothnia competition, Katri Yli-Erkkilä was born in Oravainen 1981. She lives and works in Seinäjoki.
Image: Katri Yli-Erkkilä, Keltainen lanka, 2014.
10.12.2016 – 19.2.2017
Visual artist Katri Yli-Erkkilä works mainly with staged photography. Staging enables the combination of real and unreal. Temporary becomes permanent in Yli-Erkkilä’s photographs. Yli-Erkkilä assembles the setups by modifying everyday objects or constructing something completely new.Yli-Erkkilä’s work is serial. Lately she has worked with two parallel series. Her subject matter is social alienation, separation from nature and the respect of all living, along with the restrictions and constrains that affect our minds.
Yli-Erkkilä’s work process is closely tied to collecting. She uses recycling material, dolls, garnishes, fur etc. The artist modifies her objects by sewing and painting or by creating a whole new setup with different pulps and craft material.
In the images examining alienation, the artist depicts urban dwelling, growth of cities, social indifference within communities, separation from nature and animals, as well as harshness of human nature. In her images people and animals present themselves in unexpected ways.
Apartment buildings can be compared to communities. Communities evolve into cities. Cities grow, borders relocate. Rootlessness is ever present. As cities grow, nature retreats. When people no longer consider themselves as part of nature, the nature is left distant and lifeless. A person estranged from nature lacks respect of it and, ultimately, does not respect life.
The second series depicts factors that influence and inhibit our minds, mental states. Yli-Erkkilä approaches the subject matter through a fashion doll. Dolls intrigue the artist not only as an object but also as depiction of a human. A doll is sufficiently close but yet far enough. With dolls Yli-Erkkilä mirrors the world around. She considers her works as portraits of the psyche. The plastic and artificial in the images interests the artist; there is liveliness in the still images.
The winner of the second Young Artist of the Year in Southern Ostrobothnia competition, Katri Yli-Erkkilä was born in Oravainen 1981. She lives and works in Seinäjoki.
Image: Katri Yli-Erkkilä, Keltainen lanka, 2014.
10/122016
Italian Contemporary Art - exhibition
The exhibition features works by 18 artists: Fiorenzo Barindelli, Manuela Biagini, Gabriele Buratti, Annalisa Campailla, Olga Casa, Marisa Cortese, Michele de Luca, Alberto Ferretti, Margherita Levo-Rosenberg, Grazia Mazzarello, Emanuela Mezzadri, Marcello Mogni, Virginia Monteverde, Maurizio Morandi, Luigi Maria Rigon, Alberto Terrile, Guido Ziveri and Roberto Zizzo. They all use different media and techniques, such as painting, sculpture, photography and installation. The exhibition lacks a common theme, but is comprised of works chosen by the curator from his personal standpoint.
The roots of Italian art can be found in the antiquity and during renaissance it prospered. Traits of the tradition are still detectable in the Nelimarkka Museum’s exhibition. Italy is known for creative design and architecture, yet contemporary art has only recently started to gain ground. The exhibition also bears references to modern art such as Italian Futurism.
Image: Annalisa Campailla, Kupoli, 2010.
At Nelimarkka Museum 17.9.-27.11.2016
Nelimarkka Museum is exhibiting contemporary Italian art this fall. The exhibition is curated by Italian, Viitasaari-based artist Alberto Ferretti (b. 1962).The exhibition features works by 18 artists: Fiorenzo Barindelli, Manuela Biagini, Gabriele Buratti, Annalisa Campailla, Olga Casa, Marisa Cortese, Michele de Luca, Alberto Ferretti, Margherita Levo-Rosenberg, Grazia Mazzarello, Emanuela Mezzadri, Marcello Mogni, Virginia Monteverde, Maurizio Morandi, Luigi Maria Rigon, Alberto Terrile, Guido Ziveri and Roberto Zizzo. They all use different media and techniques, such as painting, sculpture, photography and installation. The exhibition lacks a common theme, but is comprised of works chosen by the curator from his personal standpoint.
The roots of Italian art can be found in the antiquity and during renaissance it prospered. Traits of the tradition are still detectable in the Nelimarkka Museum’s exhibition. Italy is known for creative design and architecture, yet contemporary art has only recently started to gain ground. The exhibition also bears references to modern art such as Italian Futurism.
