Helsinki School

Elina Brotherus, Anni Leppälä, Jorma Puranen, and Sandra Kantanen at Finlandia Hall!

Discover the works of our Helsinki School artists—, , , and —featured in a collection curated by HAM Helsinki Art Museum for the newly renovated Finlandia Hall.

Location:
Mannerheimintie 13e, 00100 Helsinki, FI

Check out Ilkka Halso’s solo exhibition ‘Layered Landscapes’ at Malva, which examines the anatomy of landscape, illuminating dark landscapes from above using a flash platform constructed from a drone. His approach resembles a dissection, analyzing landscapes by dividing them into parts.

Exhibition dates:
7 Dec 2024 - 6 April 2025

Location:
Lahti Museum of Visual Arts Malva
Päijänteenkatu 9
15140 Lahti, Finland



Artwork: Ilkka Halso,’Knolls, Pallas Fell – Exploded view,’ 2016, 118 x 227 cm

Artist Highlight: ✨Jari Silomäki✨

Rooted in classical documentary and narrative photography, Jari Silomäki has developed a unique way of storytelling, continuously finding new ways of exploring the realms of fact and fiction, documentation and imagination. In his numerous long-term projects, he joins photography with written narrative elements, creating a gateway between the familiar and the unknown. Investigating everyday life from several angles, he manages to connect private thoughts with the outside world, merging the local and the global.



With the upcoming winter holidays, we will be closed as of December 21st until January 7th, 2025! Wishing you all a peaceful holiday season!

__________

Artwork: Jari Silomäki, ‘Untitled (Parkano, 27.12.2001),’ from the series ‘My Weather Diary 2001-2051,’ pigment print on aluminum, 31 x 31 cm

Artist Highlight : Riitta Päiväläinen ✨

Over the past two decades, Päiväläinen’s distinctive works have gained international acclaim for their idiosyncratic style and profound storytelling. Her compositions center on two primary elements, nature and textiles, which she joins together in deserted, atmospheric scenes. In these pristine landscapes, untouched by human activity, fabric installations interact seamlessly with light and atmosphere, crafting quiet yet resonant scenes. Päiväläinen invites viewers into an imaginary narrative, evoking a feeling of past presence and enhancing the idea of untold, forgotten stories.


__________

Artwork: Riitta Päiväläinen, ‘Dusk,’ 2014, C-Print, Diasec, 155 x 120 cm

Artist Highlight :✨ ANNI LEPPÄLÄ ✨

Interested in photography’s ability to suspend time, Anni Leppälä explores themes of memory and nostalgia throughout her work. Her visual language weaves together an array of textures, materials, and objects, often playing with a distorted sense of scale. Leppälä’s works are imbued with a dreamlike, narrative quality reminiscent of the magical world of childhood fairytales, where recurring motifs such as curtains or closets offer mysterious passageways to the unknown.

Come explore Leppälä’s captivating work at our current exhibition ‘The Helsinki School-Out of the Depths of Photography,’ on view at our Berlin gallery until January 25!



Artwork: Anni Leppälä, ‘Collection I-VI (Hyle, Curtain, Backdrop),’ 2017, pigment print, plywood, cloth/canvas, carved acrylic, wooden shelf, 52 x 45 x 5 cm

Artist Highlight – ULLA JOKISALO
 
Ulla Jokisalo has creatively challenged how society portrays various stereotypes throughout her career. Her weapons of choice including needles, pins, thread and cut-out images, Jokisalo’s approach is similar to that of Louise Bourgeois in how she conceptualises what it means for a woman to be the subject, as opposed to the object in art.
 
projects .jokisalo
 
__________
 
Image: Inkognito, Ulla Jokisalo, from the series “The Collection of Headless Women”, 2017
 

Through the Lens of the Helsinki School – Memory and the Passage of Time

These three works by artists Ville Lenkkeri, Jussi Nahkuri and Finnbogi Pétursson all deal with themes of memory and time.

