CONSTRUCTIONS / Rakenteita

Modern finnish and international art from the Maire Gullichsen Foundation´s collections and the deposit collections of Pori Art Museum. Juhana Blomstedt, Birger Carlstedt, Jorma Hautala, Outi Ikkala, Matti Kujasalo, Seppo Kärkkäinen, Leonhard Lapin, Ernst Mether-Borgström, Lars- Gunnar Nordström, Unto Pusa, Sam Vanni and Victor Vasarely.

STRUCTURES
(Translated with ChatGPT)
January 16, 1999 – March 21, 1999

In early 1999, the Pori Art Museum’s exhibition program focuses on presenting the museum’s collections through two thematic exhibitions. Structures showcases modern Finnish and international art, with a focus on pure form, ranging from organic to strictly structural. Finnish constructivism, which forms the core of the Maire Gullichsen Art Foundation’s collection, is particularly well represented. The exhibition offers insight into the role of constructivism as a fundamental structural basis for abstract art and its significance, particularly in the development of Finnish visual art from the 1950s onward. The works also point to the vitality of the modernist tradition on a larger scale and its undeniable influence on contemporary visual sign systems.

The exhibition includes a selection from the 1996 Patron of the Year, Juhani Lipsanen’s collection of archival works. These paintings and sculptures significantly complement the Pori Art Museum’s collection of modern art, particularly the works of Juhana Blomstedt, Ernst Mether-Borgström, Lars-Gunnar Nordström, and Victor Vasarely. Other artists featured in the exhibition include Jean Arp, Jorma Hautala, Kari Huhtamo, Outi Ikkala, Matti Kujasalo, Leonhard Lapin, Ahti Lavonen, Pekka Ryynänen, and Sam Vanni. Their works are selected from the Maire Gullichsen Art Foundation, Maire Foundation, and the Pori City Art Collection.

Following Structures, another exhibition will be presented, also drawn from the Pori Art Museum’s various collections, focusing on pure color expression in painting and emphasizing the material qualities of sculpture. A selection of works from Lipsanen’s collection is also included in this exhibition. For the Sake of Color will be on display from March 27 to May 30, 1999.

In the project room, shorter-term exhibitions are also on display. The Vicious Circle (January 20–February 28) expands the perspective on contemporary corporeality, drawing on personal medical history. Son of a Bitch, a new multimedia work by media artist and 1998 Pori Art Museum Patron of the Year Marita Liulia, will be presented from March 10 to April 18.