Modern Finnish Jewelry Design

Jewelry & Art - 80 years of Goldsmiths' Excellence in Finland

The Finnish Horology Museum in Espoo unveils the secrets of jewelry design and goldsmith’s excellence in an extensive exhibition. The exhibition shows the full spectrum of the jewelry world, from traditional goldsmith samples to borderless jewelry that stretches the concept of what jewelry really is. The exhibition features 26 jewelry design students from the Institute of Design. Each of them has co-operated with a goldsmiths student. The pairs have chosen a common theme, on which both have realized their own views.  The exhibition was fantastic! I took a few phtotos, but unfortunately the glass caused unsharpness & reflections.

Butterflies in Botanic Night by Kirsti Doukas, photo Karoliina Redsven

Kirsti Doukas is the Design Director of Kalevala Jewelry and one of the best known jewelry designers in Finland. Her production has a modern, bold touch and a clear and polished design. Kalevala Jewelry is one of the most well-known and valued brands in Finland. It has its finger firmly on the pulse of today, keeps an open mind and bravely addresses contemporary issues. Kalevala Classics depict Finnish cultural heritage at its strongest.

EDIT
I’ll add here a link to Seinäjoki Tango Festival - Tangomarkkinat, if you want to see
how crazy Finland is about tango!

Por una Cabeza, Carlos Gardel 
Gardel (1890-1935) is the most prominent figure of the Argentinian tango.

*****
#all seasons   #der natur donnerstag   #digitalart dienstag   #foto-tunes   #gartenglück   #image-in-ing

 #makrotex   #mosaic monday   #my corner of the world   #saturday’s critters   

# t in die neue woche   #the weekend roundup   #uudet värikollaasit   #wandering camera   

#willy-nilly   #watw

EMMA - Michael Jackson On the Wall

Paul McCarthy - Michael Jackson and Bubbles 

The exhibition Michael Jackson On the Wall was planned and put together before the documentary Leaving Neverland was released in the spring 2019. This exhibition was first presented in National Portrait Gallery, London (2018), followed by Grand Palais, Paris and Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn. Espoo Museum of Modern Art, EMMA says lamenting the situation and being against all kind of abuse, but canceling the most expensive exhibition in the museum’s history was not an option. I don’t read celebrity gossips, nor have seen the documentary; so I don’t have a personal opinion on the matter, just saw this as an art exhibition.  The space was a bit shadowy, but in spite of that some impressions.

Since Andy Warhol first used his image in 1982, Jackson has become the most depicted cultural figure in visual art by an extraordinary array of leading contemporary artists. On the Wall brings together the works of over forty of these artists, drawn from public and private collections around the world, including new works made especially for the exhibition.

Mark Ryden - Dangerous

Kehinde Wiley - Equestrian Portrait of King Philip II. 

Jackson's own commissioned work, which was not completed until after his death.

Lorraine O'Grady's exciting set of four photo collages featuring the artist

compares Charles Baudelaire and Jackson at different stages of their careers.

Faith Ringgold textile work Who's Bad? is painted on canvas.

The central part of the painting is surrounded by a quilting border.

The featured artists are: Rita Ackermann, Emma Amos, Lyle Ashton Harris, Dara Birnbaum, Appau Junior Boakye-Yiadom, Candice Breitz, Monster Chetwynd, Michael Craig-Martin, Dexter Dalwood, Graham Dolphin, Mark Flood, Isa Genzken, Michael Gittes, Todd Gray, Kai Guetta, Maggi Hambling, Jonathan Horowitz, Rashid Johnson, Isaac Julien, Johannes Kahrs, KAWS, David LaChapelle, Louise Lawler, Klara Lidén, Glenn Ligon, Sam Lipp, Isaac Lythgoe, Paul McCarthy, Rodney McMillian, Dawn Mellor, Dan Mihaltianu, Mr. Brainwash, Lorraine O’Grady, Catherine Opie, Yan Pei-Ming, Grayson Perry, Paul Pfeiffer, Faith Ringgold, Michael Robinson, Pamela Rosenkrantz, Mark Ryden, Susan Smith-Pinelo, Donald Urquhart, Andy Warhol, Kehinde Wiley, Hank Willis Thomas, Jordan Wolfson and Rose Wylie.

About the exhibition, in French 

// WILLY-NILLY 
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UFO has landed!

Futuro, designed by architect Matti Suuronen (1933–2013), was first shown to television and press in 1968. The Futuro is a vision of its time that continues to fascinate the people. A Futuro house is a round, prefabricated house of which fewer than 100 were built during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The shape, reminiscent of a flying saucer, and the structure's airplane hatch entrance have made the houses sought after by collectors. The Futuro is composed of fiberglass-reinforced polyester plastic, polyester-polyurethane, and poly(methylmethacrylate), measuring 4 metres (13 feet) high and 8 metres (26 feet) in diameter.

Photo: Heidi-Hanna Karhu

The Futuro's 50th anniversary exhibition presents the Futuro House and its worldwide distribution with photographs, captions and map graphics. The exhibition includes pictures of 50 Futuro's from around the world. It was not possible to see the Fururo more closely during my visit, it opens its doors only in the summertime. But the small Fururo-windows and the interactive system were fascinating to see. The Futuro has spread all over the world! Read more from London.

