Dialogues

In the foreground: Rasheed Araeen, Chaar Pellay, 1968-2017. In the background: Leena Luostarinen, Nefertiti in the Garden of Fragrances, 1998. © Paula Virta / EMMA

Saastamoinen Foundation Collection Exhibition at EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art showcases contemporary Finnish and international art.

Dialogues: Collection Exhibition of the Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection at EMMA. © Paula Virta / EMMA

The Dialogues exhibition presents Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection, regularly showcasing selections from Saastamoinen Foundation’s collection with frequently updated displays.

The second installation of Dialogues opened in November 2024 and focuses on pieces reflecting human encounters and complex relationships from diverse perspectives. The concept of dialogue is explored through both the visual language of artworks and theirevocative themes.

Dialogues is built on the interplay between works of art and is curated primarily from the foundation’s recent acquisitions. The first part of the exhibition was completed at the end of 2023. An earlier section of the collection exhibition, Human and Nature, which is part of the Touch exhibition, remains on display.

The exhibition also includes a media space equipped with EMMA’s state-of-the-art technology, displaying Saastamoinen Foundation’s new media art acquisitions

On view: Dialogues

The Dialogues exhibition presents Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection, regularly showcasing selections from Saastamoinen Foundation’s collection with frequently updated displays. The display is being updated section by section into the new Dialogues exhibition, the first part of which opened to the public on November 2023. The second part opened in November 2024. The exhibition is based on the dialogue between artworks and is curated primarily from the Foundation’s recent acquisitions. Dialogues continues the collaboration between Saastamoinen Foundation and EMMA, highlighting the diversity of one of Finland’s most significant art collections.

The third part of the Dialogues exhibition opens in October 2025.

Monira Al Qadiri, BENZENE FLOAT (Propane), 2023; Louise Bourgeois, From the portfolio Topiary: The Art of Improving Nature, 1988. © Paula Virta / EMMA

Touch

The Touch exhibition showcased contemporary Finnish and international art. Its central theme was humanity, through which it explored fundamental questions of life. The exhibition was composed of various themes, addressing topics such as identity and perception, as well as our relationship with the body and the surrounding space. The final section of Touch will be replaced by the new Dialogues exhibition during 2025.

Events in Nature

Events in Nature (2013–2015) presented contemporary landscapes and nature-related works from the Foundation’s collection. The exhibition took its Finnish name from the visual artist Kari Cavén’s moving sculpture ‘Waterfall Rainbow’ and the painter Reino Hietanen’s series of paintings ‘Events in Nature’. Museum visitors were haunted by the Icelandic artist Eggert Petursson’s almost three-dimensional painting and Elina Brotherus’ contemplative video work long after the exhibition closed.

The World in a Box

The exhibition showcasing Juhani Harri’s assemblages and collages was drawn from the Foundation’s extensive Harri collection and a private collector’s collection deposited at the Pori Art Museum. The works from the two collections complemented each other in terms of time period and engaged in a fruitful dialogue within the exhibition.

Red

Punainen / Rött / Red (2010–2012) brought together about 40 works of art to highlight the diversity of the colour red which ranges from shades of pink to caput mortuum. The exhibition included red pigments to show visitors how and from what the colour can be created. The exhibition also stimulated reflection about the conflicting ideas associated with the colour red.

Entre chien et loup

Between the wolf and the dog / Entre chien et loup exhibition (2008–2011) explored the broad spectrum of shades of grey. Curator, visual artist, and writer Hannu Väisänen painted a work directly onto the exhibition space during the installation period, from October 27 to November 9, 2008, naming the piece after that timeframe. The exhibition’s 63 works demonstrated that there are at least as many shades of grey as there are pieces in the collection.

Collection opening exhibition

The first installation of the Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection at EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art was completed in October 2006, when the museum opened to the public. After the collection had spent a long period in storage, as broad and diverse a selection as possible was presented. The exhibition featured around 500 works. It received a great deal of positive feedback, particularly for showcasing the historical continuum of Finnish art up to the present day—something that, in 2006, was not available elsewhere in museums in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

Moving image

Moving image is one of the focus areas of the strategy of the Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection. Works of moving image are presented at EMMA as part of the Saastamoinen Foundation Collection exhibition, as well as in a room specifically designed for showcasing media art. In 2025, this space 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.

Rashaad Newsome, Untitled (New Way), 2009, video still.

Volunteers of Kuopio Lifeboat Association ensure safety on the waters

Ana Teresa Barboza’s work ‘Interwoven Stories’ opened at Helsinki Biennial

The Silent People Arrive in Syvänniemi – A Summer Installation at the Old Spool Mill Invites You to Pause

Dialogues

Dialogues

On view: Dialogues

Previous collection exhibitions

Touch

Events in Nature

The World in a Box

Red

Entre chien et loup

Collection opening exhibition

Moving image