Finnish exhibition opens at BWA contemporary art gallery

An exhibition of contemporary Finnish art will go on display August 24 in the BWA Contemporary Art Gallery in Katowice. The exhibit will continue for about two months, until October 14. This is the first exhibit in Poland of the most recent Finnish art. Entitled “Certain Finland,” it was prepared two years ago by the Belgian Museum “Atelier 304” in Brussels – an independent cultural center famous for promoting artists on the outskirts of Europe. The Finnish exhibition will be composed mostly of sculptures of 12 well-known artists: Jussi Heikkila, Timo Heino, Pekka Jylha, Kaarina Kaikkonen, Kaija Kiuru, Kaisu Koivisto, Elina Lind, Eero Markuksela, Reima Nurmikko, Jaakko Pernu, Anni Rapinoja and Anu Tuominen. The subtitle of the exhibition – “Animal, Vegetable and Social Aspects in Contemporary Finnish Art” – illustrates the variety and nature of the display. Finnish art has a strong environmental heritage and foundation. Nature and natural materials have always been important. In almost all the works on display, the artists take note of ecological disturbances, as well as the fragile balance between culture and nature. The artists also ask questions about the relationship between humanity and nature. They present various contemporary world problems, such as globalization, urbanization, pollution, genetic manipulations, tensions between civilizations, human rights, feminism, the place of man in the universe…and many more. After Katowice, “Certain Finland” will be on display at the Polish Sculpture Center in Oronsk, the BWA Contemporary Art Gallery in Wroclaw and finally the Arsenal Gallery in Bialystok. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue in four languages (Polish, Finnish, English and French) and contains artist biographies as well as reproductions of their art.