Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection is one of Finland’s most significant collections of Finnish and international art, with new works continuously being acquired. Saastamoinen Foundation is a founding partner of EMMA and one of the museum’s longest-standing collaborators.
Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection
Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection comprises nearly 3,000 Finnish and international works of modern and contemporary art.
The collection includes artworks ranging from paintings and sculptures of the 1910s to installations, photographic art, and moving image works of the 2020s.
The development of the collection is overseen by an art committee composed of renowned professionals in the field. The Foundation’s art collection is continuously evolving, with the aim of maintaining a high-quality, diverse, topical, and thought-provoking selection of works.
The collection is maintained and developed in a way that preserves, enriches, and shares cultural heritage and highlights the diversity of art now and in the future. Through its collection work, the Foundation promotes access to both Finnish and international art for everyone, strengthens artistic dialogue, and builds a bridge between the past and the future.
Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection was deposited into EMMA’s collections at the time of the museum’s founding. Today, the collection comprises nearly 3,000 works.
The foundation of the art collection is the private collection of an industrial family from Kuopio. Saastamoinen Foundation was established in 1968 to advance society through science and art, and since then, it has supported the growth, preservation, and presentation of the art collection.
The collection’s works are permanently on display at EMMA, with rotating presentations. In addition, art from the foundation is also seen in Espoo’s public spaces, curated by EMMA.
Collection exhibition Dialogues
Dialogues exhibition is based on the conversation between artworks and is primarily curated from recent acquisitions of the foundation’s art collection. The exhibition concept continues the significant collaboration between Saastamoinen Foundation and EMMA, showcasing the diversity of one of Finland’s most important art collections
Monira Al Qadiri, BENZENE FLOAT (Propane), 2023; Louise Bourgeois, From the portfolio Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature, 1988. Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection © Paula Virta / EMMA
Antti Laitinen
InCollection is an annual series of commissioned works and exhibitions produced jointly by Saastamoinen Foundation and EMMA, the Espoo Museum of Modern Art.
The artist featured in the new InCollection exhibition opening in Autumn 2025 is Antti Laitinen. Born in 1975, Laitinen is known for his works and installations that combine photography, video, and performance. With an international career, his exhibitions have been shown across the Nordic countries, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China. In 2013, he represented Finland at the 55th Venice Art Biennale.
Antti Laitinen. © Ari Karttunen/EMMA
Moving image
Moving image is one of the focus areas of Saastamoinen Foundation’s art collection strategy. Moving image works are presented at EMMA as part of the Saastamoinen Foundation collection exhibition, as well as in a room designed specifically for exhibiting media art. In 2025, the room will feature two new media art acquisitions by the foundation: Dolle (2023) by Italian artist Diego Marcon and The Genealogy of Violence (2023) by French-Algerian artist Mohamed Bourouissa. In addition, Rashaad Newsome’s Untitled (New Way) (2009) is on view in the Dialogues collection exhibition.
Rashaad Newsome, Untitled (New Way), 2009, video still
Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection