Espoo Museum of Modern Art

Jussi Niva: From the Series Foldaway, 2013. © Günter Lepkowski
Jussi Niva: From the Series Foldaway, 2013. © Günter Lepkowski

26.02.2014 - 11.05.2014

Feel The Spirit!

Right now as our age is screaming for quiet and concentration, spirituality is raising its head in art exhibitions all over the world. EMMA brings the subject to Finnish audiences in spring 2014 with two extensive and inter-related exhibitions.

Designer of the Everyday – Rudolf Steiner exhibition, which provides a comprehensive look on design, arts and philosophy, presents the works and influence of Steiner and his contemporaries. The exhibition comes from the renowned Vitra Design Museum and it includes works by many significant designers, such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Konstantin Grcic, from Steiner’s times to today.

At the same time, EMMA also presents modern and contemporary art related to the subject. An exhibition entitled Feel the Spirit! presents an extensive look at the works of a Swedish pioneer of abstract art, Hilma af Klint (1862–1944). The exhibition will also feature works by Joseph Beuys, Olafur Eliasson, Jussi Niva and Silja Rantanen. Af Klint has become world famous thanks to the Venice Biennale of last summer but even more significantly due to the comprehensive retrospective touring exhibition organised by the Moderna Museet. 21 works by af Klint come from the Hilma af Klint Foundation, Järna.

One of the most significant Swedish artists, Hilma af Klint, can with good reason be called a pioneer of abstract art: She painted her first abstract works as early as 1906. The artist made her living by painting traditional portraits, plants and landscapes while keeping her esoteric art hidden. Hilma af Klint’s art reflects her strong belief in the spiritual as the source of art, her knowledge of theosophy, and later, after having been acquainted with Rudolf Steiner, anthroposophy.