Image: Annalisa Campailla, Kupoli, 2010.
17/92016
Mari Hallapuro: Underworld - exhibition
Hallapuro describes her work: “Drawing has always been important to me. Being preoccupied with my own intimate, withdrawn activities has always been a good break for me, and still is. Printmaking adds slowness and indirectness to the process, which grants me a space for further contemplation. The serial aspect of printmaking, implemented by the printing process, molds and regenerates the original pictorial motifs further. The series becomes like an animation in too slow motion.”
In her work, Hallapuro contemplates time – its continuum and temporality. Her prints depict what is seen and experienced. One of the central starting points for Hallapuro is perception: “Sometimes I like that, in my thoughts, I can take a dip in the darker and deeper waters and make pictures of it.” Ordinary notions and playful jokes lighten up the tone: in Hallapuro’s work humor and melancholia usually go hand in hand.
Mari Hallapuro lives and works in Kerava. She graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2012 with a Master's Degree in printmaking. Hallapuro has taken part in several solo and group exhibitions in Finland. Her works are featured in, for example, the collections of the Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki Art Museum and EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art.
11.6.-4.9.2016
After completing her Master’s in printmaking, visual artist Mari Hallapuro (b. 1985 in Alajärvi, Finland) returns to her roots with an exhibition of detailed prints. Hallapuro’s work is on display at the Exhibition Space for Prints and Drawings at the Nelimarkka Museum through the summer.Hallapuro describes her work: “Drawing has always been important to me. Being preoccupied with my own intimate, withdrawn activities has always been a good break for me, and still is. Printmaking adds slowness and indirectness to the process, which grants me a space for further contemplation. The serial aspect of printmaking, implemented by the printing process, molds and regenerates the original pictorial motifs further. The series becomes like an animation in too slow motion.”
In her work, Hallapuro contemplates time – its continuum and temporality. Her prints depict what is seen and experienced. One of the central starting points for Hallapuro is perception: “Sometimes I like that, in my thoughts, I can take a dip in the darker and deeper waters and make pictures of it.” Ordinary notions and playful jokes lighten up the tone: in Hallapuro’s work humor and melancholia usually go hand in hand.
Mari Hallapuro lives and works in Kerava. She graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2012 with a Master's Degree in printmaking. Hallapuro has taken part in several solo and group exhibitions in Finland. Her works are featured in, for example, the collections of the Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki Art Museum and EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art.
11/62016
Kaarina Heikinheimo: LUMOUS - exhibition
Heikinheimo has been interested in the world of fairytales all her life. The concept of fairytale adds to the artists creativity, which is part of Heikinheimo’s working method. The ideas behind Heikinheimo’s work vary. The artist describes the process of building an exhibition as a dive into unknown, and leaves room for different interpretations.
Moving from exhibition to another is a sequence for Heikinheimo. She has exhibited her work in several solo and group shows in various museums. Additionally, Heikinheimo’s sculptures can be found in public places such as Vaasa Airport, swimming hall, hospital and Univesity. Heikinheimo is currently based in Vaasa, but has roots in Alajärvi, where she has maintained a connection throughout her life.
Photographer: Erkki Salminen.
ENCHANTMENT exhibition at Nelimarkka Museum 11.6.-4.9.2016
Kaarina Heikinheimo, born in Alajärvi, is an artist who works with fabric as a medium. She uses materials such as linen, copper, steel and glass in her artwork. Her fabric sculptures are large in size and the process of making them takes time and effort. The artist completes all phases of the work herself. The exhibition at Nelimarkka Museum consists of a magical forest that has two themes: enchantment and coronation. Large fabric wreaths lead the spectator to the latter.Heikinheimo has been interested in the world of fairytales all her life. The concept of fairytale adds to the artists creativity, which is part of Heikinheimo’s working method. The ideas behind Heikinheimo’s work vary. The artist describes the process of building an exhibition as a dive into unknown, and leaves room for different interpretations.
Moving from exhibition to another is a sequence for Heikinheimo. She has exhibited her work in several solo and group shows in various museums. Additionally, Heikinheimo’s sculptures can be found in public places such as Vaasa Airport, swimming hall, hospital and Univesity. Heikinheimo is currently based in Vaasa, but has roots in Alajärvi, where she has maintained a connection throughout her life.
