The InCollection commission series, created by Saastamoinen Foundation and EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, annually enhances the Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection with a commissioned work from a visionary contemporary artist. Around the commissioned artwork, an exhibition is conceptualized and curated in EMMA's space. The next artist in the InCollection series is Antti Laitinen. Laitinen's InCollection exhibition will open in 2025.
Kuva: Antti Laitinen. © Ari Karttunen/EMMA.
Antti Laitinen builds a forest for EMMA. The exhibition explores the human-nature relationship and passage of time applying absurdist humor, typical of Laitinen’s work. With woody debris collected from all over Finland, the artist brings coarse organic material into dialogue with the white-painted, even clinical, exhibition space. The exhibition opens on September 24, 2024, and will run until September 13, 2025.
Nordic nature and especially the forest are central themes in the work of Laitinen, who lives and works in Somero, Southern Finland. Physical activities such as collecting trees, shaping forests and sailing on a bark boat are an essential part of Laitinen’s art. For him, the process is often as important as the end result. The forest installation in EMMA’s exhibition space is commissioned as part of the InCollection exhibition series co-produced by the museum and Saastamoinen Foundation.
Antti Laitinen (b. 1975) is known for works and installations that combine photography, video and performance art. His international career includes exhibitions in the Nordic countries, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States and China. In 2013, he represented Finland at the 55th Venice Biennale.
Laitinen’s InCollection exhibition is the eighth in the series. Previous InCollection artists include Tschabalala Self (2024–2025), Pierre Huyghe (2023–2024), Pilvi Takala (2023), Chiharu Shiota (2021–2022), Eeva-Leena Eklund (2020–2021), Tatsuo Miyajima (2019–2020), and Alicja Kwade (2018–2019). The commissioned piece creates a fascinating spatial experience in EMMA’s unique exhibition space. After the exhibition, the commissioned artwork will become part of the Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection.
The current InCollection exhibition is Around the Way by Tschabalala Self. Around the Way is open until May 4th, 2025. Read more about the current exhibition here.
