The Magic of Lapland exhibition at the Ateneum Art Museum
The Magic of Lapland exhibition explores the history of Finnish art from the 1800s to the present by means of a single familiar and recognisable theme: the portrayal of Lapland.
In depicting Lapland, which subjects have attracted Finnish artists most? One can look for an answer in the Ateneum Art Museum's art collections, which lend themselves well to a regional approach. Finland is a large country in area, taking in regions with a very different character: Finnish Lakeland, the plains of Ostrobothnia, the archipelago, eastern Finland's vast forests... Thus geography has influenced in many ways what Finnish art looks like.
The Magic of Lapland exhibition (18.06.2011 - 08.01.2012) at the Ateneum has chosen to focus on the impressions of Finnish Lapland given by art. I have therefore chosen works that either portray Lapland, were inspired by it, or reflect Lapland and its culture... the life lived there. Some of the works were produced on the spot, others elsewhere. The artists represented include some that were born and bred there, others that moved down south from Lapland, or vice versa, and yet others who have never set foot there.
The exhibition includes works by dozens of artists, from the unknown maker of a shaman's drum to the very latest examples of contemporary art. They provide examples of many working methods and styles. Included are some rarely shown works from the Ateneum and Kiasma museum collections, as well as works loaned by other museums, various artists and private collectors.
Linkit:
Ateneum Travellers in Lapland Website
Picture: The Magic og Lapland -exhibition
Text: Ateneum Art Museum
