Man, Machine & Jewellery - Björn Weckström

I went to see Björn Weckström's (b. 1935) life work exhibition MAN, MACHINE AND JEWELLERY at the Didrichsen Art Museum. The exhibition was supposed to happen already last year in the artist’s 85th anniversary year, but luckily it could be opened now. I didn't know much about Weckström's life. I only knew him as a pioneering jewellery designer from the days of Lapponia Jewelry, but these human-sized mythical bronze figures were new to me. They are mindboggling, dramatic and, of course, stunning, but I find them pretty scary. Here's how Didrichsen's website says: 

In Weckström's works, the myths of antiquity meet the scientific achievements and fantasies of our time - the conquest of space, genetic manipulation and the revolution of machines. The large, shiny bronze sculptures of the exhibition from the 1980s and 1990s, machine people, are like a vision of a future driven by technological development.

The jewellery exhibition features 86 pieces from Weckström's career. Included is one of the artist’s best-known jewels, the Planetoid Valleys Necklace seen in the first Star Wars film. Weckström has designed his most famous jewellery for the Finnish Lapponia Jewelry, which is now owned by Kalevala Koru Oy.

Planetoid Valleys

Weckström’s small marble and glass sculptures were sympathetic and approachable. 

The exhibition included a series of stunning Stonehenge sculptures.

The thinker, 1988

Stereophonic dream

Blind runner

Icarus, 1980-82

MAN, MACHINE AND JEWELLERY

Didrichsen Art Museum 11.9.2021–30.1.2022

Björn Weckström’s stunning webpage

He has written a biography called The Designer of Myths (Bazar 2018).

The book is available in Finnish and Swedish.

"In his autobiography, Björn Weckström talks about the origins of his works and how they were received as well as interesting turning points in his career. As an artist, he has been a forerunner, whose works have often been ahead of their time. Probably the most familiar to the general public are golden Lapponia jewels and the silver necklage Planetoid Valleys of Princess Leia in Star Wars. Completely another size is represented by large sizes bronze sculptures depicting man, many of whom were inspired by ancient myths in his Italian studio.”

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Anu Pentik Exhibition, WAM, Turku

 

The installation exhibition of Anu Pentik In the beginning there was a seed at the Wäinö Aaltonen Museum in Turku was stunning. In recent years, the 79-year-old Pentik has focused on artistic work and the exhibition follows her life cycle and begins with the lovely flowering dandelion fields of childhood. Followed by lightly flying seedheads and after that a gloomy phase of loss of creativity and doubt. I have no pictures of this depression phase as the room was very dark. Finally, the colors and the joy of creativity are found again and finally the artist achieves peace. 

 

Pentik reportedly worked on this exhibition for a couple of years and used more than 400 meters of nearly 200-year-old log, 900 kilos of stoneware clay, 800 kilos of casting clay and 600 kilos of paper porcelain mass. 

Anu Pentik (b. 1942) lives and works in Posio and observes her surroundings 

with the most sensitive eyes. The sources of inspiration for her production are the animals, 

colors and shapes of Lapland's nature, but above all the different shades of experienced life.

 

Anu Pentik story - Dare to dream (in English)

 

Dandelion field of childhood

To the flight

Garden of joy

Peace

 

Also big ceramic plates were fantastic. They depicted different phases of dandelion.

 

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Tuusulan rantatiellä

The artist community of Tuusulan Rantatie is a wonderful place to visit.

The landscape is green and lush and these five artist homes are open to the public:

Ahola was the home of the writer Juhani Aho and his wife, 

the painter Venny Soldan-Brofeldt since 1897.

Suviranta, the painter Eero Järnefelt's home, was completed in 1901.

Halosenniemi, the studio home of painter Pekka Halonen, was completed in 1902.

The poet J. H. Erkko's Erkkola was also completed in 1902.

The family of composer Jean Sibelius moved to Ainola in 1904.

Artist Home Erkkola

Poet J. H. Erkko (1849–1906) was one of the prominent figures of Finnish culture 

in the late 19th century. He was a popular poet and playwright, often contributing to the ideals 

and efforts of his era. Many of his poems were set to music and continue living as songs.  

