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Opening hours:
Daily 10–18,
from 1 September Tue–Sat 11–16, Sun 11–17.
Closed on Midsummer Eve 19 June.
Tickets:
Adults € 8
Seniors € 6
Holders of S-etu benefit card € 7
Students € 4
Free entrance for children under 18.
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The Gallen-Kallela Museum's summer exhibition leads visitors to the sources of meteorological phenomena, particularly focusing on clouds and their numerous forms. For present-day viewers, climate change has introduced new levels of interpretation. The exhibition offers a journey from horizons glowing red with the setting sun as depicted by Finnish romantic artists to foreboding thunder clouds, fantasy scenes and personal moods. Comments on the painted skies of the 19th and 20th centuries are provided by the works of contemporary artists working in fields ranging from surrealist conceptual art to painting and photography.
Artists observed weather and climate through clouds, thus combining the perspective of the natural sciences and art. With their continuously changing forms, clouds could also interpret internal states of mind, like Fanny Churberg's dramatic, rising storm clouds – the other extreme being Eero Järnefelt's meditative studies. Clouds also opened up the mysterious reality beyond the visible world that was captured in the works of Hugo Simberg and Väinö Blomstedt.
"It's best to take along a pair of galoshes and an umbrella"
The works on display in Cloud date from the 1860s to contemporary art, with main focus on the art of Gallen-Kallela and his contemporaries. Shining white cumulus clouds are matched by depictions of storms, rain and fog, where the humidity of the air can definitely be sensed. Alongside depictions of nature, Gallen-Kallela boldly combined clouds with portraiture, but they also appear as symbols of technology criticism.
The invited contemporary artists of the exhibition add further depth to the theme by introducing new ways of presentation and observation: "The cloud is also a symbol of dreams and a means to cross over, perhaps a way to escape the occasional boredom of everyday life. An artist is also sitting on a cloud while working, looking at the subject from above, reaching out with the aid of imagination towards a mental image." (Merja Ranki) The exhibits include paintings, sculpture, works of graphics and photographic art. A special feature is Portrait of the Artist's Mother (1896) by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, on loan from the Nationalmuseet in Stockholm, Sweden.
Ms. Paula Lehtomäki, Minister of the Environment, is the official patron of the exhibition.
Gallen-Kallelan Museum
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