Photographer: Erkki Salminen.
11/62016
The Landscape of Ruovesi - exhibition
NBesides the three, the exhibition features six contemporary artists: Simone Braitinger (1966), Elina Försti (1971), Tiina Lamminen (1963), Anna Makovecz (1962), Kathrina Rudolph (1961) and Angela Stauber (1977). They have all participated in The Landscape of Ruovesi painting symposium in Pekkala mansion in 2014 and 2015. The artists are from Finland, Germany and Hungary. The German artists are members of the Gedok München artist association and while working in Finland, they experienced a residency period at the Nelimarkka Residency.
Photographer: Jari Kuusenaho, Tampere art museum.
27.2.-29.5.2016
The Landscape of Ruovesi exhibition illustrates the art history of Ruovesi region through three artists and their work: Sigrid Aminoff (1904–1994), Elga Seseman (1922–2007) and Aira Niemi-Pynttäri (1926–2011).NBesides the three, the exhibition features six contemporary artists: Simone Braitinger (1966), Elina Försti (1971), Tiina Lamminen (1963), Anna Makovecz (1962), Kathrina Rudolph (1961) and Angela Stauber (1977). They have all participated in The Landscape of Ruovesi painting symposium in Pekkala mansion in 2014 and 2015. The artists are from Finland, Germany and Hungary. The German artists are members of the Gedok München artist association and while working in Finland, they experienced a residency period at the Nelimarkka Residency.
Photographer: Jari Kuusenaho, Tampere art museum.
27/22016
Ville Vuorenmaa - exhibition
Currently Turku-based Ville Vuorenmaa’s exhibition consists of aquarelles and a 50-minute long soundscape. He completed the body of work during 2015 in Turku. The most recent paintings were made in Alajärvi at the Villa Nelimarkka residency.
Besides the paintings, the exhibition features a soundscape Tuhatvuotias vauva älä itke (A thousand-year old baby, please don’t cry). It looks back to Vuorenmaa’s childhood by using musical and textual elements. The recording was made within one session at an attic in Tampere. It is performed by duo Pelkkä Väliviiva (Ville Vuorenmaa – vocals and guitar, Jarno Alho – percussion, special effects and mixing).
Some of the works in Nelimarkka Museum’s exhibition have been featured in Vuorenmaa’s exhibition En muista vauva-ajasta mitään (I can’t remember anything about being a baby), that has toured different venues in Finland in 2015.
12.12.2015-14.2.2016
The Young Artist of the Year in Southern OstrobothniaCurrently Turku-based Ville Vuorenmaa’s exhibition consists of aquarelles and a 50-minute long soundscape. He completed the body of work during 2015 in Turku. The most recent paintings were made in Alajärvi at the Villa Nelimarkka residency.
Besides the paintings, the exhibition features a soundscape Tuhatvuotias vauva älä itke (A thousand-year old baby, please don’t cry). It looks back to Vuorenmaa’s childhood by using musical and textual elements. The recording was made within one session at an attic in Tampere. It is performed by duo Pelkkä Väliviiva (Ville Vuorenmaa – vocals and guitar, Jarno Alho – percussion, special effects and mixing).
Some of the works in Nelimarkka Museum’s exhibition have been featured in Vuorenmaa’s exhibition En muista vauva-ajasta mitään (I can’t remember anything about being a baby), that has toured different venues in Finland in 2015.
12/122015
Nina Nahkala – exhibition
The Journey – 3.10.-29.11.2015
Nina G. Nahkala’s artistic vision is an amalgamation of the influences of her multi-cultural upbringing; she visually devoured her surroundings and assimilated them into her own unique way of portraying life and the mysterious magic of eternal beauty. Nina G. Nahkala paints the inevitable transformation of all matter into the abstract, through the use of figurative subject matter.
