Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma presents contemporary Finnish art, May – August 2009, Helsinki

(2009 06 30 16:08)

Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma presents three important exhibitions by Finnish artists.

The tenth collection exhibition “Tracking traces” (March 2009 – February 2010) shows the traces left by advertising and pop culture in the works of contemporary artists. 122 works by 51 artists are divided into three sections: Smudge, Bar Code and Imprint.
“The world that surrounds us is full of signs and messages – traces of the world that contemporary art makes use of by copying, recycling, sampling and commenting on them. Traces can be found (...) on the human body, in advertising images, on cereal packets and in the urban space. The traces can be physical imprints, visible signs, actions or memory traces (...) they transmit as well as shape our idea of ourselves and of the world. They are about life and the need for interaction.”

Another exhibition “Horror vacui” three major Finnish artists Markus Copper, Jari Haanperä and Kimmo Schroderus, focus on spatial issues (May – August 2009). They all detest empty space and fill it with powerful ideas, sculptural volumes, motorised objects, moving images, lights and sounds, creating a claustrophobic impression. Two aspects of the exhibition: heavy, physical, stationary masses and moving lights and sounds are contrasted. One of the works in the Horror vacui exhibition is Markus Copper's "Estonia", which was donated to Kiasma collections by Friends of Kiasma association.

“(Un)naturally” (May – August 2009) is a summer exhibition of works by nine male artists: Jan-Erik Andersson, Kalle Hamm and Dzamil Kamanger, Jukka Korkeila, Jouni Kujansuu, Pekka Niskanen, Harri Pälviranta, Kari Soinio and Viggo Wallensköld. The collection looks for traces of feminity as well as masculinity in works created by men. The curators Leena-Maija Rossi and Marja-Terttu Kivirinta want to aks questions about what it means to be a man in the 2000s through contemporary art.