Photo: Wikipedia

Futuro is one example of the endless imagination of the Finnish architects.
Every design just can’t be a great success.


A charming song by Ella Fitzgerald from 1951 - Two Little Men in a Flying Saucer

// ALL SEASONS 
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Tapiola Church - Ascetic and brutal. Beautiful?

We celebrated the confirmation of my husband’s grandson Kalle at the Tapiola Church. Tapiola in Espoo is world famous for its beautiful architecture and brought worldwide fame for Finnish urban planning. From its first stages in the 50s it gained both a national and international reputation for its high class architecture and landscaping. You know that I am a fan of modern Finnish architecture, but I have to say that this church is ugly! And I am not alone with my opinion.

There are no decorations, only grey brick walls all over. No Christ or painting at the altar.

Outside is a massive undulating concrete block.

The church was completed in 1965. The architect was Professor Aarno Ruusuvuori, who was selected through an invitation to tender. The competition entry of Ruusuvuori was called "Holy Trees". Because the church grounds were surrounded by tall white housing towers, with which the church building could not compete, the architect's vision was to turn the building into a dark shadow over a pine forest.

Photo: Antti Vettenranta / Pharmacy News

The Tapiola Church in Espoo was a success a few years ago in a vote of Helsingin Sanomat (the leading newspaper in the country) seeking the ugliest church in Finland. People did not like the bunker-like design of the building and the "concrete monstrosity” lacked totally prestige in their opinion. I have to agree, but then I saw this article in favour written by Ville Hänninen / Pharmacy News. He wrote:

"As I sit on the bench, my eyes turn to the wall, again and again. I think of children who, in their boredom, count bricks during the worship. I listen to the sound of the organ and I look the entity of the bricks, individual bricks, their similarities - until I interact with the work. The building calms, and protects.”

My husband’s beautiful daughter and the handsome grandson ❤︎

I don’t know about the calming effect, but the ceremony was beautiful and the young boys and girls adorable. It had been an international confirmation camp where also some children of expatriate Finns participated. The languages were Finnish & English. The after party was full of delicious food & laughter, the sun was shining, and the day was happy and a success!

// WILLY-NILLY

Gallen-Kallela Museum - The Inner Eye

To the right: Akseli Gallen-Kallela - Kosmos / Universe

We Finns know Gallen-Kallela Museum with the name Tarvaspää. It was the atelier of the artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865 - 1931) and he lived on the premises in a separate villa. The studio castle of Tarvaspää is worth a visit as such. The building was completed in 1913 and was designed by the artist himself. At that time the neighbourhood was very silent, no loud motorway nearby. The building is located on a high hill overlooking the sea and sone stairs leading down steep cliffs. Stunning building and environment!

The exhibition The Inner Eye focuses on art of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Along with Akseli Gallen-Kallela, it features Pekka Halonen, Hugo Simberg, Beda Stjernschantz, Ellen Thesleff, Sigrid af Forselles and Sigurd Wettenhovi-Aspa. The curator of the exhibition is Nina Kokkinen, a researcher of art and religion and the present exhibition is largely based on her published doctoral dissertation called Seekers of Truth.

I bought myself this fabulous book by Nina Kokkinen:  Seekers of Truth.

It examines how esoteric spirituality is expressed in the art of these three painters:

Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865 - 1931), Pekka Halonen (1865-1933) and Hugo Simberg (1873-1917).

Occultism and esoteric movements achieved unprecedented popularity in the late 19th century. Many artists were inspired by spiritualism, theosophy and the study of psychic phenomena, which came to be known later as parapsychology. Clairvoyance became one of the most fascinating topics of the period. Many people believed that the sixth sense and the inner eye of the soul made it possible to perceive the more subtle levels of reality that would normally remain unseen. Artists began to portray themselves, their friends and the masters that they admired as extrasensory seers and psychics.

Hugo Simberg - Halla / Frost 1895

Hugo Simberg - Säkkijärven poika / Boy from Säkkijärvi 1897

Hugo Simberg - Unikko / The Poppy 1896

Magnus Enckell - Pää / Head 1894

Ida A. Fielitz - Portrait of Sigrid af Forselles

Beda Stjernschantz - Madonna 1898

Pekka Halonen - Madonna 1902. Photo Nina Koskinen. My own photo was unsharp :)

Hugo Simberg - Figure in a desert & a skull, Tampere Cathedral, frescos 1904

Akseli Gallen-Kallela

Akseli Gallen-Kallela  1907

The exhibition was very interesting, although clairvoyance & spiritism are strange to myself. There were old books and photos on display and a visitor interested in esoteric things could spend hours examining them. But I admired only these great paintings, showing the best of The Golden Era of Finnish art.See also Jenny Tieaho's fabulous outdoor exhibition The Black Swan in the museum garden.

// WILLY-NILLY
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// IMAGE-IN-ING

// ALL SEASONS