Ars Fennica 2009 candidates line-up

Ars Fennica is Finland’s biggest visual art prize and the annual joint exhibition of works by the year’s five candidates is one of the most important events on the country’s cultural calendar. The Ars Fennica prize is awarded to one artist, in recognition of distinctive artistic output of high merit. This year, the five candidates present their new work, including many pieces made specifically for the exhibition, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, from October 9, 2009 to January 10, 2010.
more...

An Elixir for the mind and senses

This Fall, forget the grey mood of the season, get rid of your long face and try to enjoy art to its fullest. If you are in Helsinki, Finland, until December 6, a visit to Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum is a must. Just proceed to the fifth floor of the venue, lie back on pillows and let yourself be carried away on the flow of the images and music created by the Swiss superstar of international video art Pipiloti Rist, who presents her Elixir, a medicine to the mind that cares, nourishes and energises.
more...

Surrealism and Beyond

Helsinki is not a stronghold of surrealist art. And this is what makes exciting a visit to the exhibition Surrealism and Beyond - Masterpieces from the Israel Museum that is on display at the Tennis Palace Art Museum until September 22. The show is a rare selection of works by major surrealist names, including Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Francis Picabia, René Magritte, Joan Miró, Jean (Hans) Arp, Man Ray, Kurt Schwitters, Hannah Höch and Paul Delvaux, all coming from the Arturo Schwarz collection of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
more...

‘Picassos’ of Picasso go north

One of the most extensive and ambitious exhibitions that has been organized on Picasso to date, bringing together hundreds of works from the artist’s private collection and those he never wanted to lose, the so-called “picassos” of Picasso, is coming to Helsinki –the only Scandinavian capital to have this honour- for an unprecedented exhibition, which has taken art lovers by storm. All the works on display at the Ateneum Art Museum exhibition (from September 18 to January 6) are coming from the collections of the Musée National Picasso in Paris and had been on show last year at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid.
more...

Tracking Traces... in Helsinki

Traces can be found near and far, on the human body, in advertising imagery and in the urban space. They can be consciously or accidentally created signs and imprints that we leave and encounter every day. The Tracking Traces... collection exhibition at Helsinki’s Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art examines people, nature and culture through traces. The works on display until February 2010 convey an intimate experience in a public space that invites us to comment and listen.
more...