28 March – 27 May, 2012

Stig in och ta en cocktail (Please Join Us for A Cocktail) 1970, Moderna Museet, Stockholm. Photo: Moderna Museet, Stockholm.

The Gallen-Kallela Museum's spring exhibition presents a retrospective view of the work of the Swedish artist Peter Dahl (born 1934), a classic name of contemporary Nordic art. Having started out as a young rebel, Dahl is now one of Sweden's most beloved contemporary artists. This artist, who criticized society and questioned bourgeois values, became highly popular in the 1980s with his paintings interpreting, at various levels, the songs and poems known as Fredman's Epistles by Carl Michael Bellman, Sweden's 18th-century national poet. In Dahl's visions, Bellman's world presents itself as a spirited, carnal and burlesque visual cavalcade while not forgetting the more sombre tones of life.

This exhibition at Tarvaspää is a cross-section Dahl's extensive oeuvre from the 1950s to the present day, with particular focus on Kalle's Dream (Kalles dröm) series from 1971 and the works on Bellman's era. The exhibits consist of paintings, lithographs, drawings and miniature sculptures. The exhibition is the first retrospective of Dahl's work to be held in Finland.

The exhibition is produced by the Zorn Museum, which has published the accompanying book. Peter Dahl's exhibition was on show at the Zorn Museum in early 2012.

2 June – 9 September 2012

This exhibition and its catalogue explore birch bark in art and present the traditional uses of this material and its opportunities in contemporary design and material culture. The exhibition project combines different genres of artistic expression – painting, sculpture, installation, spatial art, functional everyday objects and works of applied art stretching the limits of traditional design. Extending beyond chronological limits, the exhibition takes as one of its starting points Akseli Gallen-Kallela's varied interpretations of birch and its symbolic meanings. Works by contemporary artists and designers tell of the ingenious new uses of this traditional material and reflect the yearning for skills of the hand and craftsmanship that is typical of the present day. Current interpretations and considerations of environmental philosophy are closely associated with the new uses of birch.

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tarvaspaa(at)gallen-kallela.fi