3/102015
Mariya Marinova - exhibition
Maybe it is exactly that what I wanted to record on a dead tree (paper): our emptiness – my emptiness. In the past, I have been painting more abstract, the abstraction as a rejection of the “world going wrong” around me. I painted abstract to escape from the reality that I neighter wanted to see nor to accept it. But here in the middle of the forest there is nothing to escape from. Here you do not need to be abstract , you need only to observe and to listen… Listen to trees!” Mariya Marinova
Listen to Trees 3.10.-1.11.2015
“Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky, we fell them down and turn into paper that we may record our emptiness.” Khalil GibranMaybe it is exactly that what I wanted to record on a dead tree (paper): our emptiness – my emptiness. In the past, I have been painting more abstract, the abstraction as a rejection of the “world going wrong” around me. I painted abstract to escape from the reality that I neighter wanted to see nor to accept it. But here in the middle of the forest there is nothing to escape from. Here you do not need to be abstract , you need only to observe and to listen… Listen to trees!” Mariya Marinova
3/102015
Etienne Hacquin – exhibition
Ordinary and Extraordinary Run of Things
The exhibition “Ordinary and Extraordinary run of things” is a selection of the art produced by French artist Etienne Hacquin during his residency at the Nelimarkka Museum in August 2015. In continuity with its previous works, Etienne Hacquin wonders about the commonness of our everyday life – its repetitions, its constraints. The observation and the discovery of the Finnish lifestyle, the architecture, the nature, the legends, also inspired the exhibition.
29/82015
Mille Guldbeck – exhibition
Conversations with Eero 5.8.-27.9.2015
Visual artist, professor, Mille Guldbeck stayed at Villa Nelimarkka in July 2015. Over the month-long artist-in-residency, Guldebeck began to notice not only the natural surroundings, but the house of Eero Nelimarkka as well. She started to speculate about what he might have seen at the time he lived there and what things may have remained the same. Guldbeck created single portraits of birch trees that are located at 8 points around the house. She recorded 25 colors observed in the tree itself and the ground below it.
5/82015
Anja Tchepets – exhibition
Kimonokabukisushi 23.5.-25.7.2015
ANJA TCHEPETS was born 1970 in Leningrad (now St.Petersburg), Russia. She started drawing and painting in her parents studio as a small child and from the age of ten went to study in a specialized art school. Upon her graduation she imigrated to Montreal, Canada where she studied graphic design and illustration in Dawson College. From 1998-2002 she lived in New York City, working on various artisitic projects. Now she is based in Berlin where she completed her art education at the Berlin Art Academy (Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee). She is working as a painter and graphic artist in her Berlin studio.
23/52015
Jan-Erik Andersson – exhibition
The central work of the exhibition, a multi-channel video installation Life on a Leaf Video Kiosk, presents the building process of Anderssons’s Life on a Leaf house, and the life inside this total work of art. The roof and walls of the kiosk are made of leftover material from the construction.
Picture: Jan-Erik Andersson: Life on a Leaf Video Kiosk. Video-installation, 2010-2012
Building dwelling thinking 6.6.-20.9.2015
The title of the invitational exhibition refers to an essay by philosopher Martin Heidegger. The essay studies the essence of place and space as well as the human will to be at a specific place. The exhibition presents works that take a stand on more playful architectural design and offer an artistic view of urban planning.The central work of the exhibition, a multi-channel video installation Life on a Leaf Video Kiosk, presents the building process of Anderssons’s Life on a Leaf house, and the life inside this total work of art. The roof and walls of the kiosk are made of leftover material from the construction.
Picture: Jan-Erik Andersson: Life on a Leaf Video Kiosk. Video-installation, 2010-2012
6/62015
Veli Ekroos, Eero Murtomäki, Göran Torrkulla – exhibition
Veli Ekroos is known for his drawings and paintings. He uses delicious tones and textures in his sizeable acrylic and petite aquarelle paintings. The 44 small, abstract aquarelles, hung on a clothes line, have been made spontaneously during a residency period in Florence, Italy.
Awarded nature photographer and writer, Eero Murtomäki is usually known for photographing large birds. In this exhibition, he has captured the activities of little birds in the forests near him, instead. A concern for deforestation acts behind his work.
Conceptual artist, philosopher and essayist Göran Torrkulla is interested in the artists ability to interact with the audience. Torrkulla’s works are usually serial, conceptual and detailed. For Nelimarkka Museum’s exhibition he has created a room occupied by the vastness of land, sky and water – a wholeness made up of small individual works.
