Several artists from the gallery in the Sara Hildén Art Museum collection exhibition

Sara Hildén Art Museum – From the Beginning

June 12 – August 31, 2025
 

From the Beginning offers perspectives on the evolution and diversification of Finnish visual art. The exhibition explores key art movements and themes: the geometric abstraction of the 1950s, the free-form informalism of the 1960s, depictions of nature and emotion, and the realism of the 1960s and 70s—often with socially engaged subject matter. Art from the 2000s is approached through thematic lenses: nature and the environment, the transience of life and darker undertones, as well as the theme of transparency, expressed for example through a group of sculptures. The exhibition also features new works.

Among the participating artists are Susanne Gottberg, Veikko Hirvimäki, Kaarina Kaikkonen, Leena Luostarinen, Marika Mäkelä, Jarmo Mäkilä, Reima Nevalainen, Marjatta Tapiola, Toni R. Toivonen, Marianna Uutinen ja Hannu Väisänen.

Marianna Uutinen (b. 1961), who rose to prominence in the 1980s, presents works from her Plastic Sky 10 series (2015). In Uutinen’s recent paintings, attached fabrics are folded into layers of acrylic paint, forming compositions where, in the artist’s own words, materiality plays a central role. Her works often lie between the figurative and the abstract, inviting the viewer to experience them through their own reactions in relation to the surrounding space.

Marika Mäkelä (b. 1947), also a prominent figure since the 1980s, presents works from 2013, including Flowers of the East and Tibetan Mourning Saddle. Her glitter-encrusted oil paintings, created on relief-like wooden surfaces, reference traditional women’s handicraft. “I’m worried there’s been far too little room in my works. I want the surface to be so densely embroidered it overflows!” Mäkelä says. These works draw inspiration from the ornamentalism of Art Nouveau and stylized floral motifs.

Kaarina Kaikkonen (b. 1952) is represented by the 1998 work And the Sea Was Empty. Kaikkonen is known for using worn men's shirts and suit jackets, a practice born from personal loss. Grief and longing drive her search for something deeper—beneath the surface. The sea and emptiness are recurring themes in her art. “Humanity has existed for such a short time, in the whole universe. The sea has always been.”

Susanne Gottberg (b. 1964) presents her 2022 work As It Is, which questions and contemplates various modes of existence, perception, form and content, and the nature—and absence—of light and darkness. In her recent works, Gottberg addresses the reality we live in, one we cannot ignore. As It Is is a self-portrait taken through a mirror. The painting's reality unfolds in many layers. The work encourages us to look—at the world and at ourselves.

Toni R. Toivonen (b. 1987) presents Crucifixion (2018), a work that captures the final presence of an animal. The artist placed the body of a dead horse onto a sheet of brass. Over time, moisture and pressure formed an image on the surface. The golden tone of the brass, referencing gold’s role in art history, stands in stark contrast to the rawness of the subject. Like Baroque art, the work carries a memento mori message—a reminder of life’s impermanence. “To understand life, there must be death. Shadows reveal the direction of light,” the artist says.

Hannu Väisänen (b. 1951) also features in the exhibition. He is known as a multitalented artist who works across visual art, literature, stage and costume design, and directing.

Sara Hildén Art Museum

Särkänniemenraitti 5

Tampere, Finland
 

OPENING HOURS

Summer season (June–August): Open Mon–Sun, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Winter season (September–May): Open Tue–Sun, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Exceptional opening hours:

Thu, June 19, 2025 (day before Midsummer Eve): open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Fri–Sun, June 20–22, 2025 (Midsummer): closed

Sept 1 – Dec 31, 2025: closed