The house was designed by the painter Pekka Halonen.

The interior was interesting and there were many beautiful ovens & fireplaces.

 I don’t know the designer of the beautiful lamps at the front door. 

Today Erkkola hosts various art exhibitions. At the moment photographs of Taneli Eskola (b. 1958)

are on display under the theme In the Flow of Time. Eskola’s specialities are landscapes, 

garden art and Helsinki views. I especially loved his winter landscapes.

Aleksis Kivi memorial cottage

Erkko was inspired by another Finnish author, Aleksis Kivi (1834–1872), who is famous for 

the first novel written in Finnish, The Seven Brothers (1870). Kivi spent his last months 

very near Erkkola in a modest cottage in the care of his brother Albert Stenvall.

Aleksis Kivi, who suffered from alcoholism, migraine and schizophrenia in the last years of her life, 

was admitted to the Lapinlahti Mental Hospital in 1871. From there he moved to this cottage 

the following year. The municipality paid Albert four barrels of rye as a reward for caring for 

his sick brother. It is a modest and tiny cottage, hard to think that 8 people were living 

there at a time. Hard to find floor space to sleep.

41 years later, in December 1913 there happened a murder tragedy in this cottage: 

Albert (1831-1913) and his wife Vilhelmiina were found stabbed to death in the cottage. 

There was one suspect, but the murder stayed unsolved. - Helsingin Sanomat

Earlier I have posted about Halosenniemi and several posts about Ainola.

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Ainola, the Home of Jean Sibelius

Ainola (Chez Aino) is one of the artists' homes around Lake Tuusula. Composer Jean Sibelius 

moved there in 1904 with his family. The building was designed by architect Lars Sonck

And at that time the villa had a view to Lake Tuusula. Now the lake is no longer visible 

from the windows, but the property is big, beautiful and wooded.

Aino wanted her husband farther from Helsinki and his drinking pals. 

Painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela painted the Symposion, which caused stir in 1894. 

In the wee hours, Gallen-Kallela himself, composers Oskar Merikanto & Robert Kajanus 

& Jean Sibelius reflect on the mystery of life and art. 

Ainola was the home of Jean Sibelius and his wife Aino and their five daughters 

for 65 years and is the most popular home museum in Finland. 

My home is only half an hour away from Ainola, so we visit almost every year. 

It is really atmospheric and cozy, the spirit of Sibelius hovers around.

When Ainola was built, Jean Sibelius stayed a lot abroad. Thus, construction supervision 

remained largely on Aino's shoulders. She had taken some woodworking course in her youth  

and designed among other things this elegant upstairs stair railing.

The dining room is dominated by a green fireplace by potter Johan Grönroos. 

In this fireplace, Sibelius destroyed the drafts of his Eighth Symphony and apparently also 

his youthful works in the “big burns” of the 1940s.

The dining room opens to the library with its comfortable seating group.

Sibelius' study was upstairs at first, but later he moved to work downstairs. 

The room also has a bed.

Ainola's kitchen is spacious, simple and white, 

although the color is over the years slightly yellowed.

The sauna designed by Aino Sibelius has an ingenious gutter. 

Mr. Sibelius liked to bathe and Aino designed a gutter in connection with the hot water pot, 

along which hot water was easily led to the bathtub.

The garden was dear to Aino Sibelius and its harvest important in shortage of money 

in the early years. Ainola also had the first greenhouse in the locality 

and the cellar can still be seen today.

The simple and impressive tombstone is designed by architect Aulis Blomstedt, 

spouse of the youngest daughter Heidi. Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), Aino (1871-1969).

In addition to Ainola, other artists' homes of Lake Tuusula’s artist community

 are open to the public - e.g. writer Juhani Aho's Ahola, painter Pekka Halonen's Halosenniemi 

and writer J. H. Erkko's Erkkola, as well the home of painter Eero Järnefelt's Suviranta.

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#der natur donnerstag #garden affair #gartenglück #image-in-ing #makrotex / june

#saturday’s critters #t in die neue woche #wednesday around the world