“The BIG in the small the small in the BIG” 28.3.-31.5.2015
The BIG in the small the small in the BIG is the theme that brings together three different artists, Veli Ekroos, Eero Murtomäki and Göran Torrkulla, and their artistic expression.Veli Ekroos is known for his drawings and paintings. He uses delicious tones and textures in his sizeable acrylic and petite aquarelle paintings. The 44 small, abstract aquarelles, hung on a clothes line, have been made spontaneously during a residency period in Florence, Italy.
Awarded nature photographer and writer, Eero Murtomäki is usually known for photographing large birds. In this exhibition, he has captured the activities of little birds in the forests near him, instead. A concern for deforestation acts behind his work.
Conceptual artist, philosopher and essayist Göran Torrkulla is interested in the artists ability to interact with the audience. Torrkulla’s works are usually serial, conceptual and detailed. For Nelimarkka Museum’s exhibition he has created a room occupied by the vastness of land, sky and water – a wholeness made up of small individual works.
28/32015
Varaston aarreaitta – exhibition
The upgradings have brought a prominent value to the premises. Nelimarkka Museum will start its year with an art collection exhibition, titled Varaston aarteita, treasures from the storage. In the process of relocating the artworks to the new storage unit, some previously unseen works were found. These substantial oil paintings by Eero Nelimarkka had been rolled up for decades. The exhibition concentrates around four of them: a sketch for an altarpiece implemented in Skibotni, Norway; a big cabin interior with many variations; a beautiful winter landscape, and a sizeable self-portrait as a painter. The exhibition opens up a new perspective to the work methods and subject matters of Eero Nelimarkka.
Additionally, the exhibition introduces donations to the museum in 2014: four paintings by Eero Nelimarkka and five kinetic sculptures by Antti Maasalo, owned by Nelimarkka-Rahasto säätiö Foundation.
Donations and Discoveries from the Storage
The regional art museum of Southern Ostrobothnia, Nelimarkka Museum has a solid year of interesting exhibitions ahead, after a lenghty series of renovations. In 2013, the restoraton of Villa Nelimarkka, Eero Nelimarkka’s summer home, built in 1933, was completed, and the Villa was opened to the public. During the same year, the building of a new art storage with the latest technology was finished, offering the museum a safe and up-to-date place to store the artworks. In 2014, the museum got a new heating system, and an elevator that enables a wheelchair access to all floors of the museum.The upgradings have brought a prominent value to the premises. Nelimarkka Museum will start its year with an art collection exhibition, titled Varaston aarteita, treasures from the storage. In the process of relocating the artworks to the new storage unit, some previously unseen works were found. These substantial oil paintings by Eero Nelimarkka had been rolled up for decades. The exhibition concentrates around four of them: a sketch for an altarpiece implemented in Skibotni, Norway; a big cabin interior with many variations; a beautiful winter landscape, and a sizeable self-portrait as a painter. The exhibition opens up a new perspective to the work methods and subject matters of Eero Nelimarkka.
Additionally, the exhibition introduces donations to the museum in 2014: four paintings by Eero Nelimarkka and five kinetic sculptures by Antti Maasalo, owned by Nelimarkka-Rahasto säätiö Foundation.
28/32015
DUE NELIMARKKA - exhibition
Their artistic visions were juxtaposed, brought into discussion and even conflicted at the exhibition.
In 2014 Nelimarkka Museum celebrated its 50th anniversary by inviting artist and professor Riitta Nelimarkka, the granddaughter of Eero Nelimarkka, to exhibit her work side by side with her grandfather. The entire museum was assigned for the exhibition from 17.5. to 28.9.2014.
Their artistic visions were juxtaposed, brought into discussion and even conflicted at the exhibition.
17/52015
Petra Korte - exhibition
The artist is inspired by traces of daily life, such as the simple but important Finnish coffee culture, as well as Kalevala and Kanteletar.
KALEVATAR 10.1.-15.2.2015
Petra Korte, a former Artist-in-Residence at Villa Nelimarkka will show her work, produced during the residency, at the ground floor of the Museum from January 10 to February 15, 2015. Korte’s works are inspired by the culture and landscape of Finland.The artist is inspired by traces of daily life, such as the simple but important Finnish coffee culture, as well as Kalevala and Kanteletar.
10/12015