A week of Art in Helsinki

Thank you Helsinki for having treated us so well. We are now on a train north back home to Lapland, after an exciting, edifying and fruitful week in the city, seeing lots of art and meeting a nice bunch of humans 💪

On our first day wandering about the streets of the centre we bumped into to the paintings of Mari Sunna through the glass window of galleria Anhava. The exhibition offered us -who live surrounded by paintings- another yet extraordinary painting experience: we were compelled to lay down our eyes carefully on the paintings, as they seemed to crumble and fade away by our own very act of looking. 

The next day, the day of Misha's 40th birthday, we spent three and a half unforgettable hours at Wuorila-Stenberg Henry working-space, sharing a conversation on the sweet and sour of life in a birthday gift sent by the cheeky gods governing this universe. 

On Tuesday we traveled to Espoo for the underpublicised, boyish-kind-of display of collaborative works by Daniel Richter, Tal R and Jonathan Meese at EMMA Museum.  

Veikko Halmetoja welcomed us with a cup of tea on Wednesday at ARTag, his art-space in Hietalahdenjatu, and presented us with his wide knowledge on the local art scene. 

On Thursday before hitting the night with our friends Kati Karvonen, Anu Välitalo and Reetta Sironen for some perinteistä suomalaista musiikkia in Kallio, we joined in Heidi Lampenius for the vernissage of her handsome show of abstract paintings at Helsinki Contemporary. 

The following day we discovered Umut Kiukas little quirky space -Make Your Mark- at the opening of Jani Hänninen dynamic works on paper. 

Over two different evenings, Friday and Wednesday, we attended two very different, but equally fabulous gigs at galleria Huuto and galleria Rankka.

At the weekend we encountered at A2 Galleria Ilari Kähönen's sensitive and sensual processes of creating colourful drawings. We were pleased to find a painting in Kiasma (although it 'had to' include headphones and a soundtrack next to it to be 'in') and were touched by a series of works on old-age at HAM. And, of course, we visited Forsblom with accomplice Hanna Kari to confirm what ios common knowledge: no matter what you put on those walls, they just become red dots. 

Yesterday on our last day on the capital we went back to Rankka with our sister Helka Rissanen to meet artist Jyrki Riekki, who very gallantly showed us around the space and from whom we purchased a small but intense artwork for our own collection.

Thank you Terhi Vuorinen and Kati Ruohomäki for opening the doors of your homes, kitchens and hearts, and take us in with such a warm effortless hospitality.

A bit of a pity we didn't take any pictures of these meetings and events, but then again...

Kiitos Helsinki, nähdään taas. Palataan!