Three perspectives to the Kuntsi Collection – a new exhibition to open in the Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art on May 5, 2024

Established in 1970, the Kuntsi Foundation presents an exhibition based on the collection in the Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art in Vaasa every three years. The exhibition to be presented now, Bodies and Moments – Three Perspectives to the Kuntsi Collection, has been curated by three of the foundation’s board members, PhD Leevi Haapala, dean of the Academy of Fine Arts, DFA Teemu Mäki, chairman of the Artists’ Association of Finland, and Anne-Maj Salin, the foundation’s representative and museum director emerita.

Surrealist continuum from classics to contemporary art

The segment curated by Leevi Haapala introduces the continuum of surrealism into contemporary art. He provides a foundation to the Kuntsi Collection, while highlighting the surrealism of it as well as its legacy consisting of more contemporary works and subsequent art trends. The condensed timeline of the exhibition begins with European surrealist classics and progresses to contemporary artworks. It includes artists inspired by the surface and shine of urban life, drawing from constructivism and pop art.

Leevi Haapala has also selected works by Helsinki-based contemporary artist Antti Ruuhela from outside the collection to engage in dialogue with the collection’s works.

Multifaceted perspective

The segment curated by Teemu Mäki is divided into four different themes, addressing the celebration of everyday life, the grotesqueness of the body, the societal statements of art, and the existence beyond humanity.

In the section An Ode to Everyday Life – Paradise Is Here and Now, the artworks encourage us to find happiness in everyday life instead of dreaming of financial wealth or a paradisiacal afterlife. The works in the A Grotesque Body (Is a Living Body) section highlight our contradictions and how far we are from the confident and successful heroes of advertisements and propaganda images.

Art Is a Hammer – Public Stances section contains societal statements, political art, although they are not propaganda. The works in the More than Human section reach beyond humanity. In them, humans seek help, advice, or good examples from religion or the non-human nature. The phenomenon is timeless but particularly acute amidst the current ecological crisis.

Teemu Mäki’s curated segment also includes some works from outside the Kuntsi Foundation’s collection, from the Finnish Artists’ Association’s collections, as well as from Eeva Honkanen, and one from Mäki himself. The purpose of these works is to enrich the whole and help the audience see the relevance of the foundation’s collection and its connections to contemporary art.

Key works narrate moments and encounters

Anne-Maj Salin has selected iconic, key works for the exhibition. She starts from moments, the situation or atmosphere depicted by the artwork, and the encounter with the artwork, which generates emotions on a concrete or thought level. Even a familiar work can offer a new encounter that may evoke entirely new thoughts and emotions in another time and situation. Familiar works may now be even more relevant and compelling. Time brings distance and new perspectives. Good works withstand the test of time.

The exhibition features nearly 200 artworks. Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art is filled with both the Foundation’s Finnish contemporary art classics and rarely seen works from the foreign collection. Göran Augustson, Salvador Dali, Paul Delvaux, Juhani Harri, David Hockney, Kimmo Kaivanto, Ahti Lavonen, Kauko Lehtinen, Leena Luostarinen, Olli Lyytikäinen, Marika Mäkelä, Pablo Picasso, Marjatta Tapiola, Veikko Vionoja, Hannu Väisänen, Rafael Wardi… The selection of works and artists for this exhibition may surprise, as do the works by artists outside the collection.

The collection of over 900 works by the Kuntsi Foundation is a magnificent and representative art ensemble, offering abundant inspiration. When curating the collection, the goal has been to create a light and airy collection, although it may contain deep and dark tones. From the outset, it has been brought into the public eye to offer art experiences to everyone.

Welcome to explore the Kuntsi Foundation’s exhibition Bodies and Moments – Three Perspectives to the Kuntsi Collection at Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art from May 5, 2024 to October 6, 2024.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a curatorial tour on Sunday May 5^th at 12 am.

The exhibition has been produced by the Kuntsi Foundation in collaboration with the Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art.