Every year the Finnish Art Society hosts a major exhibition at Kunsthalle Helsinki highlighting the work of a prominent Finnish artist. The year 2019 sees the opening of a major retrospective featuring the work of Paul Osipow, followed by Anu Tuominen in the upcoming 2020 exhibition.
Paul Osipow: 26.1.–24.3.2019
The Paul Osipow retrospective presents an impressive cross-section of works by one of Finland’s leading painters. Osipow’s early travels in Europe and the United States have had a lasting impact on his art, and throughout his career he has drawn inspiration from various periods in art history, ranging from modernism all the way back to Classical Antiquity. The Kunsthalle retrospective features Osipow’s geometrical and free-form abstract paintings as well as his still life compositions, female figures and other figurative classic motifs spanning from the 1960s to the present day.
Osipow graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 1962. Since the 1960s, he has shown his work in numerous solo and group exhibitions both in Finland and abroad. He has also made a significant contribution as an educator at various art institutes. During his 60-year career, Osipow has won numerous awards including the Finnish Art Society’s Ducat Prize in 1966, a 15-year art grant from the Finish State in 1985, and the Prince Eugen medal in 1989. The exhibition is produced by the Finnish Art Society and curated by Kari Kenetti.
Anu Tuominen coming in 2020
The upcoming Anu Tuominen (b. 1961) exhibition will feature a pick of her popular classics alongside a selection of newer works. Tuominen is known as one of Finland’s leading conceptual artists and as an artist who resurrects discarded items salvaged from flea markets. She plays with the colours and shapes of familiar everyday objects such as potholders, buttons and coloured pencils, combining them cleverly with words and ideas.
Anu Tuominen graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 1995. She is the winner of the 2003 Ars Fennica prize and she has exhibited extensively both in Finland and abroad.