Ville Lenkkeri’s series “The Petrified Forest” is a collection of staged photographs that reflect his memories and mental images of the town of Mänttä, where he grew up. Jussi Nahkuri’s innovative photographic installations deal with themes of time and momentariness and chance. The artist explains “Memory isn’t something immutable that you preserve as is.“ Pétursson’s Logg Loops are old radio broadcast tapes that have deteriorated due to storage conditions. If they can be played at all, they will only be played once before being ruined. They remain as a memory from the past which may only be accessed one time.

To learn more about the Helsinki School and its artists, feel free to check out our website!

projects


__________

Images (in order):

An Unspoken Admission of Tenderness, Ville Lenkkeri, from the series “The Petrified Forest”, 2015;
Standing on the Shore, Jussi Nahkuri, 2021;
Logg Loops, Finnbogi Pétursson, 2020

Artist Highlight: NIINA VATANEN
 
“As a photographer, I am interested in how the image appears, how something becomes visible. You can see clouds in the shadows reflected on the wall, or the night light in the room looks like a full moon, an eye is drawn on the bark of a tree. Despite its apparent objectivity, the camera also makes it possible to create images that add an imagination-fueling level to everyday life. The subjects of my photographs are these illusions and memories, which are interwoven in the exhibition as layers of time and memory.” Nina Vatanen explains about her series “Cloud Hunter’s Eyes” which tackles the notion of memory and, inevitably, forgetting.
 
projects
__________
 
Image: “Cloud Hunter”, Niina Vatanen, from the “Cloud Hunter’s Eyes“ series, 2013
 

Through the Lens of the Helsinki School – Environmental Decay
 
These three works by artists Nanna Hänninen, Ilkka Halso and Tiina Itkonen all deal with the impact humans have on the environment differently.
 
In her “Painted Desert” series, Hänninen paints over photographs of desert vegetation to shed light on the impact of human activity on many ecosystems. The approach is different from Halso’s “‘I plan and visually construct buildings, which will protect nature from threats of pollution and what is more important, from actions of man.“ Itkonen’s work focuses on documenting the direct impact of climate change on the way of life of Inuit communities in Greenland.
 
To learn more about the Helsinki School and its artists, feel free to check out the link in our bio !
 
projects
 

__________
 
Images (in order):
Sunrise in Color #2 (Joshua Tree National Park), Nanna Hänninen, from the series “Painted Desert”, 2024;
Museum I, Ilkka Halso, from the series “Museum of Nature”, 2003;
Iceberg III, Tiina Itkonen, 2006
 

Art Düsseldorf – JORMA PURANEN
 
We are thrilled to announce that .projects will be featuring Jorma Puranen´s work at their booth at Art Düsseldorf on April 12-14.
 
Depicting a rich span of subjects, Jorma Puranen’s photographs serve as contemplations on a fluid past and a fleeting present, with reflection appearing as a leitmotiv throughout his work.
 
To learn more about Jorma Puranen, check out booth G11 at Art Düsseldorf or click the link in our bio !
 
projects
 
__________
 
Image : Seascape after the Rain 7, Jorma Puranen, 2019
 

“Like poets, I try to catch the idea as long as it is fresh – touch the fragile area between the material and the immaterial. There has to be space for chance and play, a certain balance between concentration and lightness. “

Timo Kelaranta, 2017, From his Statement.

To learn more about the Helsinki School and its artists, click the link in our bio !
 
projects 
__________
 
Image: Signs from a Stranger, Timo Kelaranta, 2019, Pigment ink print
 


Artist Highlight: VILLE LENKKERI
 
Ville Lenkkeri has a background in cinematography, which is an evident influence in his photographic works. His work touches on themes of memory, time, reality and fiction.
 
Lenkkeri’s series “The Petrified Forest” focuses on the small Finnish town where he grew up, through emotionally charged staged photographs that deal with the subjectivity of memory.

To learn more about his work, click the link in our bio !
 
projects
__________
 
Image: Homecoming, Ville Lenkkeri, from the series The Petrified Forest, Framed pigment print