Hot Art

Column by Elise Gegauff

Tempera, Tuubi and other art stores


When I moved to Helsinki, one of the first things I was doing was to look for art stores. Not where I could buy paintings, but all the material I needed to make them. I soon discovered that there weren’t many of them, or maybe they were hidden? The first place I went to was Stockmann, sure enough, but they have very little to choose from and it’s also quite expensive.
I learned about a store called Tempera, and I went to check it out.

It is quite big and it have most that you would need. They have a lot of choice, especially in drawing material and different types of paper. What I think they lack is a good selection of canvases. They have many different types; board, Deep Edge 3D, linen and cotton, but they do not have big sizes. I know that many people make their own canvases, especially when they are very big, but I still think they should have finished ones as well.

They also have little of Winsor and Newton. However, a little shop called Tuubi has a bigger selection of that brand. The shop is just by Tempera, and has a cosier and friendlier atmosphere (eventhough they have even SMALLER canvases than Tempera!). Always with good service, it is a very nice place to shop.

If you want to visit Temera and Tuubi, these are the adresses:

Tempera Oy,
Uudenmaankatu 16
00120 Helsinki
tel.nr. +358-0-6129290
www.tempera.fi

Tuubi Finland Oy,
Uudenmaankatu 24
00120 Helsinki
tel.nr. +358-0-41822200
fax.nr. +358-0-41822202
e-mail: tuubi@tuubi.com
www.tuubi.com

I would very much like to know about other art stores in Helsinki. Please post a comment for this if you know about any!


-Elise Gegauff

Exhibiting together?

Dear Artists,

HIAA’s third meeting was about group exhibitions and several good points were made at the meeting. I’ll try to give you a summary here.

Exhibition space

We all agreed that the exhibition space should reflect the extraordinary nature of this association and thus be something else than an ordinary gallery. The cost issue is also always valid as traditional galleries tend to be expensive. There are some communal spaces which are near free or free to use, but have no sales opportunity.

Tiina told us about a coming exhibition which will take place in an old cotton factory and the space had been given them for free. Similar possibilities can very well exist in Helsinki too – do you know any?

An empty shop space in some mall or similar could also be an interesting place with a possibility to attract crowds that don’t usually go to art exhibitions and get visibility thanks to a busy location. This kind of exhibition would require all participants to be ready to exhibit when a place is available – so all should be planned ahead and works ready.

Exhibition organisation

Doing art exhibition without a gallery means all the work has to be done by the artists themselves – us. What are your preferences – pay a bit (or even a lot) more and let a gallerist do the job or pay little (or almost nothing) and work like a horse? ;-)

Exhibition theme

This subject raised interesting ideas. It was said the theme should reflect our internationality and different origins. Changes in the definition of "normal", both conserning the time perspective and the cultural perspective was suggested as a theme. It was also noted that the theme should be decided only after the exhibition space has been found, because the space will limit or at least give its own aspect to the nature of the exhibition.

In my personal opinion the theme should be strict enough to keep the show together, but vague enough to embrase different styles of expression present in our members’ works. Easier said than done!

Have a sunny and relaxing summer! I hope to see you all again in the autumn –
Our next meeting will take place on 6th August, at 17.00 at Kirjasto 10.

Best regards,
Susan

Hot Art

Column by Elise Gegauff

The Akseli Gallen-Kallela Museum


I was taking a walk around my new neighbourhood one day, when I came to a familiar place. I was delighted to discover that the beautiful Akseli Gallen-Kallela Museum was just around the corner.

The interesting thing about this museum is that it was built by Akseli Gallen-Kallela himself as a home and atelier in 1911-1913. The place is called Tarvaspää, just by the border of Espoo and Helsinki. It was opened to the public as the Akseli Gallen-Kallela Museum in 1961.

It’s set in a beautiful location on a bluff by the sea, truly an inspirational place for an artist. In the big granden there’s a café with a summer terasse where you can enjoy something to drink and eat after a nice visit in the museum. Nearby there is also a sauna that is still operational.
From the 15th of May to the 31st of August the museum is open from 10AM to 18PM every day. The price is 8 Euros for adults, 4 Euros for students and groups of more than 20 people pay only 6 Euros.

Akseli Gallen-Kallela

For those who don’t know who Gallen-Kallela was, I would like to tell you very shortly about him.

Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931) started as a realist painter and is best known to the world as the Finnish painter with the illustrations of Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. Therefore he is considered very important to the Finnish national identity.

He was born Axél Waldemar Gallén in Pori, Finland. When he was 11 he was sent to Grammar School because his father didn’t want him to become a painter. However when his father died, he started attending drawing classes at the Finnish Art Society. In 1884 he moved to Paris to study at Academie Julian. He made many of his most beautiful and known pieces there and also got to know other scandinavian artists such as the Norwegian Adam Dørnberger and the Swedish writer August Strindberg. He also became close friends with Albert Edelfeldt, another Finnish painter (that I personally think everyone should take a look at!).

In 1890 he married Mary Sloor and the couple had three children; Impi Marjatta, Kirsti and Jorma. When his daughter Impi Marjatta died from Diphtheria in march 1895, Gallen-Kallela’s art would change. He had painted romantic works earlier, but would now make more aggressive art like for example ”the Defence of the Sampo”.

Axel Waldemar Gallén officially changed his name to the more Finnish sounding Akseli Gallen-Kallela in 1907. In 1909 he moved with his family to Nairobi, Kenya, but discovered after just a couple of years that his main inspiration was Finland and returned home. There between 1911 and 1913 he designed and built a studio and house at Tarvaspää about 10 km north of the centre of Helsinki.

In 1917, Gallen-Kallela and his son Jorma took part in the fighting at the front of the Finnish Civil War. When the regent, General Mannerheim heard about this in 1918, he invited Gallen-Kallela to design the flags, official decorations and uniforms of the newly independent Finland.
In 1925 he began the illustrations for his “Great Kalevala”. This was still unfinished when he died in Stockholm in 1931 when returning from a lecture in Copenhagen, Denmark.

(You can see more of his art in the Ateneum Museum.)



In the museum

In the museum, you can find the rich and varied art of Gallen-Kallela, such as; paintings, drawings, graphics, sculpture, posters, photographs and works of applied art as well as his personal belongings and documents. You can also find a lot of information about his interesting life, family and friends.

Right now

As well as the art of Gallen-Kallela, there are other masterpieces on display.
From the 26th of May until the 2nd of September 2007 there is an exhibition called “Married to Art – Nordic Artist Couples” in the museum. It focuses on the interaction of Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Finnish artist couples from the turn of the century of the 1900’s and how the fact that both the woman and the man was an artist affected the family life.

Coming up

From the 8th of September 2007 until the 13th of January 2008 there will be an exhibition called ” The Erkki Tanttu Centenary Exhibition”. The exhibition will focus on Erkki Tanttu’s (1907-1985) works in book art. He was an expert printmaker and he followed Gallen-Kallela’s way of portraying the common people in his art.

The website of the museum is:
http://www.gallen-kallela.fi/english.html

and the address and telephone number are:

The Gallen-Kallela MuseumGallen-Kallelan tie 27, 02600 Espoo, FinlandTel. : +358 9 849 2340, Fax : +358 9 541 6426


I urge you all to go there and take a look! With romantic art and charming atmosphere, it’s well worth the trip!

-Elise Gegauff.